Environmental Management System

Top management shall define the organization s environmental policy and 

The planning stage is one of the more time-consuming aspects of ISO 14001 and includes several elements. 

3 Implementation and Operation This element is again broken down into several sub sections. 

Structure and responsibility. These are concerned with ensuring that there is a senior manager with overall responsibility for the programme and that the responsibilities of other staff are clearly identified and communicated. These individual responsibilities should fit with the overall policy and objectives. 

Communication is also an essential feature of achieving employee buy-in. It is important to ensure that mechanisms are in place for two-way communication, i.e. that employees also get an opportunity to comment, provide feedback and make suggestions to senior management. In addition to top-down communication it is also essential that procedures are in place for communication to the wider population, which includes stakeholders and the public, regarding the organization s environmental policy and performance against stated objectives. 

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FiuaUy, no discussion on poUution prevention would be complete without reference to the ac tivities of the 49-year-old International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO recently created Technical Committee 207 (TC 207) to begin work on new standards for environmental management systems (EMS). The ramifications, especiaUy to the chemical iudustiy, which has become heavUy involved in the development of these standards, wUl be great. TC 207 s activities are... 

ISO 14000 / ISO 9000 Standards published by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 14000 standards are for companies establishing an environmental management system. ISO 9000 standards are for companies establishing a quality management system. 

Environmental management system requirements 4.1 General requirements... 

Environmental management system documentation Document control Operational control Emergency preparedness and response Checking and corrective action... 

Guidelines for Certification to ISO 9001 - Health, Safety and Environmental Management Systems (and BS7750 -Environmental Management Systems) in the Chemical Industry (1992)... 

Withdrawn) 1994 Environmental management systems. Withdrawn, superseded by BS EN ISO 14001 1996... 

Natural gas - Determination of water by the Karl Eischer method. Also BS 3156 (10053) Environmental management systems - Specification with guidance for use. Superseded BS 7750 1994 which remains cuiTcnt... 

Saponara, Anthony, and Randy A. Roig, Ph.D. ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems A Complete Implementation Guide. Vancouver ERM-West, Inc. and STP Specialty Technical Publishers Inc., 1998. - A very extensive, two-volume ISO 14001 implementation manual containing dozens of checklists, prototype charts, templates, document examples, and other tools. Uses Green Acres Hotel and Resort as a case illustration for presenting implementation principles, techniques, and tools. 

The draft version of the Environmental management systems—Specification with guidance for use document, ISO 14001, is organized into the following sections ... 

ISO/DIS 14001, Draft International Standard, Environmental management systems— Specification with guidance for use, 1995. 

Supplier Acceptable supplier rating Environmental management system in place and >25% green chemistry preferred ISO 14001 and 75% green chemistry preferred... 

BS EN ISO 14001 (1996) Environmental Management Systems specification with guidance for use (British Standards Institute)... 

International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO 14000, Environmental Management Systems. 

ISO 14000 is a series of standards intended to assist in managing the impact of manufactured materials including finished products and original feedstocks. It addresses the need to have one internationally accepted environmental management system that involves cradle to grave responsibility for manufactured materials emphasizing the impact of products, operations, and services on the environment. 

The ISO has also produced a set of quality standards specifically for environmental management. This is the ISO 14000 series. The areas addressed by ISO 14000 are Environmental Management Systems, Environmental Performance Evaluations, Environmental Auditing, Life Cycle Assessment, and Environmental Labeling. 

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