Environmental Management System (EMS) Standard

Environmental Management System (EMS) Standard

Signs of expansion in the support business for ISO 14001 certified sites. Currently, the number of ISO 14001 certified sites in Japan has exceeded 5,500, with another 200 sites obtaining certification each month. While acquisition of certification is flourishing, the reality is that many sites do not know what exactly to do after acquisition, or are having trouble finding the benefits of certification. Some of them even say they want to return the certification. The number of consulting services to take care of such certified sites is gradually increasing.

The reason for this is that, when establishing an EMS, the system for the purpose of obtaining ISO 14001 certification and registration for audit has taken precedence, and there is a lack of consideration for the specific operation of the EMS. Many of the consultants who provide support are, in other words, "documenters" and "manualists," and many of them only work with clerical and mechanical systems and do not suggest ways to improve environmental impact after certification, and in many cases, they still do not go beyond the scope of internal site pollution control. The consultants also focus on creating manuals for certification, and as a result, the EMS they have built and introduced has no substance, and the P.D.C.A. does not work. Environmental policies are similar, and if the name of the site is withheld, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which site it is.

A few days ago, a person in charge of a certified site consulted with us about the proper disposal of wood waste from the site. According to him, they used to burn that waste in an incinerator, but now they have to improve it in line with the recycling rate they have set as a target. But we don't know how to do that. One way is to incinerate it and recover the heat, another is to turn it into MDF, and carbonization is also possible. There are many options for recycling, and they do not know what they should do in terms of environmental efficiency. He also pointed out the delay in employee training for the continuous operation of the EMS, and concrete issues are becoming apparent at sites that have acquired ISO 14001 certification. Taking care of such certified sites is a viable business.