CVEN4705

Environmental Sustainability – Methods, Tools, Management

Trimester 3 - 2020
Environmental Management Systems
(and Reporting)

Lecturer:
Ademir Prata
(ademir@unsw.edu.au) Acknowledgement: Lecture contains material from previous lectures by Ruth Fisher and Juan Pablo
Alvarez Gaitan.
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Overview

Basics of an Environmental Management System (EMS)

EMS Implementation Cycle – ISO14001
Environmental Reporting
Sustainability Reporting
Final remarks
 Basics of
Environmental Management Systems
(EMS)
What is an EMS?
On a personal level:
• “An EMS, in its simplest form, ask us to control our activities so
that any environmental impacts are minimised”.
• There are many changes we can make to our everyday lives more
sustainable.
• There are many changes we can make!
• But before adopting change, we need to be aware of the
environmental significance!
What is an EMS?
At a business level:
• “Part of an organisation’s management system used to develop
and implement its environmental policy and manage its
environmental aspects”.
• Switching off the lights in offices of a mining company?
• Use of energy and raw materials?
• Emissions to water, air and soil?
• Which environmental impacts? → We must be aware of the
environmental significance.
7

What is an EMS?
→ It is a way to manage risks.
It can be broader than what just occurs on site: it should also consider
suppliers, consumers and the wider public.
Why does a company need an EMS?

• Is the company required to comply with environmental laws and

regulations?
• Is the company looking for ways to improve their environmental
performance?
• Does the company have contractual obligations to be environmentally
efficient?
• Does the lack of resources or time prevent the company from
managing its environmental obligation effectively?
• Is the state of the company’s environmental affairs a significant
liability?
• Is the relationship between the company’s environmental goals and
other goals unclear?
Why does a company need an EMS?

Is the company required to comply with environmental laws and

regulations?
• Local Government Act
• Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act
• Protection of the Environmental Operations Act
✓ Waste disposal
✓ Incident reports
✓ Pollution licenses and approvals (Water, Air, Noise)
Suggested framework

This is an example for an

industrial complex - many
of the individual
components may already
exist.

(Moore and Scaife, 1994)

Why does a company need an EMS?

• Is the company required to comply with environmental

laws and regulations?
• Is the company looking for ways to improve their
environmental performance?
• Is the state of the company’s environmental affairs a
significant liability?
• Does the lack of resources or time prevent the company
from managing its environmental obligation effectively?
• Is the relationship between the company’s environmental
goals and other goals unclear?
Why does a company need an EMS?

• Is the company looking for ways to improve their environmental

performance?
Guidelines for EMS
Guideline for EMS design & certification
• International Organization for Standarization (ISO)
– ISO14000 series – environmental management
– ISO 14001 - requirements for an EMS
– ISO 14004 – guidelines on the development of EMS
ISO14001
• International standards (i.e. Japan, US)
• Designed primarily to improve management
• Require commitment to environmental improvement
• Can be applied to any type of organizations
EMS Implementation Cycle
(ISO14001)
 ISO 14001 implementation cycle

P → Plan
D → Do
C → Check
A → Act

Current standard 14001:2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDaNmdBPwqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spjwQX-acnA
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Context of the organisation:

• Understanding the organisation and its context
• Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
• Determining the scope of the EMS
• Environmental Management System
Leadership
• Leadership and commitment
• Environmental Policy
• Organisational roles, responsabilities and authorities
Planning
• Actions to address risks and opportunities (e.g., life cycle perspective)
• Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Context of the organisation

ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Context of the organization (stakeholders)

ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Context of the organization (scope)

→ “Defining the boundaries”

2
0

Leadership
2
1

Leadership
2
2

Leadership
• Organisational roles, responsibilities and authorities
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Planning
• Actions to address risks and opportunities (e.g., life cycle perspective)
• Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Planning
• Actions to address risks and opportunities (e.g., life cycle perspective)
• Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Environmental aspects may

include:
• Emission to air
• Releases to water
• Releases to land
• Use of raw materials and natural
resources
• Use of energy
• Energy emitted (heat)
• Generation of waste or by-products
• Others
2
6
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Support:
• Resources
• Competence
• Awareness
• Communication
• Documented information
Operation:
• Operational planning and control
• Emergency preparedness and response
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Support
• Resources (time, money, IT, specialised skills)
• Competence
• Awareness
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Support
• Communication
• Documented information (next)
ISO 14001 implementation cycle

Performance evaluation
• Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation
• Internal audit
• Management review

Improvement
• General
• Nonconformity and corrective action
• Continual improvement
44
Stages of an EMS
45

Reflection
It has been suggested that the ability of companies to set their own policy
and objectives will mean that low environmental performance will result
from implementation of ISO14001 in a company; i.e. they will take the easy
way out and set easy objectives and targets. What is your view?
46

Want a recap?

Listen to this when reviewing the lecture.

https://www.youtubef.com/watch?v=8qyqHtc4cOM
Environmental Reporting
4
8

Environmental Reporting
How do we monitor and maintain or act on the quality of our surrounding
environment?
→ We need data! → For this we need a system/format of reporting.

There are two examples of environmental reporting that we will look at:

• State of the Environment (government) uses the Drivers, Pressures, States,

Impacts (Informs) and Responses (DPSIR) Framework
• Public Environmental Reporting (companies) for companies to report on their
performance
49

State of the Environment (SoE) reports

State of the Environment Reports detail the current status/state of the environment in a
region.
It is also coupled with investigations into pressures, impacts, drivers, etc.
Usually report key areas such as:
• Atmosphere
• Built Environment
• Heritage
• Biodiversity
• Land
• Inland water
• Coasts
• Marine Environment
• Antarctic environment

Federal – Every 5 years

State – Varies, e.g.: 2 years (QLD), 3 years (NSW), 5 years (SA).
Local government – depends on region
https://vimeo.com/318680546
5
0

Environmental Reporting
The DPSIR Framework
5
1

Environmental Reporting
The DPSIR Framework
5
2

Environmental Reporting
The DPSIR Framework
5
3

Environmental Reporting
The DPSIR Framework
5
4

https://soe.environment.gov.au/
Environmental Reporting
5
5

Environmental Reporting soe.epa.nsw.gov.au.

56

Environmental Reporting (Company) How does this

relate to
Public disclosure of information about an organisation’s environmental EMS?
performance, including its impacts on the environment, its performance in
managing those impacts and its contribution to ecologically sustainable
development.
Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting
• Information about environmental, economic, social and
governance performance.
• Key platform to communicate positive and negative
sustainability impacts.
• Vital step for managing change.
• Internal and external benefits.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability
Reporting Guidelines
60

https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
Sustainability Reporting (the process)
Sustainability Reporting
Principles for defining report quality
• Accuracy
• Balance
• Clarity
• Compatibility
• Reliability
• Timeliness
Sustainability Reporting
• GRI - For environment performance indicators:
– Materials – material used by weight or volume
– Energy – consumption of primary energy
– Water – total water withdrawal by source
– Biodiversity – location and size of land owned
– Emissions, effluents and waste
– Product and services
– Compliance – monetary value of significant fines
– Transport – environmental impact from transporting
64

Concepts covered today – Final remarks

Environmental Management Strategy (EMS)
Businesses to Plan → Do → Check → Act
How the company operates without harming the environment

Environmental Reporting
Countries, states, (councils?) – DPSIR framework
Environmental drivers, pressures, status, impacts and Reponses in an area
Companies
Environmental performance

Sustainability Reporting
Businesses
How the company approaches sustainability (not only environment)