Emphasizing Environmental Management and Monitoring - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 468

training is to have newly trained personnel collecting data using established procedures
and then compare their results with those previously considered acceptable. In spite of this
approach, it is difi cult for a mining company to assure itself and other potential data users
that different personnel collecting and analyzing samples from the same site yield compa-
rable results.

10.3 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Mining operations maintain a variety of relationships, from contractor partnerships and
joint ventures, to dealing with other stakeholders such as government and the public.
This, together with the fact that environmental issues are now so publicized (even small
incidents are communicated via SMS within minutes) and interconnected, means that
an ad hoc approach to problem-solving is no longer effective. The need for a systematic
approach to management of health, safety and environmental (HSE) issues is well recog-
nized. Understandably mining companies mainly focus on addressing health and safety
concerns through rigid management approaches. These systems are being increasingly
complemented by a formal environmental management component.

An ad hoc approach to problem-
solving is no longer effective.

The Key Components

Environmental Management Systems provide a tool for managing the environmental
impacts associated with mining. EMS provides a structured approach to planning and
implementing environment protection measures, and to ensure compliance with local
and national laws and regulations, international treaties, and corporate requirements. As
a i nancial management system monitors expenditure and income and enables regular
checks of a company's i nancial performance, an EMS attempts to monitor environmen-
tal performance. An EMS integrates environmental management into a company's daily
operations, long-term planning and other quality management systems.
A high-powered car does not make a good driver, and similarly EMS is a tool to support
responsible management, not a substitute for good management. Environmental perform-
ance is more a rel ection of the organization's culture, rather than the quality of its systems.
There is extensive literature on EMS, and this text provides only an introductory sum-
mary, based loosely on the fact sheet on EMS provided by the DEH (2006). The interested
reader is directed to Hunt and Johnson (1995) for i ne points on the subject, and to the
excellent 'how to' implementation guide by the USEPA (1996).
To develop an EMS, an organization needs to assess its environmental impacts, set tar-
gets to reduce negative impacts, and formulate actions to achieve the targets. The envir-
onmental assessment of a mining project and its supporting documentation does just this.
A well-designed environmental management and monitoring plan will go a long way
towards establishing a more formalized EMS. The most important component of an EMS,
however, is organizational commitment. For an EMS to be successful, commitment is
required at the very top of the organization. Senior management should provide strong
and visible leadership, and ensure that this commitment is translated into the necessary
resources to develop, operate, and maintain the EMS, and to attain the policy and strategic
objectives. Common elements of an EMS are shown in Table 10.4 . Essentially, all manage-
ment systems consists of a cycle 'plan, do, assess, and adjust' process that takes learning
and experiences from one cycle and uses them to improve and adjust expectations during
the next cycle ( Figure 10.4 ) .

The most important component
of an EMS is organizational
commitment.