ISO14001 Environmental Management System

ASSIGNMENT NO 2

Submitted To: Sir Naveed ul Hasan Submitted By: Muhammad Sohail B-Tech (Electrical) 8th Semester Reg: No. Su/07-01-76018 Date: 12.03.2011

Sarhad University of  Science and information Technology Peshawar ISO14001 Environmental Management System What is an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System?  An ISO 14001 environmental management system is a structured system designed to help organizations manage their environmental impacts and improve environmental performance caused by their products, services and activities. ISO 14001:2004 standard defines an environmental management system as part of  an organization’s management system used to develop and implement an environmental policy and manage their environmental aspects. An ISO 14001 environmental management system provides structure to environmental management and covers areas such as training, record management, inspections, objectives and policies. Implementation of a system requires the following steps to be completed: » The development of an environmental policy that reflects the organization’s environmental commitments; » The appointment of a person(s) responsible for its coordination; » The identification of how the organization can interact with the environment and its actual and potential environmental impacts; » The identification of legal and other requirements relevant to its environmental aspects; » The establishment of environmental objectives and targets, and the programs in which to achieve them; » The monitoring and measurement of the progress to achieve its environmental objectives and targets; » Reviewing the system and environmental performance; and » The continuous improvement of the organization’s environmental performance.

What is ISO 14001:2004?  ISO 14001 Environmental management systems - Requirements with guidance for use is an internationally recognized standard for the development of an effective EMS. The standard was developed in Amsterdam by the International Standards Organization in 1996. The standard specifies a process for the control and the continuous improvement of an organization’s environmental performance. The standard develops a strategic approach to organizations’ environmental

policy, plans and actions. The standard does not specify environmental performance criteria but simply how to develop an EMS. ISO 14000 refers to the environmental management standards series. ISO 14001 should be used in conjunction with ISO 14004 Environmental managements systems – General guidelines on principles, systems and support techniques. ISO 14004 provides guidelines for  the elements of an environmental management system and its implementation.

What are the benefits of developing and implementing an effective environmental management  system?  By developing an environmental management system organizations identify environmental risks and manage these risks accordingly. There are many ways that organizations benefit such as: » Promoting a positive environmental image with customers, and increasing demand for products and services; » Lowering business costs through reduced resource consumption and waste production; » Improving environmental performance; » Achieving environmental commitments and environmental policy requirements; » Meeting environmental legal requirements; » Committing to social responsibilities; and » Retaining environmental knowledge. ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems are the most recognized systems. By choosing ISO 14001 organizations can be easily recognized for their environmental management efforts.

What are the elements of an ISO 14001 systems?  There are 17 elements of ISO 14001. They are as follows: » An environmental policy supported by senior management; »The identification of environmental aspects and impacts, and the identification of significant environmental impacts that the organization may cause; » Identification of legal and other requirements; » The development of objectives and targets, and their environmental management programs; » Defined resources, roles, responsibilities and authorities for environmental management; » The development of competence, training and awareness procedures; » A communication process of the EMS to all stakeholders and interested parties; » The development of EMS documentation as required by the standard; » The development of document control procedures; » The development of operational control procedures; » The development of emergency preparedness and response procedures; » The development of procedures for monitoring and measuring of operations that can have significant impact o the environment;

» An evaluation of compliance procedure; » Procedures developed for the management of nonconformance, corrective and preventative actions; » The development of a records management procedure; » A program for completing internal audits and corrective action; and » The development of procedures for management review by senior management.

By design the system and environmental performance run in a continuous improvement cycle outlined in the diagram.