EMS

An EMS is a way of building care for the environment into commercial management strategies. It can be applied to all businesses, small, medium or large and can be accredited to BS 8555, ISO 14001, or EMAS standards. Its aim is to develop continual improvements in environmental performance that can be demonstrated and measured to achieve better commercial performance.

What makes a good EMS?

Critical success factors for an effective EMS are:

Ø Top level management support;

Ø Strategies that are fully integrated into the organisations commercial plans and policies;

Ø Thorough identification and evaluation of all environmental impacts caused by the organisation;

Ø Clear, stated, attainable targets and objectives, which are communicated to all stakeholders;

Ø Compliance with all relevant legislation, regulations and codes of practice;

Ø Continual improvement of practice, not just procedures;

Ø Delivery of financial and resource management benefits;

Ø Transparent, easily communicated, empirical evidence of all the above points.

What are the benefits of implementing an EMS?

The key benefits are:

v Lower operating costs/savings	v Improved brand reputation
v Greater productivity	v Improves staff loyalty
v Regulatory compliance	v Improved customer loyalty
v Better risk management	v Improved investor loyalty
v Better access to capital	v Improved profitability

The first stage is to evaluate your existing performance. Only when you know the specific Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) for your business can you prepare a strategy for improvement. This is the stage where businesses benefit most from impartial, expert help. Many businesses find that their existing practices and procedures require very little change to achieve great improvements.

J Williams & Associates are able to guide you through this preliminary review, and can tailor a service to suit your needs perfectly.

Call today on 01491 872837, or email asking us to contact you, and find out more about what you can do to improve your profits and help the environment.