Environmental management systems

The purpose of this module is to provide you with an understanding of and insight into safety, health, environmental and quality management.

The aim of this module is to provide you with the necessary information and activities to enable you to:

8. Interpret SHEQ management by:

8.1  Comprehending environmental management systems.

8.2  Recognising environmental hazards.

8.3  Interpreting the evaluation and controlling of environmental aspects and hazards.

8.4  Comprehending ISO 14001 environmental management system requirements.

8.5  Interpreting the implementation of quality management.

8.6 Comprehending ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standards.

8.7 Interpreting the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety System Standards.

An environmental protection programme can be most effectively managed if it is supported by the site’s safety and health systems.   

Few can argue against protecting the environment.  The challenge we face is not accepting our need to care for the environment, but deciding how to care for it.  We believe the best way to care for the environment is to have effective management systems in place to prevent environmental incidents from occurring in the first place.  

In researching materials for this module, it was clear that there is an abundance of literature on regulatory or compliance issues and environmental engineering approaches – but a virtual vacuum of information about how to manage an overall environmental protection system.   

The approach taken in this module is to consider the environment as a living entity – a thing not unlike human beings, with interdependent systems.  These systems have to be healthy and in harmony to ensure a healthy environment exists.  

This module presents a recognition, evaluation and control approach to managing an environmental protection programme, just like that used in an industrial hygiene programme.  Wherever possible, practical hands-on methods and techniques for controlling environmental hazards are presented as opposed to engineering and technical approaches.

The table in the next page illustrates the environmental issues influencing external groups, such as:

• Financial parties.
• Neighbouring communities.
• Media
• Environmental advocacy groups.
• Governmental and regulatory bodies, and others.

It is obvious there are a great many factors encouraging a site to have effective environmental protection programmes.

Aside from being perceived as the right thing to do, a good environmental protection programme controls:

• Claims
• Reduces clean-up and spill mitigation costs.
• Reduces legal fees.
• Controls fines and penalties, and
• Reduces insurance costs.

Operating costs can also be reduced by having an effective environmental protection programme due to reducing the amount of resources consumed and waste generated.

The table below lists benefits of good environmental management systems.

This module introduces practical ways to manage a site’s environmental protection efforts.  These practical methods are compatible with other efforts a site might use to manage safety and health programmes as well. 

Commonalties focus on work needed to manage the control of incidents and include such things as:

• Leadership and planning.
• Employee training and education.
• Proper procedures and processes.
• Inspecting the worksite.
• Incident investigation systems.
• Hazard identification processes.
• Corrective action systems.
• Change management processes.
• Control of contractors and purchases.
• Formal auditing programmes.

In addition to the common elements, practical experience shows that managing a safety and health programme well brings direct benefits to the environmental protection programme.

In the context of this course, an Accident-type incident is an unplanned event which results in harm.  In a SHEQ system harm can occur to people, property, processes or the environment. 

This definition includes all types of harm, not just injuries and illnesses.  In addition, an accident results from contact with energy or substances above the threshold limit of the body, structure or the environment.  These basic concepts complement one another and support safety and health as well as environmental protection systems.

A systems approach is the most effective way to manage the control of incidents, both accidents and near-misses.  When moving toward the systems needed to prevent substandard acts and substandard conditions from occurring and away from the specific act and condition that caused an incident, the processes begin to have a great deal in common.

Safety, health and environmental protection have a great deal in common, including the core activities of recognising, evaluating and implementing controls to correct or eliminate the hazards that lead to environmental incidents.