|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Environmental instrumentsManagement systems Environmental management systemsEnvironmental management system (EMS) is part of the overall management system that includes organisational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy. EMS always looks for continuous improvement and the systemic approach means a circle of "Plan, Do, Check, Act" since improvement is never ending!
There are a number of standards available, around which you can model your Environmental Management System. On the international scene there is ISO14001 . At the European level EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) exists. Some countries have also defined their own environmental management systems, e.g. in Austria ECOPROFIT, or in Germany the PREMA system. Yet these systems have managed to cross borders and become more and more known internationally.
GHK enables small and medium-sized enterprises to independently and with low external support achieve the following:
GHK thus creates a basis for further-reaching activities in the field of environmental management. Good Housekeeping has simple beneficial characteristics, incl. having none or little need for investment costs and external consulting, the impact on reducing costs and improving safety and worker's health protection etc. The concept of Good Housekeeping is related to the notion of reducing outputs of production not directly related to the final product (non-product outputs - NPOs). The areas of company's activities consisting various checkpoints are material efficiency, storage and handling, energy, health and safety, water and wastewater, waste. Improving company's activities in those areas bring about economic gains as well as environmental benefits.  A useful link is the Good Housekeeping Guide (GHK)
Ecolabels are voluntary schemes designed to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment and fto make it easier for consumers - including public and private purchasers - to identify them. Many different logos, labelling and certification schemes have been devised by individual trading nations, the European Union, non-governmental organisations and industry groups. Ecolabels are environmental labels which can be divided into three groups:
Ecolabels can be applied to final products and to raw materials. Ecolabels can be also applied to printed products as well as to raw material – paper.
Eco-design is applicable only for those companies, which are “authors of a final product” – e.g. companies, which develop a product and also produce it, potentially, outsourcing some parts. For those companies, which are sub-contractors – e.g. process only parts or details of the end products or are subcontracted only for a part pf the whole operation, eco-design, is not really applicable. Ecodesign is based of the concept of life-cycle analysis (LCA) and when applying it the producer has to look at sustainable management aspects of its raw material as well as the packaging and use phase of the product, including all the steps between. There are eight strategies for ecodesign that can be used both separately and simultaneously:
Ecodesign has benefits both for the environment as well as company's economic performance. Economic drivers for implementing ecodesign activities are:
There are external factors as well:
A useful link for ecodesign is www.learn-ecodesign.net
"Green" public procurement stands for public purchasers who take into account environmental elements when buying products or requesting for services and construction, maintenance/repair works. It is a way for governments to take part in promoting a healthy environment. "Green" products mean: reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, limit toxic by-products, contain recycled content or are reusable. It will be relevant also for furniture/metal/printing companies producing for the government - furniture for offices, schools, kindergardens, constructions, staircase, ramps for disabled people, parts for benches in parks, paper, printed matter for offices, etc. Possible criteria may include next aspects:
Example 1: a community planning to purchase fences and street furniture might require materials such as wood from environmentally sustainable managed forests or synthetic materials made from recycled raw material. Example 2: timber purchase: the following criteria can be used in the technical specifications of a contract that is sustainable in environmental terms:
Example 3: a community planning to accquire notebooks for children would like to get them made from recycled paper and printed with vegetable based printing inks.. Example 4: the Forest ministry planning its annual report would like to get it made from FSC labelled paper and printed causing low VOC emissions (… g) per printed unit. Example 5: long lasting and easy to move parts for benches in parks. Example 6: easy to dissamble staircase for kindergarten, in order to be able to make playground for them.
The useful links:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Environmental instruments for advanced performance
TOP
