The term environmental management is a concept that you have probably heard lately, especially in work or business environments. There are a lot of things to say about environmental management, which is more important every day due to the ecological crisis that we already suffered.
In this ecology article, we will see what are the most important and basic ideas to take into account when talking about this aspect, as for examples What is environmental managementthe types of systems for this management, the ISO 14001 and work standard.
What is environmental management – definition
The Environmental Management It is the strategy or action plan with which it tries to organize the entire series of human activities so that they impact as little as possible on the environment, thus seeking sustainable development and a balance between the economic and material interests of the human being, and Environmental Conservationwithout which we cannot survive.
Environmental management covers a large number of areas, among which the following 7:
- Environmental policy
- Territorial planning
- Environmental Impact Evaluation
- Pollution
- Wild life
- Environmental Education
- Landscape
Environmental management can be applied from companies to societies, and its objectives are reduce the impact of human activity on naturerespect and favor biodiversity, implement the environmental factor between the competitiveness lines of companies and improve legislation and social awareness.
Obviously, pursuing these objectives has a cost in human and material resources that not all companies or governments are willing to assume, this being the main problem that environmental management faces.
What is ISO 14001
ISO 14001 is a standard belonging to the series of ISO 14000 standardsthat cover different aspects of the environment. The ISO 14001 It was published in 1996, and is an international standard of environmental management, which defines how to establish a good environmental management system.
It is a voluntary standard, which is implanted or not depending on the interests of each organization, and its main objective is to prevent pollution to support environmental conservation.
The Benefits that companies receive for adopting ISO 14001 They are diverse, among which are:
- The improvement of the company’s reputation, being able to announce based on the conservation of the environment.
- The savings of costs that can be a correct management of waste, in addition to proper use of resources and energies, which can make processes more expensive when they are not optimized.
- In addition, at the legal level, a company that can certify that meets the requirements of ISO 14001 can receive bonuses or avoid fines based on the regulations of the country in which it is located.
Types of environmental management systems
There are several types of Environmental Management Systemsalso called SGMA.
- The formal ones, as we have just seen, are the ones that follow the ISO 14001
- Other standardized SGMA can choose to follow the EMAS Standard (Community Regulation of Eco -Management and EcoAuditoria). This is a regulation, also of a voluntary nature, established by the European Union and updated in 2009, to recognize the companies or organizations that have established an SGMA and a commitment to improve. The main difference between EMAS and ISO 14001 is the international character of the last one, while the first affects only the member countries of the European Union.
- Finally, there are informal SGMAs, which are those that are carried out through an environmental and internal management course, seeking to minimize waste production and energy consumption.
Environmental Management Works
There are a lot of actions and measures that can be applied to the Environmental Management Plan of a company, regardless of the size of this. Obviously, large companies have much more to save and improve before an appropriate environmental management plan, but small businesses have an equally important responsibility, and also some remarkable advantages to obtain.
Some examples of this are the following:
- Replacing outdoors or outbreaks of low consumption is very common, but we are not always aware of the great electricity savings that can be assumed annually for a company. Sometimes more powerful lighting is used than the really necessary, which is a very high expense compared to the cost of updating it.
- Minimizing the production of waste and waste is another factor that may seem superfluous, but it can mean great savings when having to get rid of these waste.
- Respecting selective collection regulations is also very important, and we must remember that it is also a legal obligation.
- Carrying out proper management of these tasks cited can be a great economic savings and legal problems, in addition to resulting in a benefit to the environment.
In addition, the works related to environmental management They are all those that enter the aforementioned areas, which we remember here:
- Environmental policy
- Territorial planning
- Environmental Impact Evaluation
- Pollution
- Wild life
- Environmental Education
- Landscape
If you want to read more articles similar to What is environmental managementwe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.
