Environmental management system (EMS)

Environmental management system (EMS) is the organisational framework an organisation uses to manage its environmental aspects and impacts and to comply with the environmental legislation that applies to it. It is built on a cycle of continual improvement and brings policy, objectives, responsibilities, procedures and periodic review together in a single system.

Elements of an EMS

• Environmental policy: management's formal commitment to protecting the environment and complying with regulation, set out in the organisation's environmental policy.
• Objectives and targets: concrete results the organisation aims to achieve, with indicators to track them.
• Responsibilities: roles and resources assigned to the people involved in environmental management.
• Procedures and controls: instructions for managing activities with an environmental effect, such as energy use or waste treatment.
• Review and improvement: regular evaluation of results to correct deviations and set new goals.

Reference frameworks: ISO 14001 and EMAS

The two best-known references are the international standard ISO 14001, which sets out the requirements for an EMS, and the European regulation EMAS. Certification or verification is carried out by an accredited external body, which checks that the system meets the requirements and is applied in practice.

Typical benefits

A well-implemented EMS helps keep control of the applicable legal requirements, identify the significant environmental aspects of the activity and manage waste and energy more effectively. It also organises the organisation's environmental information and makes it easier to respond to requests from customers, auditors and other stakeholders.

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