We started the class by recapitulating the concept of CSR that we have studied so far. What we studied so far is about "what" is CSR or Sustainability.
Now we have to move to "how" of CSR/Sustainability.
The syllabus covers ISO-14001, OHSAS - 18001, SA 8000, AA-1000, Global Compact, ISO 26000 etc.
I explained to you that a system based on Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is suggested for ISO-14001 and OHSAS 18001; most of the activities (especially improvement activities) can be explained in terms of PDCA (also called Deming's cycle). I explained to you how a simple activity of attending the class has inherently all the elements of PDCA.
We agreed that we will study one of these standards a little in depth and the others not in detail.
We also agreed that we will study ISO-14001 (2004) in details.
Sections 4.2 to 4.6 are the operative parts of the standard ISO-14001: Environmental Management Systems: requirements with guidance for use.
Section 4.2 is about the Environmental Policy.
I explained to you that Policy is the statement of intent of the organization and that subjects that have potential to cause risk to the organization are covered through policies.
Section 4.2 of ISO-14001 requires that the Environmental Policy is appropriate to nature of the business of the organization and the policy
a) is issued by the top management
b) shall commit the organization to prevent pollution
c) shall commit the organization to comply with applicable legal and other requirements
d) shall commit the organization to continual improvement
e) shall provide a framework for setting and reviewing objectives
f) is documented (we will discuss what is documentation later)
g) is communicated to employees and others like contractors and suppliers
h) is available publicly
I explained to you various terms like "top management","prevention of pollution" "continual improvement", "other requirements", "framework", "communication", and "available publicly". To recap:
Top Management : Person or persons who has the ultimate control of and responsibility for the organization
Prevention of Pollution: Prevention includes reduction of pollution; i.e. reduce or prevent pollution through different means/techniques
Continual Improvement: Improvement of the overall environmental management system brought out by improvements in various sections of the organization's activities, products and services
Other requirements: Requirements, which are beyond legal requirements, that include requirements of customers, stakeholders, industry associations etc.
Framework: A system of procedures and processes that helps to address specific issues
Communication: A process of transmission of information,confirming that the transmitted information has reached the desired audience and that they have understood the information (a two way process)
Available Publicly: The document is not a restricted document, but is available to anyone who would like to have access to it.
I have shown to you as to how to write a simple ISO-14001 compliant Environmental Policy:
(Example of a simple Environmental Policy)
"ABC Company Limited is involved in the manufacture and sale of .....................
Our environmental policy which is applicable to all employees of the company as well as those working for or on behalf of the company is as follows.
We commit ourselves
1. to prevent pollution of air, water and soil
2. to comply with all applicable environmental laws and other requirements
3. to continually improve our environmental performance
We shall establish and maintain an ISO-14001 environmental management system
sd.
(Managing Director)
Date:
As an exercise you may like to search for environmental policies of various organizations in their web site and study them.
Next we have taken up for discussion section 4.3 which is about Planning.
Planning is the most important part of any systematic activity. I quoted: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail".
If proper attention is given to details during this phase, the progress of work in the later parts of the system will be effective (i.e. achieve the goal) and efficient (i.e. in time with the least available resources).
Section 4.3.1 is about Aspects and Impacts, their identification and evaluation. An Impact is a change in the physical environment (air, water, soil etc., including flora, fauna, called receptors) that is caused (or likely to be caused) by the activity, product or a service of the organization. An Aspect is that element of the activity, product or a service, that causes that impact. For example, when you drive your vehicle there is an emission from your exhaust pipe which pollutes (changes the characteristics of) the air around. Here "Driving the Vehicle" is the activity. "Emissions from the exhaust" is the Aspect. "Air Pollution" is the Impact. Thus there is a "Cause" and "Effect" relationship between "Aspect" and "Impact". We can identify "Aspects" and "Impacts" for products too. For example, take a refrigerator. The design of the refrigerator determines its energy consumption, which in turn determines its contribution "Green House Gas" emission at the thermal power plant. In this case, Refrigerator is the Product. Green House Gas emission is the Aspect. Global warming is the impact.
It is important to understand that we study aspects and impacts of those activities, products and services on which the organization has control or which it can influence.
Once ALL the aspects and impacts have been identified, it is necessary that they are evaluated for their significance. This is required because such an evaluation helps the organization to identify those aspects that are "significant" and act on them. For this class, it is not necessary to go into the details of assessment of aspects; what should be understood is that methods are available for identifying significant aspects and these significant aspects are important in establishing and maintaining an EMS.
It is also required that the organization identifies the link between significant impacts and "legal and other requirements". For example, if the organization has identified emissions from a process to be a significant aspect and air pollution arising out of it as significant impact, it is expected that it links the impact to requirements of, say, Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act (with respect to emission standards).
Section 4.3.2 is about identifying and accessing the legal and other requirements. In India most of the applicable environmental legal requirements are available at: www.moef.nic.in. Other applicable legal requirements (such as Explosives Act, Motor Vehicle Act, Petroleum Act, RoHS, WEEE, etc., ) have to be identified based on the significant impacts identified in section 4.3.1. It is not enough if the organization identifies these requirements, they also should know as to how to access them. These have to be documented.
4.3.3 is about setting objectives, targets and establishing programmes to meet the objectives/targets. This section is an important section in planning. Objectives (long term goals) have to be arrived at by considering the Environmental Policy, significant aspects, resources (money, man power, technology) available and legal and other requirements. For example based on the evaluation of aspects, the organization may identify "discharge of substance A to water" as a significant aspect. The Environmental Policy commits the organization to "prevent pollution". The organization may set an objective of "Zero discharge of substance A" to water in four years as the objective, based on information on technologies available, funding available and man-power available. Targets (short term goals) can then be set to achieve them with the available resources. For example, in the above case, the immediate target for the next year can be "reduction of discharge of A into effluent by 20 % by improving process parameters". Both Objectives and Targets have to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,Time bound).
Once Objectives and Targets have been identified the organization should establish Environmental Management Programmes (EMP) to achieve these goals. The programme should have the following characteristcs: What has to be achieved (objective) ? What is the time frame to achieve the goal ? Who is responsible for what ? What are the resources available/required for the programme ? What are milestones to be monitored ? What are the key performance indicators for monitoring and reviewing the programme ?
Environmental Management Programme helps the organization to address significant environmental issues so as to avoid risks to the organization; EMP may also provide new opportunities to the organization, like improving efficiency, reducing waste etc.
We will take up the other sections of ISO - 14001 in the next class.
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