Major Lessons Learned Implementing ISO 14001 is Feasible in a Wide Variety of Or

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Major Lessons Learned

Implementing ISO 14001 is Feasible in a Wide Variety of Organizations

The experience of the Demonstration Project suggests that an EMS based on ISO 14001 can be

implemented in a wide variety of organizations, but varying amounts of guidance and assistance

are required for different organizations. The main factors that seem to determine an

organization's ability to implement an EMS are (1) its experience with EMS, ISO 9000, or other

management system concepts; (2) the level of commitment from its top management; and (3) the

resources available to the organization to develop the necessary procedures and documentation.

Whereas some organizations might be able to implement most ISO 14001 elements in a short

time-frame (e.g., one year) with limited outside guidance, others might require much more time

and a substantial level of guidance. SMEs, in particular, will likely require more guidance and

take longer to complete EMS implementation than large organizations. All project participants

found that a significant level of effort was required, regardless of how fast implementation

occurred or how much outside guidance was used.

Although notable progress on EMS implementation was made over the course of the

Demonstration Project, it is not clear how many participants will eventually become registered to

ISO 14001 or attempt to implement further elements of the Standard following the project. Since

it will likely take some participants two or more years to implement ISO 14001, follow-up on

these organizations would be needed to determine the time and effort that was ultimately

required.

Since the organizations in the project participated voluntarily, they might be inclined to be more

successful with EMS implementation than an average sample of U.S. organizations. However,

the wide variety of organizations in the project, and the significant differences among them in their

abilities to make progress on EMS implementation, provide confidence that the findings from the

project reflect what would be the experience of a large cross-section of U.S. organizations that

might attempt to implement ISO 14001.

EMS Implementation Can Bring Concrete Internal Benefits

Project participants reported many benefits from EMS implementation that were not market- or

trade-related, including enhanced environmental awareness, improved documentation, and

pollution prevention. These benefits were realized within the one year time-frame of the project,

and before any of the organizations had attained registration or complete implementation. This

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suggests that there are many reasons other than the market and trade benefits of registration to

implement the ISO 14001 Standard.

Independent Assessments Can Provide an Important Check on Self-Assessments

The results of the independent EMS assessments suggest that organizations might have the

tendency to evaluate their systems higher than would independent auditors. This may be

particularly true for Objectives and targets and the Environmental management program.

The findings from the independent assessments may also have important implications for the

concept of "self-declaration," in which an organization would declare itself to be in conformance

with the ISO 14001 Standard rather than receive an independent audit from a registrar. The

distinction between self-declaration and registration does becomes smaller if the self-declaration is

based on an objective audit from a consultant; however, consultants are not required by

accreditation bodies to maintain objectivity in audits or to have specified qualifications for

conducting EMS audits.

Please provide your thought about this article? 250

Explanation / Answer

Key points in the case:

1. EMS is an Environmental management system. It is set of practices and processes that enable an organization to reduce its environmental degradation and also increases its operational efficiency.

EMS Can be implemented in various organizations but with varying amounts of guidance and assistance.

Factors determining organizations ability to implement EMS are

a) its experience with EMS -ISO 9000 which was also a efficient management practice earlier.

b) Level of commitment from top mgnt

c) Resources to develop necessary documentation and procedures.

Time required to successfully implement EMS- IS0 14001 is different for different organizations. Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) take longer period of time.

It is voluntary to implement this EMS and hence more likely to be successful.

As this is being implemented all over the country vast data showing potential problems and its effective solutions is likely to come out. This will make EMS even better.

Benefits of EMS-ISO14001:

a) Not trade related but environmentally it can make business sustainable and more efficient.

b) It will improve business practices

c)It is monitored and hence assessments can reflect upon the loopholes if any.

However, businesses often inflate their achievements and hence independent aseessment is necessary. Consultants who advice firms to implement ISO 14001 can be objective in their asessment to reduce independent aseessment.

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