OVERVIEW

Environmental Management System (EMS) environmental and social accountability management systems are designed to manage regulatory compliance issues and minimize non-regulatory exposures to risk. This approach can be used to affirmatively demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements and, beyond that, provide a practical approach for diligent management of the environmental and human risks and impacts associated with business activities. The approach and the level of EMS Network involvement can be adapted to meet the specific needs of organizations with environmental programs and social responsibility in almost any stage of development — from companies with no defined programs scrambling to avoid enforcement action, to those with aggressive and innovative "beyond compliance" programs which are promoted as company marketing tools. The precise purposes an organization wants its system to serve will substantially define that organization's system.

Common purposes include:

• Compliance management
• Documentation of diligence
• Independent monitoring and verification
• Reduction of risk -- minimizing exposures to potential regulatory and civil liability
• Demonstrating an appropriate "standard of care" (This has particular relevance for international operations of US companies, where US regulation may not have extraterritorial reach, but the "standard of care" may be applied to extraterritorial operations.)
• Investigation and resolution of potential liability issues under protection of attorney-client privilege
• Cost control
• Demonstration of environmental and social responsibility or excellence — to regulators and / or private market
• Demonstration of environmental stewardship in the supply chain (e.g., to commercial / industrial purchasers of products or services)
• Evaluation points in government procurement bids
• Response to external criticism (public interest groups, media, etc.)

The approach we follow may be tailored to suit the organization's purposes and the level of development of its existing environmental program(s). A principal tenet of our approach is that, while we have the expertise to help an organization identify issues and develop appropriate resolutions, it is the organization that is best situated to identify its problems and that must, in the end, achieve the desired level of performance. In light of this, we emphasize training of the company personnel who will be responsible for seeing that the work of the system gets accomplished.

The various purposes to which the approaches can be adapted are illustrated below.

Establishing an Environmental Management System (EMS)
By now most mid-sized and large companies have some sort of environmental management program(s) in place. In many instances, these programs have developed ad hoc to meet perceived needs as they have arisen. Elements of a program may not have been maintained after they were initially developed, relationships to other environmental activities or program elements may not have been well defined, and significant gaps in coverage may persist. Our approach evaluates whether and how we can work from the existing pieces to provide the basis for development of a functional system, with its elements integrated to achieve performance objectives efficiently and consistently — where certification can be achieved if desired.

Enhancing an existing EMS
Where a reasonably well functioning EMS is currently in place, but the company would like to enhance the program to minimize exposures to liability or to promote the company's environmental image, we follow steps similar to those outlined above, but with a higher "bar" in mind. For more developed programs, in addition to regulatory issues, the emphasis tends to be on effective functioning of the system, engagement of upper level management, and, where desired, "outreach" — relations with agencies, the community and legitimate interested third parties and corporate ratings organizations, such as the Council on Economic Priorities and Businesses for Social Responsibility. In addition to general "fine-tuning," we can help companies in this category to add cutting-edge elements to their systems, such as annual environmental reporting methodologies, environmental advisory boards, stakeholder outreach methodology, or crisis reporting.

Tools we can adapt to specific company needs include:

Liaison with public interest groups
While one of the benefits of an effective EMS is to keep an operation "flying below the radar" of regulators and potential plaintiffs, some companies take a more promotional posture in telling their environmental story of good corporate citizenship. The more promotional approach can range from quietly building a strong environmental record to show when appropriate to regulators, communities, or public interest groups, to incorporating the company's environmental message into its marketing strategy. An effective and efficient EMS may provide the basis for establishing the desired relationship with external organizations. We have worked to improve and communicate company stories with organizations that have given business a reasonably fair reception, such as the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP). We have also helped to develop technical responses to counter criticisms of openly hostile NGOs; responses have been delivered in person, in conference presentations and in written form. (We carry out similar activities in social and trade contexts. See Social and Trade Considerations.

Certification or other validation of EMS
In the course of our Environmental Management System practice, we have been asked to "certify" companies' existing environmental management systems. If appropriate to the company's needs, we can certify specific aspects of a program or certify that a program meets the EMS Network environmental management criteria for an effective EMS. Where such a validation meets the company's needs, ISO 14001 certification may not be required. Where the intended audience demands something on the order of an ISO 14001 certification, we are as well positioned as anyone to assist with that.

With the emergence of the ISO 14001 international standard on Environmental Management Systems, companies worldwide are considering whether to seek certification for their EMSs. (As of March 1998, some 3000 certifications reportedly have been issued world-wide.) We have relationships with the major international certification agencies, by which we can assist a company in establishing a good working relationship with a registrar. In such a relationship we can serve as an intermediary to help a certification agency understand how the company's EMS works and conforms to the standard and -- of equal importance -- to help the company understand what the certification agency needs to see in order to certify the EMS.

From a practical standpoint, our capabilities to support the certification/ registration process are grounded in our decades-long practice of taking a systems approach to environmental management and on our thorough working understanding of the standard and what is required for certification. The latter derives from membership on the United States Technical Advisory Group (which is the US entity helping to develop the ISO standards), from experience with certification agencies and auditors, and from our experience with companies on the implementation and certification of EMSs conforming to ISO 14001.

Where a company may have heightened concerns about confidential or privileged information, EMS Network can retain the certification agency under an arrangement that maximizes the protections available for sensitive company information. In the near future, we expect to be able to provide certified lead auditors directly through EMS Network.

Especially in the US, many companies are interested in what the ISO 14001 EMS standard may hold for them -- in the near term or long term — but are not certain whether they will ever seek certification. Still, they would like the environmental programs they have to be consistent with ISO 14001 and build toward conformance with the standard, in the event that they decide to seek certification. For such organizations, it's important to recognize that the value of a systems approach, such as ISO 14001, is not an all-or-nothing proposition dependent on receiving a certification. Whether or not certified, the company may realize significant value from the implementation of a systems-based EMS in terms of compliance management, risk reduction, documentation of diligence, and a foundation for outreach. Installing a "closed loop" EMS may be an end in itself, or it may be a way of "easing into" ISO 14001. Other alternatives to third party certification include self declaration of conformity (based on an internal audit following ISO standards) and second-party certification (in which a second party, such as a purchaser, conducts its own audit of a suppliers operations to assess conformity). The EMS Network approach can be tailored to suit the needs of a company in any of the postures outlined above.

Social and Trade Considerations
Domestically, and especially in the international arena, pressures on companies to demonstrate stewardship are increasingly being linked to social and trade issues. Particularly from the European Union, pressure groups are seeking to influence purchasers of products and services in the EU to demand that suppliers meet certain social, as well as environmental, criteria. Pressures continue to mount to make meeting these criteria a condition of doing business. Various proposed sets of criteria have been advanced by a number of public interest groups. Although we have assisted in some direct responses to such organizations, a more effective and manageable approach at this time may be to work with interest groups that have demonstrated the ability to deal in an even-handed way with industry.

Other Considerations in EMS Network Management Systems
Public and private entities, foreign and domestic, often have their own criteria for what they want to see in an environmental management system to address their concerns. Our flexible approach and expertise enable us to assist the company in identifying specific objectives it needs to meet in its environmental management system in order to be responsive to its intended audience(s). Such considerations may include federal and state agency policy on environmental management systems, public interest group perspectives, and specific criteria a public or private entity may establish for a company to be eligible for specific programs, such as alternate track regulation (public) or a corporate performance rating system (private). We hope this information provides an indication of our firm's experiences and capabilities in the field of environmental management services. We would be happy to provide any additional information appropriate to specific company needs or requests.
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