Environmental ManagementTaking a Systematic Approach

Martin Baxter Executive Director – PolicyInstitute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)

Outline of the Session

1. IEMA and its role in EMS and Skills2. Background to the revision3. Key changes currently proposed 4. Opportunities and challenges for

organisations using the standard5. Timetable for implementation

About IEMA

Membership body of over 15,000 environment & sustainability professionals in 90+ countries

Professional qualifications through to Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv)

Professional Development Support• Webinars• Events• Networking

We support individuals and organisations to set, recognise and achieve global sustainability standards and practice

Contribute to shaping national and international policy

Actively support the transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient and sustainable economy

Vision: Transforming the world to sustainability

IEMA & EMS

Represent the UK internationally and in EuropeLead UK’s engagement on ISO 14001 revision

• User experience as an evidence base to inform the revision

• Engagement as the basis of building capacity & staying ahead of the competition

Working with regulators on compliance assurance as part of better regulation agenda

Background to the Revision

• Significant take-up of ISO 14001 globally- 285,500 certified organisations in 158

countries- Asia and Europe highest; China 1st, UK 5th

• International Study Group report on EMS Future Challenges- 24 recommendations for improvement

• New common structure for all ISO’s MSS• Meeting the needs of business and environment

to the mid 2020s- “future-proofing” is a critical issue

Key Changes in the Current Draft

• New structure….and new or amended terms and definitions

• Broader focus• External context & engagement with interested

parties• Integration into core business processes• Risks and opportunities• Value chain and life-cycle perspective• Communication• Demonstrating environmental performance

improvement and legal compliance

Context, leadership and EMS scope

Overall context is a new requirement – requires organisations to:

• Consider a broad range of internal and external factors

• Consider external environmental impacts on the organisation, including how these impact on wider organisation

• Need to determine the expectations of interested parties, including those outside of the organisation

• All of this needs to be considered when setting the scope

Context, leadership and EMS scope

• Leadership- Enhanced requirements for top management

involvement- Requires the EMS to be aligned with the

organisation’s strategy & integrated into core business processes

- Take accountability for EMS performance

• Broadening of the range of commitments required in policy – wider environmental protection and not solely prevention of pollution, e.g. climate change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystems and biodiversity

Risks, opportunities and value chain

• Risks and opportunities- Environmental impacts of the organisation- Business risks and consequences- Business opportunities

• Requires consideration of the ‘life-cycle perspective’ in identifying and evaluating environmental impacts and aspects

• Value chain perspective – need to consider both impacts of products / services in use and procurement processes & supply chain

Performance, compliance & communication

• More emphasis on performance improvement and being able to demonstrate environmental outcomes

• Use of key performance indicators to evaluate and analyse performance

• Greater requirement for determining communication needs – including consideration of interested parties – plus management and control of data

• Define frequency of compliance evaluation• Need to “maintain knowledge and understanding of its

compliance status”

Meeting Outcome Dates of next step

1. Berlin, Feb 2012

2. Bangkok, June 2012

3. Rochester, October 2012

Working Draft 1Working Draft 2Working Draft 3

Feb/March 2012July/August 2012Oct/Nov 2012

4. Gothenburg, Feb 2013

5. Botswana, June 2013

Committee Draft 1

Comment resolution

March 2013

June 2013

6. Bogota, October 2013 Committee Draft 2 Jan 2014

7. Padua, Feb 2014 Comment Resolution March 2014

8. ISO/TC207 Plenary, May 2014 Panama City

Comment Resolution – Draft International Standard

September – November 2014

9. Tokyo ~Feb 2014 Final Draft International Standard?

March 2015?

10. International Standard Publication June 2015?

Timetable

3 Year Period of Transition for Accredited Certification

Potential Implications

1. Integration of environmental management into core organisational processes and strategic decision making

2. Life-cycle perspective and value-chain• Striking a balance on material environmental issues – control

vs influence....how far do you go?

3. Understanding the link between organisational risks & environmental risks (and opportunities)

4. Knowledge and understanding of compliance status

5. Longer-term challenge (2020s) vs short-term internal resource constraints

6. Skills and capacity• Leaders, Environmental managers, rest of the organisation,

internal auditors, certifiers

Martin BaxterExecutive Director – Policy

m.baxter@iema.net @mbaxteriema