Companies that have had an EMS in place for a number of years often have difficulty coming up with continual improvement initiatives. After the low hanging fruit (implementing recycling programs, reducing waste to landfill, etc.) has been plucked, it gets more difficult to find meaningful objectives, targets, EMPs. As well, many manufacturers (particulrly equipment manufacturers) don't have major environmental issues/impacts and so it is also difficult for them to come up with EMPs.

I have put together a list of possible initiatives/ideas for objectives/tagets/EMPs for companies that have a mature EMS and have implemented the obvious waste reduction, recycling, utilities projects. The list is attached.

Have others encountered this issue - can you add any ideas to the attached list of possible EMPs?

Thanks

Along the lines of the product itself, reduction of packaging/packing material used. It has to be balanced against the requirements of appropriate preservation of the finished product, but some products have their packaging way over engineered and a lot of waste is produced. For example, do you remember how CD's used to be packaged a few years ago? Lots of cardboard. Nowadays, the packaging is much more streamlined.

Good topic :agree1: .

Right - I should add reduced product packaging to the list. Increased use of returnables is common in automotive mfg. and in fact is usually mandatory if they are delivering to an assembly plant. I audited a Michigan equipment manufacturer earlier this week that had a major project delivered to an assembly plant in Mexico. They mentioned that their pallets/packaging probably built several homes in the local community.

Companies that have had an EMS in place for a number of years often have difficulty coming up with continual improvement initiatives. After the low hanging fruit (implementing recycling programs, reducing waste to landfill, etc.) has been plucked, it gets more difficult to find meaningful objectives, targets, EMPs. As well, many manufacturers (particulrly equipment manufacturers) don't have major environmental issues/impacts and so it is also difficult for them to come up with EMPs.

I have put together a list of possible initiatives/ideas for objectives/tagets/EMPs for companies that have a mature EMS and have implemented the obvious waste reduction, recycling, utilities projects. The list is attached.

Have others encountered this issue - can you add any ideas to the attached list of possible EMPs?

Thanks

It depends on their aspects. Certainly a lot of the items on the list are worthy of EMS programmes in their own right. Some are a bit like routine maintenance and I wouldn't class as EMS programmes.

In the end the list of programmes should be derived from their list of significant aspects - you can always do more of the same although there is the infamous "law of diminishing returns".

The list was meant to give companies some ideas on what they can do next after they have already addressed their significant aspects and have got them well managed/minimized/optimized. In other words, they have their house in order - they have reduced their waste, implemented recycling programs, minimized utilities, reduced their emissions and other easy to do stuff.

The standard does not address the possibility that a company might reach a point where they have just about done everything that is feasible to minimize their impacts (economically, technologically) and there may be little or no gains possible.

When I audit a company that is at this stage I show them the list to illustrate what non-standard objectives/targets/programs I have encountered. I may also tell them that they have to look beyond their own facility and think how they can improve their community environment (eventhough that may have nothing to do with their significant aspects). Another possibility (particularly for equipment manufacturers) is to look at the product they are making - can their EMS encourage environmental improvements to the product (ie. make it more efficient, require less utilities, make it last longer, improve power factor). The limitation of course is that they must make the product to the customer's specifications - so I encourage them to identify optional items that may make the product more environmentally friendly. in all of this discussion with my audit clients I am of course not consulting :D

I would appreciate any additions to this list that readers can come up with so I can pass them along.

Greg

Hi !

Objectives, targets and programmes have to be linked to significant aspects, legal and other requirements and environmental policy, besides technological options and financial inputs etc. Once this link can be established, for a matured EMS, the following areas are gold mines:

a) Design for Environment (Eco-Design)
b) Environmental Accounting (for decision making and also for reporting)
c) Clean technologies
d) Strategic Environmental planning
e) Green Supply-chain
f) Green Marketing
g) Product End-of-life issues
h) Future needs

If an organization has a matured EMS, I would say that the above subjects will throw open quite a few opportunities, which may be captured under the EMS.

With best regards,

Ramakrishnan

Objectives, targets and programmes have to be linked to significant aspects, legal and other requirements and environmental policy, besides technological options and financial inputs etc.

Dr. I don't agree that all objectives have to be linked to the significant apsects. This is what the ISO 14001:2004 says, "When establishing and reviewing its objectives and targets, an organization shall take into account the legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and its significant environmental aspects."

"Take into account" doesn't mean, gotta do it.

Certainly objectives should be set for some of the significant aspects, but to borrow from db, "where is the shall"?

Hi Dr. L Ramakrishnan,

I think you've put in a very great deal of systemic thinking especially on the application for preventing impact from the product aspects which is main thrust in preventing pollution. That is looking at the input of the process at the very begining stages which I salute you for the mother nature :agree1: .

Have you ever perform DFE that related to your environmental objectives? Can you share with us?

Many time, people tends to look at the end of pipe, i.e., effluent discharge control, emission control, controlling the pollution should come from the product design....REDUCE, REUSE, & RECYCLING....

bye


Hi !

Objectives, targets and programmes have to be linked to significant aspects, legal and other requirements and environmental policy, besides technological options and financial inputs etc. Once this link can be established, for a matured EMS, the following areas are gold mines:

a) Design for Environment (Eco-Design)
b) Environmental Accounting (for decision making and also for reporting)
c) Clean technologies
d) Strategic Environmental planning
e) Green Supply-chain
f) Green Marketing
g) Product End-of-life issues
h) Future needs

If an organization has a matured EMS, I would say that the above subjects will throw open quite a few opportunities, which may be captured under the EMS.

With best regards,

Ramakrishnan

Dear Taarheels4,

You have a point. Please see my posting again, it is not only to significant aspects, but also to legal and other requirements and the policy etc., that the objectives may be linked. This is not to dispute your observation. You are absolutely right...it is "shall look into"..not "shall" alone. Problems come up when we have to provide evidence to the certification auditors that we had looked into these ...while setting up objectives. One of the practical ways of providing evidence is to show the links. It is not a must; it is one of the ways of doing things which has been accepted by the Certification agencies. I am sure there are many more ways of doing the same thing still meeting the ISO-14001 requirements.

With best regards,

Ramakrishnan

Dear Cheahga,

Yes. Indeed all our ISO-14001 certified units (with Development activity) have incorporated EcoDesign (Design for environment) as a part of their design process. Objectives like "eliminate lead from the product", "reduce energy consumption of the product by 50 %", "reduce the packaging mass by 25 %" etc., may be addressed by using EcoDesign principles while establishing the relevant Environmental Management Programmes. While we do not use LCA per se, we use different qualitative & quantitative methods to assess eco-designed products for their environmental soundness. In general we focus on six areas while eco-designing products with respect to predecessors or from competitors: (a) reduce mass (b) reduce hazardous substances (Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr, PBBE, PVC, heavy metals etc), (c) reduce energy consumption while on use (it is estimated that 80% of the total life cycle energy consumption is during the use of the consumer electronics products), (d) reduce packaging mass, (e) making the product recyclable (using design for recycling methods) and (f) increase the useful life of product. Just to give you an idea of various principles involved I am attaching a paper written for a Seminar by my daughter...during her graduation, may be a useful information.

With best regards,

Ramakrishnan

Dear Cheahga,

Yes. Indeed all our ISO-14001 certified units (with Development activity) have incorporated EcoDesign (Design for environment) as a part of their design process. Objectives like "eliminate lead from the product", "reduce energy consumption of the product by 50 %", "reduce the packaging mass by 25 %" etc., may be addressed by using EcoDesign principles while establishing the relevant Environmental Management Programmes. While we do not use LCA per se, we use different qualitative & quantitative methods to assess eco-designed products for their environmental soundness. In general we focus on six areas while eco-designing products with respect to predecessors or from competitors: (a) reduce mass (b) reduce hazardous substances (Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr, PBBE, PVC, heavy metals etc), (c) reduce energy consumption while on use (it is estimated that 80% of the total life cycle energy consumption is during the use of the consumer electronics products), (d) reduce packaging mass, (e) making the product recyclable (using design for recycling methods) and (f) increase the useful life of product. Just to give you an idea of various principles involved I am attaching a paper written for a Seminar by my daughter...during her graduation, may be a useful information.

With best regards,

Ramakrishnan

Hi Dr. L. Ramakrishnan,

Thanks for sharing a great piece of information on ECO-Design.:agree1:

From what you've listed as your Eco-deisgn objectives, I can't imagine how much effort put in in reducing waste out of the product and process waste stream, it's must be tremendous. Talking about life cycle inventory analysis alone!!!

Again, appreciate your shared information. I believed I'll learnt a lot from you.:D