Many organizations must daily be prepared for a variety of predictable and unexpected environmental risks which can lead to environmental impacts. Failure to properly address these liabilities can result in substantial fines or even jail. Provincial and federal legislation does provide for a defense of due diligence. A well-structured, implemented and maintained Environmental Management System (EMS) is a key to strong due diligence. More than that, it can bring value to the organization through improved effectiveness and pollution prevention. It may even be a requirement for international trade. ISO 14001 is accepted as the international standard for environmental management systems and well over 100,000 certifications have been registered throughout the world.
Upon successful completion of this course, the delegates will be able to:
Course objectives and team approach Understanding environmental management systems (EMS) The role of the environmental policy Meeting legal and other requirements Assessing 'activities, products, and services' Team discussions of organizations they will use for class exercises, including potential impacts, legal constraints and guiding environmental policy
Team descriptions of selected organization, including its environmental impacts, its legal and other requirements and its environmental policy Understanding environmental risk in the context of the management system Rating the significance of environmental aspects Team development of rating matrix for environmental aspects and selection of significant aspects
Team discussions of environmental aspects of their organizations Understanding objectives, and how to achieve them; development of environmental procedures; how to manage incidents Team development of objectives, and consequent work programs, standard operating and emergency procedures
Team presentations of objectives and programs to achieve them Team presentations of standard operating procedure, and emergency response procedure Understanding the importance of site inspections and the role for root cause analysis and corrective action reports How to involve Top Management in the EMS
Team presentations of site checklist, EMS management review strategy How to test the EMS for gaps Team evaluation and critique of EMS program of another team Team presentation of results of EMS reviews Wrap-up discussion