Integrating Environmental Management and Occupational Health and Safety Management at Gosford City Council

Prepared by: Ann Stewart, Senior Sustainability Officer, February 2008, for presentation at the 2008 EMS Forum in Newcastle

This case study will take a retrospective view of the process of integrating, try to convey as much specific information as possible about the system itself, and include some brief information regarding the status of implementation as at February 2008.

Gosford City Council adopted its current Integrated Management System (IMS) in March 2003. The IMS integrates Council’s Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Management Systems.

Council’s Integrated Management System (IMS) is a tool that Council has developed to ensure that its plans and policies for occupational health, safety and environmental management come to fruition by offering a structured and integrated approach to occupational health, safety and environmental management across all of Council’s operations and services.

Integrating both the Occupational Health and Safety System and the Environmental Management System into the one system was a cross directorate project for Gosford City Council, specifically across the Environmental Planning Directorate and the Corporate Development Directorate.

This project required commitment from the most senior level of management within the Council and consultation with all levels of personnel from within the Council. The officers directly responsible for coordinating the project were Council’s Safety Coordinator and Senior Sustainability Officer.

The process of integration is ongoing and for the most part a seamless process, that is, there is no clear defining line between the two themes of the system, rather they are fully integrated in all aspects at all opportunities.

The IMS is a whole of Council system and is currently being implemented throughout the Council. The system is subject to both internal and external audits that contribute to the continuous improvement of the system and its implementation.

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