What do you call your EMS?
October 12, 2011 at 11:10 am 1 comment
Megan Lum
It’s cliché, I know, to say that change is constant. But it’s so true and I try to remind myself to remain open and flexible. At Pacific Gas & Electric, we continue to make significant changes to our business to better serve our customers. One of the changes we are currently trying to implement in our environmental organization is a re-imagining of our environmental management system (EMS) – leveraging the strengths of some elements, while boosting the effectiveness of others. We’re using a cross-functional team to work on this, including having frequent meetings with various stakeholders.
During one of those stakeholder meetings, we had a brainstorming session on “What do we do to ensure a successful, sustainable EMS?” The conversation was quite animated, and one comment struck me: “If you want this to be sustainable, don’t call it an EMS when you roll it out to people.”
This brought a lot of head nodding. If EMS was introduced as a grand new program, it may come across as yet another corporate initiative, which could be an impediment to making it a truly sustainable program.
I’ve seen success on both sides of that coin. I’ve implemented EMS programs where all the elements of an ISO 14001 program were present, but it wasn’t officially called an EMS. Everything was introduced as part of the environmental program, and employees incorporated environmental practices into work processes and job descriptions as part of the slowly changing culture. Everything was there, but it just didn’t have a specific name.
On the other hand, sometimes rolling out an EMS as a specific program can be a benefit – particularly if a company is working toward it as a stated goal. Having a goal of getting an EMS ISO 14001-certified can bring employees together, encourage teamwork, and drive culture change faster than a more subtle approach.
We’re still in the re-imagining process, so it will be interesting to see which path we choose.
What do you call your EMS?
Megan Lum, P.E. is the Manager for Shared Facilities and Environmental Operations, at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. In this capacity she is privileged to lead a team of about 30 professionals, who provide environmental compliance support for the company’s gas and electric distribution, fleet, materials management and real estate operations. She is a member of NAEM’s Board of Regents and will be participating in NAEM’s EHS Management Forum as a speaker in the Management of Change session.
Entry filed under: EHS Management, EHS Policy, EHS Skills, Uncategorized. Tags: EHS, EHS Management, EMS, Environmental Management, environmental management software, Environmental Management Systems.
1.
Dennis Cornish | October 14, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Nothing fancy, no flash, just plain and simple, we call it EDMS, (Environmental Database Management System). It incorporates so much and allows flexibility as a tool for data collection, record keeping and report writing for each element that comprises Environmental Management. This covers the gammet of Air, Water, Hazardous Waste, GHG emissions, Soil, Sustainability, SARA Form R and Tier II, Process Validation, automated e-mail alerts, links to production planning, etc., etc.
EDMS is simple and doesn’t restrict or limit it’s functionality to someone’s perception of what it’s name or title seems to convey. The name is timeless, and new programs and elements can readily be folded in, and therefore sustainable.