North Carolina Working With Pilot EMS Projects
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is working with five companies and Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base to test the establishment of the internationally adopted ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard. An environmental management system generally is defined as a set of procedures that are a part of the organization’s or facility’s daily operations. It includes a policy statement, procedures, training, record-keeping, auditing, and corrective action.
Completed in 1996, ISO 14001 was created to meet the demands of the global marketplace for a uniform approach to achieving environmental protection, just as ISO 9000 is a uniform approach to achieving product quality. North Carolina is interested particularly in learning whether the more comprehensive environmental management approach will achieve enhanced results in categories such as pollution prevention. The N.C. DENR is recognized nationally for its pollution prevention programs.
The North Carolina pilot project participants are Motorola, Research Triangle Park; Honda Power Equipment, Swepsonville; Exide Electronics, Raleigh; Lufkin/Cooper Tools, Apex; Konica Manufacturing USA, Inc., Whitsett, and Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base, Jacksonville.
North Carolina is the first of 10 states participating in a Multi State Working Group (MSWG) on EMS’s to formally announce its partners in a national test of ISO 14001.
The MSWG plans a structured approach for collecting environmental and other performance information. The goal is to learn if ISO 14001 can be superior to the existing approach that relies heavily on rules, regulation and law enforcement. If it can, the states may consider changes in public policies and programs.
For more information contact Beth Graves, DPPEA, (919) 715-6506.
