LowCGen

Given the nature of our business we naturally have a passion for issues surrounding the environment. We are already aware of the benefits of having an Environmental Management System (EMS), as highlighted in our previous article, and have an understanding of how to conduct and measure environmental impacts.

We have prepared a guide for Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) giving advice about how to implement an EMS based on our own ongoing experiences, which we aim to keep regularly updated. Based on a similar structure recommended by the ISO 14001 guidlines it is divided into the following sections:

• Environmental Policy
• Environmental Audit
• Plan of Action
• Measurements and records
• Review and amendments

All these processes should work in a cycle of continual improvement whereby the system is regularly reviewed and new methods are introduced.

We have also tried to include a rough time guide where possible for each area of the EMS, although this will obviously vary from business to business depending on size and availability of resources.

The results of our EMS will be published in a short report, which we will upload to our website. This report will also highlight any challenges we have faced and how we have overcome these as well as updates of how the EMS is progressing with measurements of its success.