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The focus on quality principles
You have probably heard of Total Quality Management (TQM). Your organization may apply TQM principles to some of its operations and activities.
An effective EMS is built on TQM concepts. To improve environmental management, your organization needs to focus not only on what things happen but also on why they happen. Over time, the systematic identification and correction of system deficiencies leads to better environmental (and overall organizational) performance.
Most EMS models (including the ISO 14001 standard, which is described later) are built on the "Plan, Do, Check, Act" model introduced by Shewart and Deming. This model endorses the concept of continual improvement.
Figure 1
In the EMS model described in this Guide, the "Plan, Do, Check, Act" steps have been expanded into seventeen elements that are linked together. These EMS elements and their linkages are discussed in Section 4.
Some of the keys to a successful EMS include:
Top Management Commitment
Applying TQM principles to the environmental area and providing adequate resources are the job of top management. To initiate and sustain the EMS effort, top management must communicate to all employees the importance of:
- making the environment an organizational priority (thinking of effective environmental management as fundamental to the organization's survival)
- integrating environmental management throughout the organization (thinking about the environment as part of product/service and process development and delivery, among other activities)
- looking at problems as opportunities (identifying problems, determining root causes and preventing problem recurrence)
Focus on Continual Improvement
No organization is perfect. The concept of continual improvement recognizes that problems will occur. A committed organization learns from its mistakes and prevents similar problems from recurring.
Flexibility
An effective EMS must be dynamic to allow your organization to adapt to a quickly changing environment. For this reason, you should keep your EMS flexible and simple. This also helps make your EMS understandable for the people who must implement it - your organization's managers and other employees.
Compatibility with Organizational Culture
The EMS approach and an organization's culture should be compatible. For some organizations, this involves a choice: (1) tailoring the EMS to the culture, or (2) changing the culture to be compatible with the EMS approach. Bear in mind that changing an organization's culture can be a long-term process. Keeping this compatibility issue in mind will help you ensure that the EMS meets your organization's needs.
Employee Awareness and Involvement
As you design and implement an EMS, roadblocks may be encountered. Some people may view an EMS as bureaucracy or extra expense. There also may be resistance to change or fear of new responsibilities. To overcome potential roadblocks, make sure that everyone understands why the organization needs an effective EMS, what their role is and how an EMS will help to control environmental impacts in a cost-effective manner. Employee involvement helps to demonstrate the organization's commitment to the environment and helps to ensure that the EMS is realistic, practical and adds value.
Building or improving an EMS (with the help of this Guide) provides an opportunity to assess how your organization manages environmental obligations and to find better (and more cost-effective) solutions. While you will probably identify some areas where your current EMS can be improved, this does not mean that you should change things that are working well! By reviewing what your organization does and how well it works, you can ensure that your EMS will be viable and effective, both now and in the future.
Don't get discouraged if your system has some bugs at first - the focus is on continual improvement!
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