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Environmental management systems (EMS) are
increasingly being used by organizations around the world to help
integrate environmental considerations into day-to-day decisions
and practices. EMSs are the part of the overall management system
that includes organizational practices, procedures, processes and
resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing, and
maintaining the environmental policy. They provide a framework for
managing environmental
EPA is committed to promoting the
adoption of effective EMSs and has recently established the National Environmental
Performance Track Program, which offers recognition and
regulatory incentives to organizations with good compliance records
and EMSs that focus on compliance, pollution prevention, continuous
improvement in environmental performance, and public
outreach.
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responsibilities, including regulatory
compliance. By improving overall environmental performance and
placing more emphasis on pollution prevention, they can also help
organizations move beyond compliance. From a business perspective,
companies often find that EMSs can make them more competitive by
improving their efficiency. Recently, public agency facilities at
all levels -- federal, state, and local -- have begun implementing
EMSs in an effort to
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reduce operational costs and to improve overall environmental
performance. Moreover, Executive
Order 13148, The Greening of Government Through Environmental
Leadership 
, requires federal
facilities to implement EMSs by the end of 2005 at all applicable
facilities. EPA must not only comply with the Executive Order for
its own facilities, but also has specific management and oversight
responsibilities to assure compliance with the Order by other
federal organizations.
In light of their growing use and potential for
the effectiveness of EMSs in several industry settings, EPA has
developed and tested EMSs for specific sectors, including local
governments, metal finishing, and screen printing. EPA has promoted
EMSs through several voluntary partnership programs, such as Design
for the Environment (DfE)1, and EPA has incorporated EMS
requirements in enforcement settlement agreements. Most recently
EPA launched the National Performance Track Program -- which has a
strong EMS as a required core element -- to reward and recognize
good environmental performers. These and other activities have
provided practical, valuable experience, and they are the basis for
EPA's recent commitment to promote EMS use.
In a July 1999 report, Aiming for Excellence: Actions to Encourage
Stewardship and Accelerate Environmental Progress, EPA
made this commitment:
"We will encourage organizations to use EMSs that
improve compliance, pollution prevention, and other measures of
environmental performance. We'll continue evaluation efforts to
learn more about which EMS elements and applications are most
effective, and we'll determine how these systems might be used to
strengthen environmental programs and policies."
This action plan lays out the steps EPA will take
to fulfill this pledge. It focuses on accomplishing three
goals:
For each goal, EPA presents related work that is
recently completed or ongoing, and a description of new work.
EPA does not expect to complete this work alone.
EPA will collaborate with other partners, including state and local
governments, other federal agencies, academia, and industry, as
appropriate. EPA will make its efforts transparent to all
interested parties, and will seek public input before making any
policy decisions based on the results from its work.
An EMS focuses on environmental management
practices. It provides the structure by which specific activities
can be carried out efficiently and in a manner consistent with key
organizational goals. It allows an organization the flexibility to
adapt the system to its needs and priorities, rather than forcing a
"one size fits all" mentality.
A number of EMS models have been developed, most
of which use the Plan-Do-Check-Act framework. EPA does not prefer
one EMS model over the other, but rather supports the use of any
EMS model:
"EPA supports and will help promote the
development and use of EMSs...that focus on improved environmental
performance and compliance as well as source reduction (pollution
prevention) and system performance. EPA encourages organizations
that develop EMSs to do so through an open and inclusive process
with relevant stakeholders, and to maintain accountability for the
performance outcomes of their EMSs through measurable objectives
and targets. EPA also encourages organizations to make information
on the actual performance of their environmental management systems
available to the public and governmental agencies."2
1 Design for the
Environment is an EPA voluntary program that develops and provides
businesses with information on environmentally-friendly
alternatives to existing products and processes.
2 63 FR 48, 12094 (March 12, 1998) |
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