Protecting the Environment
With the media devoting more and more space to the environmental sustainability of Planet Earth environmental issues are now high on almost everyone's agenda, whether it's the government, business enterprises, or the consumer. It is clear that we are using up resources at an unsustainable rate and the result is the ever increasing pressure to conserve what we have left.

Big picture issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, international carbon trading and rainforest preservation are generally seen as being in the realm of governments to deal with, but there is a need for action at all levels, right down to consumers using energy efficient light bulbs for example.

Small to medium sized businesses have a considerable part to play here given that SMEs comprise a very significant proportion of UK businesses. There is little doubting that governments will continue to impose more and more stringent environmental controls on businesses relating to their emissions, resource usage, waste disposal, product end of life issues etc. and this is likely to add even more "red tape" to those smaller businesses that already suffer high levels of workplace legislation.

There is therefore a good case for implementing common sense environmental controls voluntarily as a means of delaying or even preventing the onset of further Government legislation, and this type of approach does have some history of working.

Responding to media and growing consumer and employee pressure the larger corporations are necessarily looking at ways of being seen as more environmentally friendly and thereby enhancing their "green" credentials. This approach can and should be taken on also by SMEs, and as well benefiting the environment can also provide more direct benefits in terms of potential costs savings.

Waste has historically simply been dumped in a hole in the ground, but this is no longer sustainable and more imaginative ways of reducing or eliminating landfill are being developed resulting in the growth of recycling industries and other opportunities. Waste can be regarded as a resource that can be re-used and profited from.

Usage of resources is another area where we can not only help the environment, but accrue potential cost savings. Money can be saved just by switching off lights when not in use and harvesting rainwater for example.

ISO 14001 offers the means of helping with all of these issues by providing a framework that any organisation can use to help progressively improve its environmental performance. The main benefits derived from certification to ISO 14001 include:

• The means of promoting an organisation's Green credentials
• The increasing requirement for successful tendering for new business
• Providing a framework for identifying related cost savings
• Prompting more imaginative re-use or recycling of waste
• Encouraging the analysis of supply chain environmental impacts
• Assisting with the simple altruistic aim to improve the environment

If you want more specific information about using ISO 14001 in your organisation, just email or call for an informal discussion, or even just for some advice.

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Brian Mead, Business Improvement Services
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