Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
'how to set up an EMS', probably even following the framework of the formalized
approaches. They would be advised to involve external auditors to verify their systems
and performance and to publish regular environmental reports to demonstrate their
commitment (Zackrisson, 2000). An informal EMS may be most appealing to smaller
companies; certainly, it avoids the costs of registration and reduces the pressure where
staffing and monetary resources may already be overstretched.
The fact that a company does not have an accreditation certificate does not nec-
essarily make their EMS any less valuable. In fact, some companies have deliberately
opted to go it alone, concerned that the formalized approach is open to abuse. For
example, because EMS is focused upon continual improvement, a business with a
poor, albeit improving, environmental performance can gain accreditation and use
this as a marketing tool even when its competitors may have a much better environ-
mental record but are not accredited. B&Q, the UK's largest do-it-yourself (DIY)
retailer, is one of the more notable companies with its own informal EMS. It published
its first environmental policy in 1990 and since then has made significant improve-
ments in its own environmental performance and that of many of its suppliers. In
April 2001, it was awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the sustainable devel-
opment category (B&Q, 2001) - evidence enough that an EMS does not have to be
formally accredited to be successful.
Within the aviation industry, BAA is an example of a company that has opted
for an informal EMS. The company has an integrated environmental, health and
safety management system covering all of its businesses. BAA publicly supports the
concept of sustainable development and, in promoting this, it publishes annual
reports, sets environmental objectives and targets, and has its environmental audits
and reports independently verified (BAA, 2001). This approach is consistent with
ISO 14001 guidelines; and yet the EMS is not formally registered. Furthermore, the
EMS underpins the achievement, monitoring and recording of the environmental
improvements that are highlighted in the company's annual corporate environmen-
tal report. Significantly, the most recent version of this report was identified in a
UNEP/Sustainability Ltd survey (2000) as the best in the world. This success dem-
onstrates an important link between EMS and corporate environmental reporting,
with the former providing a means of systematically addressing environmental threats
and opportunities, and thus the framework for the comprehensive and increasingly
quantitative reports that have emerged during recent years, at least among the lead-
ing reporters.
Corporate environmental reporting
Reasons for environmental reporting are rarely explicitly explained in environmental
reports themselves. However, key justifications for the investment of time and resources
in this process include the following (Naimon, 1993):
•
reassuring neighbouring communities that the operations and activities carried
out by the business pose no threat to them, and/or that any current impact is in
the process of being alleviated;
•
the desire to disseminate environmental intentions to staff and management;
