ISO14 -- Setting the Standard in Environmental Management

To plan for and control its environmental impacts, an organization must know what these impacts are. But knowing what the impacts are is only part of the challenge - you also should know where these impacts come from.

If your organization has undertaken pollution prevention projects, you are probably familiar with this concept - that is, you must know how and where a waste is generated in order to minimize or eliminate it. And like pollution prevention, the identification and management of environmental aspects can (1) have positive impacts on the bottom line and (2) provide significant environmental improvements.

So, an EMS should include a procedure to identify and assess environmental aspects that the organization can control and over which it can have an influence.

Your organization is not expected to manage issues outside its sphere of influence or control. For example, while your organization probably has control over how much electricity it buys from a supplier, it likely does not control or influence the way in which that electricity is generated. Similarly, if your organization manufactures a product that is subsequently incorporated into another product (for example, a bumper that becomes part of an automobile), your organization does not control the environmental aspects of that "finished" product (the automobile). Thus, your focus should be on the environmental aspects of your products or services.

The relationship between aspects and impacts is often one of cause and effect. The term "aspects" is neutral, so keep in mind that your environmental aspects can be either positive (such as making a product out of recycled materials) or negative (such as discharging toxic materials to a stream). Aspects may result from past activities, such as spills.

Once you have identified the environmental aspects of your products, activities, and services, you should determine which aspects could have significant impacts on the environment. Aspects that have one or more significant impact should be considered significant environmental aspects. These significant aspects should be considered when you establish environmental objectives, define operational controls and consider other actions, as discussed later.

A multi-step process can be used to make this evaluation. Keep the resulting information up-to-date, so that potential aspects of new products, services, and activities are factored into your objectives and controls.

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