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Environmental Management System In Small And Medium Scale Companies In Nigeria
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENT:
Environment,
according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English means
surrounding. This definition fails to mention the extent of the
surrounding is made up of. The environment, in fact, includes everything
living and non living: air, water, land animals and plants among
others. The environment also involves the ways living and non-living
objects interact as well as what result from such interactions. Birds,
for example, interact with rocks either by perching on them, or the
building of nests in rock crevices. The environment and humanity are
inseparable; this underscores the need for the conservation of the
environment and sustainable development. From the above definition of
‘Environment’, one can see clearly that environment means much, much
more than one’s compound or school premises or one’s village.
What does pollution means? Pollution is simply defined as the poisoning of the air, the land and the seas.
Now,
degradation. The degradation of the environment means the wearing down
of the environment by various processes such as the action of water,
wind, ice or erosion.
By conservation of the environment we mean the preservation and protection of the environment against pollution and degradation.
In
its report “Our Common Futureâ€, the World Commission on Environment and
Development, defined economic growth as necessary for sustainable
development. But commission noted that growth alone is not enough, since
high levels of productivity and widespread poverty do coexist and
endanger the environment. Agenda 21 recognized that the private sector
plays a major role in achieving sustainable development, both by
fostering economic growth and by reducing environmental impact. The
challenges for business and industries is to provide environmentally
sustainable growth; they must devise strategies to maximize added value
while minimizing resources and energy use. The need for clean, equitable
economic growth remains the biggest single difficulty within the larger
challenge of sustainable development.
Business in industrialized
nations has begun to move from a pollution of limiting pollution and
waste only in compliance with government regulations towards one of
avoiding pollution and waste not just to be good corporate citizens but
also to be more efficient and competitive. In response, the economies of
the industrialized countries have grown even though the resources and
energy to produce each unit of growth have declined.
Eco efficiency
requires not only challenges in technology, but also in management; such
issues as changes in the objectives and assumptions that direct
corporate activities, and in the day-to-day practices used to reach
those objectives. Managing for the environment is not a new idea but a
systematic approach to it is now being developed.
The forthcoming ISO
14000 SERIES sets standards for corporate environmental management on
an international level. These standards have been set not by some
international regulatory body, but with the full participation of the
private sector who will implement them. One of several advantages the
standards will bring is the creation of a more environmentally sensitive
industrial culture, which will result in a more efficient use of raw
and waste material, reduction of emissions and increased investment in
pollution control abatement and cleaner technologies.
1.2 THE NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (EMS)
An
environmental management system (EMS) is interpreted as the
organizational structure, including practices, processes, resources and
responsibilities for implementing environmental management. Such a
system should enable organizations to achieve and demonstrate on-going
compliance with regulations. It should allow organizations to control
the environmental impact of all activities, products and services taking
into account the environmental impact of all activities, products and
services taking into account a self-determined environment. The need for
Environmental Management System are:
a. Organisation and facilities
are increasingly aware of the need to achieve and demonstrate sound
environmental performance by controlling the different aspects and the
significant impacts of their activities, products or services on the
environment. They do so in the context of increasingly stringent
legislation, the development of economic policies and other measures to
foster environmental protection, and a growing of concern from
interested parties about the threats of industrialization to sustainable
development.
b. Many Organisations have undertaken environmental
‘’reviews’’ or ‘’audits’’ to assess their environmental performance. On
their own, however, these ‘’reviews’’ or ‘’audits’’ may not be
sufficient to provide an Organisation with the assurance that its
performance not only meets, but will continue to meet its legal and
policy requirements. To be effective, they need to be conducted within a
structured management system and integrated with overall management
activity.
c. The Environmental Performance of an Organisation is of
increasing importance to internal and external interested parties.
Achieving sound environmental performance requires Organisational
commitment to a systematic approach and to continual improvement of the
environment.
d. An EMS provides order and consistency through the
allocation of resources, assignment of responsibilities, and continuous
evaluation of practices, procedures and processes. An EMS is therefore:
part of the enterprises enterprise’s overall management system. It
includes the organizational structure, planning activities, practices,
procedures, processes, and resources for implementing and maintaining
environmental management. It includes those aspects of management that
plan, develop pment, implement, achieve, review. Maintain and improve
the companies environmental policy, objectives and targets.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Environmental Management System refers to management of an organization’s environmental programs in a comprehensive, systematic, planned and documented manner. It includes the organizational structure, planning and resources for developing, implementing and maintaining policy for environmental protection. It is not surprising that collectively, SMEs also have major The increasing demands for consideration of the environmental impacts may result in SMEs being required to at least conside ... Continue reading---
