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Workshop Discussion

EMS Essentials

  • Wanting to make the change, commitment
  • Culture change
  • “System elements” common language
  • Needs to position you for the future – capacity building
  • Enabling process
  • Facilitation and support
  • Know who/what you want to change
  • Whole of enterprise assessment
  • A systematic approach to managing the impacts of any enterprise on the environment
  • Flexible and self-directed, voluntary action
  • Plan Do Check Act cycle
  • Environmental policy or statement
  • Risk based approach and broader view
  • Considers “compliance” issues
  • Measurable objectives and targets that akign with the business plan
  • Looks at internal ‘business management’ including roles, responsibility, resources, communication and training
  • Documentation, documentation and operational control
  • Emergency/contingency planning and response
  • Based on continuous improvement
  • Communication in relevant context
  • Reporting externally
  • Making it mainstream and integrating with business

Getting and staying engaged in EMS

  • Desire for recognition and recognition for things already being done
  • Seeking better business outcomes
  • Seeking better environmental outcomes
  • Regulatory and community pressure
  • Keeping flexibility in management
  • Seeking improved partnerships
  • Looking for information
  • Market edge – access or premium
  • Market linkages
  • Gaining a management process
  • Enhancing management capacity
  • Explicit recognition of the need for sustainability and contin. improv. (continuous vs continual)
  • Importance of a network – variety of methods used to do this
  • Being part of a community
  • Sense of place
  • Telling the ‘good stories’ – cross industry learning
  • Need for a ‘coach’, mentoring, ‘kitchen table’ relationships
  • Recognition of ‘self-satisfaction’, recognition of psych. impact - “spirituality’
  • Initial motivations for getting involved are likely to be different to those that ‘keep you in’
  • Incentives to have an EMS – who should get, what other sorts could be applied
  • Change of thinking required –bigger picture; outside the ‘usual’ business operational sphere
  • Making environmental mgt. part of routine
  • Engagement with stakeholders
  • Good information and education – need to address perception problems – about ISO 14001, EMS, landholders roles/actions etc.
  • Support for implementation
  • Tools to assist
  • Keeping up with competition
  • Recognition important
  • Boundaries between ‘EMS’ and ‘business plan’
  • Ensure that the business benefits are ‘built in’ – risk reduction, profits, growing business
  • Private/public good; partnerships; public investment in env. outcomes
  • Reduce/eliminate confusion (If possible)
  • International recognition needed for what we use
  • Need to enhance recognition of the tool within the various industry groups and how do we get them onside/aligned?
  • Need to allow time for things to happen BUT may not have too much more time for addressing some of these issues
  • Need to recognise that everyone is at a different level
  • Talk in a ‘single line of policy’
  • Use relevant language for the user
  • Need to embed env. mgt. for ALL part of the business (whatever it is) – not just the e-team role
  • Policy objective is to bring about environmental outcomes, but not all at the same stage in their thinking through regarding the awareness and reasons for EMS adoption
  • Incentives are a two-edged sword - ‘if you have to pay me to do it, then it must be bad’
  • Build and grow critical mass
  • Integration with other systems – system to assist business
  • Order of implementation of EMS need not slavishly follow the order of presentation of ISO 14001
  • Grow me the money’ program – based on eco-efficiency – marketing of programs important

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