What is an Environmental Management System?
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS)
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a mechanism for managing the environmental impacts of an organization's activities. The implementation of an EMS is essentially a voluntary initiative. An EMS provides a structured approach to the planning and implementation of environment protection procedures. The EMS incorporates a management system into daily operations that include long term planning and other quality management systems.
An EMS can be a powerful tool for organizations to both improve their environmental performance and enhance their business efficiency. An EMS is not prescriptive, rather it requires organizations to take an active role in examining their practices, and then determine how their impacts should best be managed. This approach encourages creative and relevant solutions from within the organization itself.
Likewise, organizations can use an EMS program to ensure their performances are within regulatory requirements. Also, it keeps organizations prepared for more stringent regulations which might be introduced in the future.
An EMS program assists Missouri S&T in the following way:
- minimizes environmental liabilities
- maximizes the efficient use of resources
- reduces waste
- demonstrates a good public image locally and around the globe
- builds awareness of environmental concern among employees
- gains a better understanding of the environmental impacts of business activities
- increases profit, improving environmental performance through more efficient operation.