Pollution Prevention and Environmental Management Systems EMSs

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Pollution Prevention and Environmental Management
Systems(EMSs)

• Presentation to the Anhui Delegation
• November 9, 2007

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Overview of Presentation

• What is Pollution Prevention (P2)
• What is an EMS?
• What standards are used to audit EMSs?
• What are the benefits and common problems
  associated with EMS implementation?
• How does MDE promote EMSs?
• What is the future of EMSs?
• Todays EMS site visits

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What is Pollution Prevention (P2)?

• Pollution Prevention aims to reduce or eliminate
  pollution at the source rather than through
  control and treatment technologies at the end of
  a process.

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P2 Techniques

• Process efficiency improvements
• Material substitution
• Inventory control
• Preventative maintenance
• Improved housekeeping
• In-process recycling
• Waste exchanges with other companies
• Water and energy conservation
• Re-design of products to reduce life-cycle costs
• Employee training
• Consumer education

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How does MDE promote P2?

• Free on-site technical assistance
• Recognition

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What is an EMS?

• An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set
  of procedures used by an organization to address
  both regulated and unregulated environmental
  impacts.

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• Examples of Regulated Environmental Impacts
• Business activities that
• discharge to state waters
• release certain air pollutants
• treat and dispose wastes
• Business and citizen activities that affect
  wetlands or disturb more than one acre of land
• Vehicle emissions
• Some consumer products

• Examples of Unregulated Environmental Impacts
• Energy use
• Water use
• Amount of waste disposed of and recycled
• Natural resource use
• Some building codes and performance
• Citizen activities pesticide use, use and
  disposal of household hazardous wastes
• Some consumer products with environmental impacts

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What standards are used to audit EMSs?

• ISO 14001 International Organization for
  Standardization. Published in 1996 and revised
  in 2004.
• EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. Used in
  the European Union. Published in 1985.
• Responsible Care International Council of
  Chemical Associations. Published in 1985 and
  used by chemical associations in 52 countries.

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The Plan-Do-Check-Act Model of Continual
Improvement
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EMS Elements

• Policy Statement Defined by top management and
  communicated to all employees. Includes
  commitments to continual improvement and to
  pollution prevention. (Pollution prevention is
  the elimination or reduction of waste prior to
  treatment, disposal or recycling.)
• Identification of Significant Aspects The
  exercise of listing and prioritizing all
  environmental impacts (regulated and unregulated)
  of an organizations products, activities and
  services can lead to the identification of
  potential liabilities and cost savings.

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EMS Elements

• Legal and Other Requirements Identify all
  applicable legal requirements and periodically
  evaluate compliance.
• Objectives and Targets Consider significant
  aspects and set goals and measurable targets.
  Responsibilities, means and time frames are also
  established.
• Structure and responsibility Define roles and
  responsibilities.

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EMS Elements

• Training Ensures employees are capable of
  performing their environmental responsibilities.
• Communication Improves quality of responses on
  environmental performance to external interested
  parties.
•  Documentation The documentation of procedures
  provides continuity through personnel changes.
•  Emergency Preparedness and Response Identifies
  gaps in the identification of potential
  emergencies and planned responses to them

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EMS Elements

• Monitoring and Measurement Data can reveal both
  problems and opportunities. Positive results can
  help maintain motivation for continuing certain
  practices and unexpected high costs can lead to
  the identification of cost-saving solutions.
• Corrective Action Procedures provide the
  structure to fix problems. Incidents are seen as
  a problem with the system as opposed to an
  individual employee and encourage root-cause
  analysis.
• EMS Auditing A regular schedule of both
  internal and external auditing keeps your EMS on
  course and provides a fresh perspective on your
  program.

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EMS Elements

• Management Review A regular schedule for upper
  management review of the EMS helps to create or
  maintain a higher visibility for the
  environmental program and an opportunity to
  highlight successes as well as resource and other
  needs.

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What are the benefits of an EMS?

• Instills a proactive approach to environmental
  management.
• Facility-wide review of environmental aspects
  helps identify areas of liability that may not be
  regulated.
• Establishes a cycle of activities that keeps a
  facility on a path of continuous improvement and
  ensures that no environmental issues are
  overlooked.
• Promotes pollution prevention projects, which
  can generate cost savings (e.g. energy and water
  conservation, waste reduction).
• More effective targeting of scarce environmental
  management resources
• Enhances communication and image among
  stakeholders

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What are the benefits of an EMS?

• Useful to organizations that must coordinate
  environmental programs at multiple locations or
  with on-site contractors.
• Incidents are seen as a problem with the system
  not an individual. Encourages root-cause
  analysis.
• Promotes two-way communication with employees
  which encourages them to report problems or
  suggest solutions.

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What are some common problems associated with EMS
implementation?

• If more effort is put into the development of EMS
  procedures than into implementation, it runs the
  risk of being just a paperwork exercise.
• If there is not enough support from upper
  management, EMS implementation can lose momentum
  and resource support.
• EMSs should not be used to cover up a weak
  compliance program. A strong compliance program
  must be the baseline for EMS implementation.
• If the EMS procedures are not institutionalized,
  the program may be associated with just one or
  two people and then fail when there are personnel
  changes.

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MDEs EMS Program

• MDE offers a free six-month program to assist
  Maryland manufacturers in implementing an EMS
• 34 companies have completed program
• 9 have registered to ISO 14001
• Surveys from 18 of the companies reported
  7,501,225 pounds of waste reduction in the first
  year of implementation at a cost savings of
  109,440.

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Environmental impacts addressed by the companies
in their EMSs

• Increased electric power use efficiency
• Eliminated hazardous material in products
• Reduced gasoline usage
• Reduced water usage
• Reduced solid waste
• Reduced waste oil
• Started plastic and cardboard recycling
• Repaired leaks in compressed air system
• Improved efficiency in mixing product

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Environmental Impacts Addressed by these
Companies in their EMS

• Improved spill containment
• Recycled electronics
• Recycled waste water
• Improved lighting efficiency
• Reduced fire exposure
• Improved efficiency of waste water treatment
• Improved safety procedures
• Reduced stormwater runoff

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Future of EMSs

• ISO 14001 requires communication with suppliers,
  encouraging them to implement EMSs. This helps
  to expand implementation of EMSs.
• The U.S. federal government requires the
  implementation of EMSs at all facilities where
  appropriate.
• EPA and many states provide incentives for
  facilities with EMSs that are top performers.
• EPA and many states require EMSs as part of
  enforcement actions.
• The increase in the development of new chemical
  compounds and technologies makes it hard for
  regulators to keep up. EMSs can help address
  this.
• EMS can by used to help address important
  unregulated impacts such as greenhouse gas
  emissions.

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1800 Washington Boulevard Baltimore, MD
21230-1718410-537-3000 TTY Users
1-800-735-2258www.mde.state.md.us
Maryland Department of the Environment
Laura ArmstrongPollution Prevention
CoordinatorMaryland Department of the
Environmentlarmstrong_at_mde.state.md.us(410)
537-4119