1. Preparation
- Consult and involve all staff at an early stage. This may include discussion and training sessions on environmental issues to encourage involvement and better awareness and understanding.
- Identify staff with knowledge/expertise/understanding of environmental issues within the company.
- Assign responsibility to one member of staff or a team.
- Identify external expertise and support e.g. Enterprise Ireland provide funding towards meeting the costs of hiring an external consultant to assist in the installation of an EMS.
- Identify environmental objectives to be achieved.
- Develop an environmental action plan to achieve these environmental objectives.
2. Identifying the Environmental Impacts
Before a company can begin to better manage its environmental impacts it must first identify and quantify the issues. An environmental audit will help identify the key environmental impacts of company activities. This may include:
- Raw materials used, e.g. use of nonrenewable resources and hazardous chemicals.
- The production process, e.g. waste generated, air, noise and water emissions.
- Distribution of goods e.g. fossil fuels used in transport of raw materials and final product.
- Use of final products, e.g. what packaging is necessary.
- End of life, e.g. collection, recycling and disposal.
As you undertake your environmental audit you should also consider:
- Your environmental legal obligations
- Market and financial pressures for improving environmental performance, e.g. have any of your competitors achieved certification to the international EMS standard ISO 14001?
3. Opportunities to prevent and minimise environmental impacts
Set realistic objectives and targets for improving your environmental performance as part of an action plan.
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