ISO 14001 Environmental targets - Office only

R

Richard W

Hi

I have recently started as quality manager for a service related company - so we are an office only (we do have a small warehouse)

Regarding 14001 - does anyone have experience or coming up with objectives (I know we need to do this ourselves but we seem to have done all the low hanging fruit)

juts wondered if anyone had any interesting initiatives - when there are no quick wins?
 
L

lk2012

Hi,
I work in a similar type of company (Sales Office only, external warehouse, no production).
We always declare that ISO14001 does not apply to us. Naturally, we have to follow any environmental / H&S regulations stipulated by the national law but ISO14001 is really primarily aimed at production sites.
If the small warehouse is yours (not sub-contracted), that's where you could apply your ISO14001.
Hope this helps
Lil
 
A

abusuffian

Hi,
My opinion. For office only environmental objective.
1. To reduce electrical usage. Lamp, aircond etc
2. To reduce water usage. Toilet and gardening.
3. To reduce paper usage.
4. To replace chemical based cleaning material to biodegradable material.
 

RoxaneB

Change Agent and Data Storyteller
Super Moderator
lk2012's idea of looking at what can be done in the warehouse is a good one.

I also encourage your organization to look beyond the walls of your building...and even the property line.

Is become more environmentally active within the community something worth exploring? Example - Fund/Sponsor a garden plot in the city or senior's residence. Use coffee grounds in any flower beds/pots around the office.

Not knowing the nature of your service, is a "green alternative" an option that can be offered to your customers? Example - Use hybrid cars...use "green" supplies when on-site and service a customer.

What about a "green" partnership with a supplier? Is there a way for your organization and a supplier to partner up in a way that is environmentally proactive and engaging? Example - Explore the cleaning agents used in the office or the waste that is generated from cleaning.

With all due respect to the ideas of reducing paper usage and electricity usage, those are pretty "standard" items.

Something else to consider...crowdsourcing with your employees (and their families). Find out what their ideas area. Not only are they financially vested in the organization, but they live in the community which you serve. They may have some amazingly creative ideas for you. :D
 
R

Richard W

Thanks for all your responses

And yes RCBeyette - we have done all of the obvious things - so thanks for your ideas - that is exactly what I was looking for as I am also responsible for CSR so this fits in very well!

Something else has sprung to mind - I have just taken part in the C2W scheme (in the UK this means we can buy bikes or gear to ride to work), I am going to try and encourage others to do the same, track how many "driving miles we save", and try to make it competitive by issuing podometers and setting up a league

I like it - great to talk.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
You can also participate in "outside the wall" environmental improvement by adopting a road or neighborhood to do an environmental cleanup; provide environmental awareness education to local schools; participation in local environmental activities.....I know this is all kind of loose but they have all been used by others
 

Helmut Jilling

Auditor / Consultant
Hi,
I work in a similar type of company (Sales Office only, external warehouse, no production).
We always declare that ISO14001 does not apply to us. Naturally, we have to follow any environmental / H&S regulations stipulated by the national law but ISO14001 is really primarily aimed at production sites.
If the small warehouse is yours (not sub-contracted), that's where you could apply your ISO14001.
Hope this helps
Lil

I would rather respond with "Of course it 'applies' to us, but it is easy for us to comply."
 

RoxaneB

Change Agent and Data Storyteller
Super Moderator
Something else has sprung to mind - I have just taken part in the C2W scheme (in the UK this means we can buy bikes or gear to ride to work), I am going to try and encourage others to do the same, track how many "driving miles we save", and try to make it competitive by issuing podometers and setting up a league

I log all of my km's - walking, running, elliptical and cycling - over on Daily Mile. You can set a challenge up there and see who is in first place, or you set one up internally, too...no need to go all high tech.

That being said, one of my main challenges for the year is to do a virtual trek along the Canada-U.S. border (including Alaska). That's over 8,000km! Each week, I tally up my logged distance and move my little icon along the map. Cycling season cannot arrive fast enough - then I'll really start to rack up the k's! :D

So, you could do a collective journey from England to Newfoundland...and tally up everyone's weekly distance for the total distance moved. There is also a site called Moonjoggers - this year, the goal is to get to Mars, by adding up everyone's recorded distances.
 

Helmut Jilling

Auditor / Consultant
I log all of my km's - walking, running, elliptical and cycling - over on Daily Mile. You can set a challenge up there and see who is in first place, or you set one up internally, too...no need to go all high tech.

That being said, one of my main challenges for the year is to do a virtual trek along the Canada-U.S. border (including Alaska). That's over 8,000km! Each week, I tally up my logged distance and move my little icon along the map. Cycling season cannot arrive fast enough - then I'll really start to rack up the k's! :D

So, you could do a collective journey from England to Newfoundland...and tally up everyone's weekly distance for the total distance moved. There is also a site called Moonjoggers - this year, the goal is to get to Mars, by adding up everyone's recorded distances.


I have an app on my iPhone my wife snuck on there called "Health." That what it shows up as in the App Store. It has a red heart on a plain white background. Unbeknownst to me, the darn thing tracks my walking. ...how many steps I take. I have tested it...seems pretty accurate. So now, she and I know I walk an average of 2400 steps per day (about a mile) ...not too bad. Useful app.
 

Ian_Morris

Involved In Discussions
A few more ideas in this area, especially if you are in the UK:

Look at offsetting your carbon footprint, we partner with the Woodland Trust and carry out tree planting days in UK woodlands. This counts towards offsetting your carbon footprint and also provides an opportunity to get staff and clients involved from a CSR perspective.

Renewables - achieve a policy of sourcing all of your energy from suppliers who only source energy from renewable sources, again looks good on the CSR and reduces your impact on the environment.

Reduce travelling - Can you carry out more client meetings using technology to hold video conferences and reduce the need to travel or can you look at the methods of travel. We use a corporate travel agent that compares and shows the level of pollutants for each type of travel and the train always comes out much lower than any other form of transport (of course this will depend on factors such as where you are and your client locations)

Printing - I have seen and experienced the use use of access control for printers n the office. This has the effect of minimising the amount of stuff that is printed and never used / collected so will reduce your toner and paper usage, but also adds benefits from an information security perspective as well.
 
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