In the first of four blogs looking at sustainability standards I will focus on the merits of Environmental Management Standards, and how these can provide a valuable tool when developing a competitive and successful organisation.
Environmental standards go hand in hand with the full implementation of environmental management systems, and produce efficiency savings alongside ensuring compliance with international environmental legislation. They offer a great way to demonstrate an organisations overall environmental commitments and performance, and therefore provide a substantial marketing tool alongside their more obvious performance benefits.
The well-known ISO14001 sets the international standard for environmental management systems. This standard requires performance improvements for organisations to maintain the standard, and therefore provides a guaranteed way of achieving continuous improvements and savings. There are competing schemes specific for industry sectors, like the Eco Campus scheme for educational institutions, as well as the highly regarded EMAS (European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) standard and the BS 8555 ‘Acorn’.
EMAS provides a great opportunity for companies who want to demonstrate true environmental best practice and industry leadership in relation to their green credentials. The standard is designed to recognise when an organisation goes beyond legal requirements (and ISO14001) to make further environmental improvements. This standard also requires a public environmental statement – a fantastic opportunity to engage with all types of stakeholders and portray a truly sustainable business.
The BS8555 standards also known as the Acorn scheme is an ideal solution for companies of all sizes, particularly SMEs, to implement an environmental management system, because it boasts a staged implementation process reducing the prohibitive initial outlay and requirements of the EMAS and ISO standards. The standard consists of six different levels of implementation, each giving your organisation a more thorough environmental management system, meaning it can be implemented at a pace suited to the company’s needs. For the most ambitious organisations the standard provides a guided approach to gaining the internationally recognised ISO14001 and EMAS standards.
Read on next time to find out what other sustainability standards are available to help your business, or for more information on environmental management standards contact adamw@peopleprofitplanet.co.uk
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