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Making the case for EMS

When the going gets tough, environmental management systems are more relevant than ever. Catherine Golds explains how to convince your senior managers of the business benefits of going green

With the credit crunch upon us, stock markets around the world in disarray and fears that we are on the brink of a recession, it is all too easy for senior management to decide it is time to pull in the horns, get back to basics and adopt a cautious stance to any new ideas.

In particular it is very easy to put off plans to work towards implementing an environmental management system (EMS). This appears to stem from when environmental, quality and health and safety standards were only pursued and implemented by large, financially robust customers, often for the public relations benefits. Smaller companies perceived them as an unrealistic drain on their limited resources and as a result it was only the large companies which first went for these standards.

Now, however, with large companies such as Marks & Spencer trumpeting new environmental plans, going green is definitely becoming much more high profile. But how can you convince your senior management team of the importance of implementing an EMS, whether you work to BS 8555, ISO 14001 or EMAS?

Business benefits

'What are often ignored, although they are very relevant, are the sound financial reasons for adopting an EMS'

What are often ignored, although they are very relevant, are the sound financial reasons for adopting an EMS. These are the key aspects that quality professionals need to highlight when striving for senior management buy-in.

It is particularly the case with an EMS, that financial savings can be seen very clearly. If you cut consumption of energy and water, use fewer raw materials and reduce waste, you will cut your costs and ultimately improve your bottom line, quite apart from reducing your carbon footprint.

A graphic illustration of the benefits of achieving ISO 14001 was given recently by Dowty Aerospace in the US. Jack Rockstad, North American environmental coordinator for Dowty, found that in addition to reduced costs of both raw materials and waste, recycling programmes actually generated income for the company.

He has also found that in his experience it's cheaper to prevent pollution and spillage than to clean up afterwards, even before taking into account its possible damage to a company's reputation.

He says: 'In Dowty's experience, a competitive advantage results from reduced costs and improved productivity; staff and customers are impressed by the company's greater awareness of its impact on the environment and this helps open the door for new business.'

Overall, Dowty Aerospace in North America believes it saved US$100,000 in the first year alone by reducing energy costs. In addition, it cut waste sent to landfill by 50 per cent, waste liquids by 40 per cent and water consumption by 25 per cent.

Another potential financial benefit can come from reduced insurance premiums. Insurance companies are fully aware of the risk to their policies from poor environmental performance of insured companies. Organisations with a sound EMS in place are able to demonstrate that they pose less risk to the insurance company and can act as a tool for negotiating lower premiums. Some insurance companies now require the environmental audit of a company prior to agreeing cover.

With investors increasingly focusing on green and ethical portfolios, organisations might also wish to consider their ability to attract the widest scope of investment and an EMS can help to demonstrate a sound environmental performance. Simply marketing the products and services your business can offer can be helped by proven environmental performance. A wider market will be on offer if good environmental performance can be established.

Bonus benefits

'Having an EMS in place will improve stake holder relationships as staff, customers, neighbours, potential customers and others become aware that the company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously’

There are other, less obvious, benefits which also accrue. Just having an EMS in place will allow staff to become more aware of the opportunities for savings in other areas. It will also improve stakeholder relationships as staff, customers, neighbours, potential customers and others become aware that the company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and this will provide more opportunities to win new business.

The range and diversity of customer needs and expectations are constantly growing with many customers' increasing preference for use of suppliers and subcontractors who can demonstrate that they act responsibly where the environment is concerned. No customer would want to risk a tarnished reputation or even non-compliance to legislation from the poor environmental performance of their suppliers and sub-contractors.

The scope of environmental legislation and the scale of potential retribution for non-compliance is also ever increasing. An EMS that ensures recognition of legal requirements and compliance will help to avoid hefty fines and possible imprisonment in addition to avoiding any damaging media coverage.

In fact, actively demonstrating a responsible environmental attitude via installation and maintenance of an EMS can dramatically improve the image of the corporation. Perhaps even more important to stress to senior managers is the risk of adverse publicity about the organisation's environmental performance if steps are not taken to manage environmental impact.

The path towards ISO 14001 certification can be a lengthy one, but there are many initial steps that can be taken towards improving the environmental impact of your company (see box). Smaller organisations concerned about the commitment of time and the cost of implementing an EMS also have another option. BS 8555 is an incremental, six-step approach to ISO 14001.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has taken this route. Their two key objectives were to reduce and streamline waste and to reduce consumption of energy and other utilities.

Mike Hall, the Fire and Rescue service's environmental coordinator, says: 'We made real progress by taking this route and once we had achieved level five of BS 8555 we had the confidence to go on to work towards ISO 14001.' Savings made by the service included:

• £30,000 in domestic water consumption over three years through leak reduction and water minimisation schemes
• investment in a new small fires unit equipped with a compressed air foam system which uses 80 per cent less water
• £5,000 a year saved by putting waste collection out to tender

So in companies big and small, the message for senior managers everywhere is that an EMS is not just an extra to be bolted on when a company has the time and money to spend on putting one in place.They are increasingly becoming an essential part of the efficient management of any organisation, whatever its size. An EMS will contribute to the bottom line from day one and bring other benefits including improving relationships with staff, customers and neighbours, as well as opening the door to new business opportunities

Biography

Catherine Golds is head of NQA. She has held positions at the Ministry of Defence and the Environment Agency and regularly speaks and writes on quality, environmental and health and safety issues.Visit www.nqa.com