Your Business
Advantage
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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ADVANTAGE: EMS
Want to
Know
More?
Read on to
find out about
the many EMS
advantages.
A Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of processes and practices that enable
an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.
An EMS helps an organization systematically manage its environmental "footprint" —the
environmental impact associated with its activities, products, and services. An EMS not only
helps an organization pay attention to its regulatory responsibilities; it also provides a means for
addressing non-regulated environmental aspects such as energy efficiency and resource
conservation. EMSs come in a variety of forms, and can be used in a variety of settings — in
factories, small businesses, service industries, and government agencies.
By reinforcing your existing operations with a comprehensive approach to environmental
management, an EMS can help you streamline operations, create awareness that environmental
protection is every employee's job, and improve environmental performance.
EMSs are also consistent with quality management principles. They build on organizational
processes and features that have been put in place to help you meet business goals, such as:
goal setting, work practices, employee training, records management, emergency preparedness,
organizational structure, and continuous improvement.
So, unless you're in a start-up phase, you won't have to start an EMS from scratch. On the
contrary, you may be further along than you think.
Seize the Advantage
Today many organizations are finding that an EMS can be a powerful tool for improving
efficiency and effectiveness. Properly implemented, an EMS allows you to integrate
environmental responsibilities into your day to day operations. This can help you:
Improve
Environmental
Performance
Become More
Competitive
Save Money
Boost Your Public
Image
Retain Valuable
Employees
Better Manage
Environmental
Legal Obligations
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Improve Environmental Performance
Some managers act on environmental management only when they reach the crisis stage.
Their energy is consumed by reacting rather than preparing for the future. But proactive
planning with an EMS means fewer surprises. It prevents problems from going unnoticed, and
helps you get to the root causes that create them in the first place. By looking at all aspects of
performance, you can find improvement opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Make Your Organization More Competitive
Whether it is reducing energy costs or eliminating unnecessary chemicals, a dollar saved
through improved efficiency is a dollar earned. Those savings can be used to help you grow
your business, boost shareholder earnings, or reward employees. At an even more basic level,
an EMS can help you secure access to certain markets. Today, some industries, such as
automobile manufacturing, are requiring suppliers to meet codes of environmental conduct
or to be certified under the international EMS standard, ISO 14001 .
The trend is clear— companies that get strategic about environmental performance are going
to have a real advantage in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
"I am in business
to make money.
Having an EMS
not only helps
the environment,
but directly
corresponds
to a better
bottom line."
— Small business owner,
Andrew Jacobs,
President, Ideal Jacobs
Corporation
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Save Your Organization Money
By providing a more systematic approach to environmental management, an EMS can reveal
many opportunities for improving efficiency. This can help you cut waste, prevent pollution,
conserve resources, and save money. For example, your organization could benefit from
improved operating practices as well as lower operating costs by switching to newer, cleaner
technology. An EMS can show where upgrades and other environmental improvements best fit
into your overall business strategy, and help you weigh the costs and benefits of changes
so you can make well-informed decisions.
Employing an EMS at Small Metal
Finishing Companies
The Southern California Experience
Water use and wastewater treatment costs were major issues for several Southern California
metal finishing companies. Through the use of an EMS, these companies identified targets
and initiatives for improvement. The results show how improving environmental performance
can improve the bottom line:
Case 1 : A 15 percent reduction in water use in 8 months, resulting in an estimated
annual savings of $ 1 5,000.
Case 2: A 16 percent reduction in water treatment chemical use in 5 months, resulting in
an estimated annual savings of more than $10,500.
Case 3: A 20 percent reduction in water use in 3 months, resulting in an estimated
monthly savings of $750 in water purchase and $7,500 in water treatment.
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Boost Your Public Image
Improving environmental performance can be just as important externally. Americans expect
companies in their communities to operate in an environmentally sound manner. As more
information is made available over the Internet, citizens can go online and find out about toxic
emissions, compliance with environmental standards, and more. An EMS provides the structure
to measure how well your environmental management program is working. By measuring
progress against goals, and proactively reporting the results, you can help build public trust
and credibility.
This type of transparency can affect investor decisions, too. Indeed, financial analysts are
paying more attention to environmental management than ever before. And a new generation
of socially responsible investment funds is designed with the environmentally-conscious
investor in mind.
Improving performance can boost relations with yet another group — regulatory agencies.
Today, many states are establishing special programs to recognize environmental leadership.
Likewise, EPA has a leadership program of its own. The National Environmental Performance
Track Program provides top environmental performers with public recognition, information
resources, and opportunities for regulatory and administrative flexibility. Having an EMS is a
prerequisite for Performance Track membership, if you would like to find out more about the
program please visit the Web site at www.epa.gov/performancetrack.
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Help Retain and
Recruit Employees
Environmental, health, and safety issues are often of great interest to employees. An EMS can
boost performance in these areas, and in so doing, boost employee pride, morale, and overall
job satisfaction. This can be useful in terms of retaining your current workers — and recruiting
new ones.
Better Manage Your
Environmental Legal Obligations
An EMS provides the structure to ensure that you identify and meet all environmental legal
requirements. In the short term, this helps you avoid violations and all the repercussions they
can bring. Longer term, an EMS can help you make important decisions about the timing
and size of investments needed to comply with future regulations.
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Where to Look for Help?
You may find help through a variety of sources, including community colleges, trade
associations, and private consultants. Your state environmental agency and EPA also provide
information through the Internet, seminars, and training programs — at little or no cost. EPA's
Web site www.epa.gov/ems acts as a gateway to many products and services related to EMS
use and development.
What Are You Waiting for?
Isn't it time you thought about an EMS for your organization? Keep in mind that you don't
have to do everything at once. You just have to get started. An EMS will lead you to assess
where you are, where you want to go, and what issues are most important for your operation.
To find out more about
invironmental Management Systems,
please visit our
Web site at: www.epa.gov/ems
The Most
Important
Thing Is
to
An EMS makes
good sense — for
your business and
the environment.
Join the many
organizations that
have already
seized the EMS
advantage.
OFFICE OF POLICY, ECONOMICS, AND INNOVATION — EPA 240-F-02-002 — July 2002
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United States
Environmental Protection Agency 1808
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
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The information
provided inside
can give your
business the
competitive edge
for today's
market.
Looking for a Way to Manage
Your Environmental
•ces More Effectively
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