ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

As a result of increasing demand for maintaining and improving the quality of the environment and protecting health, organizations of all sizes started to turn their attention to the environmental impacts of their activities, products or services. The environmental performance of an organization started to gain increasing importance to all interested parties. Environmental Management System (EMS) is a systematic approach to control environmental aspects.

WHAT IS ISO 14001?

The standard set by the International Standards Organisation, which specifies the requirements of an environmental management system, which can be integrated, with other management requirements, to assist organisations to achieve environmental and economic goals. The overall aim of ISO 14001 is to support environmental protection and prevention of pollution in balance with socio-economic needs.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT ISO 14001?

The most important stage of establishing an environmental management system is to define environmental aspects of the organization and then develop ways and means to control their impacts.

Besides commitment to legislation and continual improvement in environmental policy; ISO 14001 does not have any absolute requirement for performance. ISO 14001 covers the management of organization and is based on "Plan- Do- Check -Act" model.

Stages following the commitment of upper management to environmental management system are:

1. Defining environmental policy
2. Planning
3. Implementation and Operation
4. Checking and Corrective Action
5. Management Review


USEFUL LINKS

http://www.tse.org.tr/Turkish/KaliteYonetimi/iso14000index.asp

http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/iso9000-14000