Sustainability Report 2005-2006
Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2007
Canberra environmental performance
Environmental management
EM1: Environmental management system (EMS) conformance
Goals 2005-06
Upgrade EMS certification to the revised international standard ISO 14001:2004
Performance 2005-06
In February the department conducted a gap analysis in preparation for the EMS certification audit in May. The key recommendations of the analysis were:
- the upgrade to the ISO 14001:2004 standard represented a timely opportunity to review accepted practices, structures and procedures for EMS processes
- the environmental risk register would require revision to ensure that it adequately represents the organisation’s ecological aspects and impacts, and can interact with other elements of the system
- internal audits against system requirements should be conducted in a rigorous manner, to ensure ongoing system conformance
- management review processes should be revised to ensure that the organisation’s top management are regularly informed of changes to both environmental performance and the EMS itself.
The following EMS activities were completed in 2005-06:
- internal audit of all system requirements conducted by an external provider-all recommendations were implemented prior to the May certification audit
- development and implementation of a new EMS Procedures Manual
- management review conducted with the Senior Executive-covering all required inputs and setting a framework for future SES involvement in EMS strategic development
- implementation of electronic EMS software to facilitate system processes
- redesign and repopulation of the Aspects and Impacts Risk Register
- revision and updating of Legal and Policy Requirements Register
- department-wide EMS training and awareness briefings delivered at orientation sessions and Branch/Divisional meetings.
Commentary
Maintaining an environmental management system (EMS) enables DEH to approach the minimisation of the ecological footprint of our office operations in Canberra in a strategic and structured manner. It also contributes to a healthy working environment and to an eco-efficient business philosophy. Certification to ISO 14001:2004 ensures that our EMS commitments and processes are externally audited and verified, and also provides useful third-party perspective on opportunities for refining the functioning of the system.
Goals 2006-07
- Continue to implement the revised EMS Procedures Manual
- Complete the roll-out of the online EMS software capabilities
- Maintain certification of the EMS to ISO 14001.
Related Indicators
Contents
- Sustainability Report 05-06
- Executive summary
- Vision and strategy
- Our organisation
- Governance
- Policy and influence
- Environmental performance
- Social performance
- Economic performance
- Report assurance statement
- Case studies
- GRI index
Key
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