Environmental Management Systems (EMS) for Retail
EMS – a proven approach to ensuring compliance and advancing performance
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are a widely used, systematic, yet flexible approach to managing compliance and improving environmental performance. The RCC's EMS e-book shows how an EMS can be customized for retail operations and provides a roadmap for creating or evaluating a retail environmental compliance program. It also includes tools to help in implementing a full retail EMS or evaluating a compliance program.
This e-book is based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 standard for environmental management, which follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of continuous improvement. This resource can be used to optimize an existing EMS, pull compliance programs into an EMS framework, or to develop a new EMS. However, the material can also be used to design or evaluate a compliance program without implementing an entire EMS.
Getting Started
This module introduces EMS concepts, explains how retail operations fit into the EMS structure, and covers the steps to successfully implementing or optimizing an EMS.
Plan Module
Covers the planning steps for building an EMS including the Scope & Policy; Environmental Aspects; Legal and Other Requirements; Objectives and Targets; and Environmental Programs.
Do Module
This module presents the processes needed to implement an EMS including Roles and Responsibilities; Training; Communications; Documentation and Controls and Emergency Planning.
Check Module
This final module covers how to monitor results and make adjustments to improve performance over time including Monitoring and Evaluation; Nonconformance; Records; EMS Audits; and Management Review.
Sample Procedures
This file contains sample EMS Procedures that can be modified to fit specific situations.
Act
We did not forget an "Act Module." In the Plan-Do-Check- Act cycle, information on results and effectiveness from the Check step is used to adjust the EMS to improve performance. To keep your EMS relevant and effective, periodically revisit the Plan and Do modules and update your EMS as needed.
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