AGENDA 21
The General Assembly of the United Nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1992 and this gathering was termed as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). During UNCED, the concept of ‘sustainable development’ was embraced. Declaration made during UNCED is known as ‘Agenda 21’ or as the ‘Declaration of Rio de Janeiro’.
Agenda 21 is the first report integrating both the economic development and environmental policy in developed and developing countries. Agenda 21 reflects a global consensus and political commitment at the highest level on development and environment cooperation. Agenda 21 focuses on the environment and also takes into account economic and social structures and the improvement of overall living standards. For developing countries, Agenda 21 recognizes that turning society into a sustainable one may be a difficult task when this is to b accomplished alone.
Priority areas initiated as part of Agenda 21 are:
International co-operation and open, non-discriminatory economic relation
Combating poverty and changing consumption patterns
Demographic dynamics and sustainability
Protecting and promoting human health
Promoting sustainable human settlement development
Integrating environment and development in decision-making
Integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources
Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
Protecting the atmosphere
Combating deforestation
Managing fragile ecosystems
Conservation of biological diversity
Protection of oceans, seas and coastal areas
Protection and preservation of freshwater resources
Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals
Environmentally sound management of hazardous waste
Environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewage issues
Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive waste.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
The General Assembly of the United Nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1992 and this gathering was termed as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). During UNCED, the concept of ‘sustainable development’ was embraced. Declaration made during UNCED is known as ‘Agenda 21’ or as the ‘Declaration of Rio de Janeiro’.
Agenda 21 is the first report integrating both the economic development and environmental policy in developed and developing countries. Agenda 21 reflects a global consensus and political commitment at the highest level on development and environment cooperation. Agenda 21 focuses on the environment and also takes into account economic and social structures and the improvement of overall living standards. For developing countries, Agenda 21 recognizes that turning society into a sustainable one may be a difficult task when this is to b accomplished alone.
Priority areas initiated as part of Agenda 21 are:
International co-operation and open, non-discriminatory economic relation
Combating poverty and changing consumption patterns
Demographic dynamics and sustainability
Protecting and promoting human health
Promoting sustainable human settlement development
Integrating environment and development in decision-making
Integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources
Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
Protecting the atmosphere
Combating deforestation
Managing fragile ecosystems
Conservation of biological diversity
Protection of oceans, seas and coastal areas
Protection and preservation of freshwater resources
Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals
Environmentally sound management of hazardous waste
Environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewage issues
Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive waste.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
AN INTRODUCTION
There is growing concern all over the world for improving the quality of environment. Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to environmental impacts of their activities, products and services. These organizations are of all types and sizes. There is importance of the environmental performance of an organization to internal and external parties. There is need of organizational commitment to a systematic approach and to continual improvement of an Environmental Management System (EMS) to achieve sound environmental performance. An Environmental Management System (EMS) is part of an organization’s overall management systems. It is a systematic approach dealing with the environmental aspects of an organization. Environmental Management System is a tool, which enables an organization to control the impact of its activities, products and/or services on the natural environment. EMS provides a framework to help organization to identify those aspects of its business that have a significant impact on the environment.
ISO 14001:2004 is an international standard that provides assistance to organizations that wish to implement or improve an EMS and thereby improve their environmental performance. The International Organization for Standardization (Geneva, Switzerland) has published this international standard.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) had already established standards for the quality of air, water and soil. During the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Business Council of Sustainable Development suggested that the ISO should develop international standards for environmental performance based on the concept of sustainable development. In 1993, ISO formed the technical committee 207 on Environmental Management to develop international standards for environmental management. Accordingly, ISO 14001 was first published in 1996. In the year 1996, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) first published ISO 14001:1996 standard, named as ‘Environmental management systems – Specification with guidance for use’. With publication of the revised standard in 2004, now organizations need to follow ISO 14001:2004. The title of ISO 14001:2004 is ‘Environmental management systems – Requirements with guidance for use’. The word ‘requirements’ has been used in the revised standard in place of ‘specification’ as mentioned in ISO 14001:1996. Copies of this standard can be obtained from the International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland. Bureau of Indian Standards has also published Indian Standard IS/ISO 14001:2004.
ISO 14000 series set of international standards (published by the ISO) provides a focus to the environment. These standards encourage a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for us all. With the implementation of these standards, organizations may focus on environmental efforts against internationally accepted norms.
ISO 14001:2004 is consistent with the concept of sustainable development. It is compatible with diverse cultural, social and organizational frameworks and systems of management.
ISO 14001:2004 can be used by organizations of all types, sizes and levels of maturity, and in all sectors and geographic locations. Accordingly, it can be used by manufacturing unit as well as by service organization. ISO 14001:2004 accommodates the special needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
If we look to the contents of ISO 14001:2004, we find that ISO 14001:2004 is focused on clarification of the earlier version (ISO 14001:1996) and has taken due consideration of the provisions of ISO 9001:2000 QMS standard to enhance the compatibility of these two standards (ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 9001:2000) for the benefi of the user community.
The ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 has established various international standards. ISO 14001:2004 is one international standard, which is part of the series of environmental management standards. This international standard contains requirements of an environmental management system. Requirements given in ISO 14001:2004 may be objectively audited for certification/registration purposes or for self-declaration purposes. ISO 14001:2004 includes examples, descriptions and options that aid both in the implementation of an environmental management system and in strengthening its relation to the overall management of an organization.
In the introduction part of the revised standard (ISO 14001:2004), a note on the application of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology has been added to make continual improvement in environmental performance more clear. On looking to the EMS model in ISO 14001:2004, we find that the intent of EMS model of earlier version (ISO 14001:1996) has been retained.
Subcommittees (SC), Working Groups (WG) and Terminology Coordination Group (TCG) related to ISO 14000 series are as under:
ISO/TC 207 – SC1 – Environmental Management Systems
ISO/TC 207 – SC2 – Environmental Auditing and related investigations
ISO/TC 207 – SC3 – Environmental Lebelling
ISO/TC 207 – SC4 – Environmental Performance Evaluation
ISO/TC 207 – SC5 – Life Cycle Assessment
ISO/TC 207 – TCG – Terms and Definitions
ISO/TC 207 – WG4 – Environmental Communications
ISO/TC 207 – WG5 – Climate Change
Above subcommittees, working groups and terminology coordination groups of ISO/TC 207 are producing standards and guidance documents in the areas mentioned above.
There is growing concern all over the world for improving the quality of environment. Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to environmental impacts of their activities, products and services. These organizations are of all types and sizes. There is importance of the environmental performance of an organization to internal and external parties. There is need of organizational commitment to a systematic approach and to continual improvement of an Environmental Management System (EMS) to achieve sound environmental performance. An Environmental Management System (EMS) is part of an organization’s overall management systems. It is a systematic approach dealing with the environmental aspects of an organization. Environmental Management System is a tool, which enables an organization to control the impact of its activities, products and/or services on the natural environment. EMS provides a framework to help organization to identify those aspects of its business that have a significant impact on the environment.
ISO 14001:2004 is an international standard that provides assistance to organizations that wish to implement or improve an EMS and thereby improve their environmental performance. The International Organization for Standardization (Geneva, Switzerland) has published this international standard.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) had already established standards for the quality of air, water and soil. During the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Business Council of Sustainable Development suggested that the ISO should develop international standards for environmental performance based on the concept of sustainable development. In 1993, ISO formed the technical committee 207 on Environmental Management to develop international standards for environmental management. Accordingly, ISO 14001 was first published in 1996. In the year 1996, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) first published ISO 14001:1996 standard, named as ‘Environmental management systems – Specification with guidance for use’. With publication of the revised standard in 2004, now organizations need to follow ISO 14001:2004. The title of ISO 14001:2004 is ‘Environmental management systems – Requirements with guidance for use’. The word ‘requirements’ has been used in the revised standard in place of ‘specification’ as mentioned in ISO 14001:1996. Copies of this standard can be obtained from the International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland. Bureau of Indian Standards has also published Indian Standard IS/ISO 14001:2004.
ISO 14000 series set of international standards (published by the ISO) provides a focus to the environment. These standards encourage a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for us all. With the implementation of these standards, organizations may focus on environmental efforts against internationally accepted norms.
ISO 14001:2004 is consistent with the concept of sustainable development. It is compatible with diverse cultural, social and organizational frameworks and systems of management.
ISO 14001:2004 can be used by organizations of all types, sizes and levels of maturity, and in all sectors and geographic locations. Accordingly, it can be used by manufacturing unit as well as by service organization. ISO 14001:2004 accommodates the special needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
If we look to the contents of ISO 14001:2004, we find that ISO 14001:2004 is focused on clarification of the earlier version (ISO 14001:1996) and has taken due consideration of the provisions of ISO 9001:2000 QMS standard to enhance the compatibility of these two standards (ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 9001:2000) for the benefi of the user community.
The ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 has established various international standards. ISO 14001:2004 is one international standard, which is part of the series of environmental management standards. This international standard contains requirements of an environmental management system. Requirements given in ISO 14001:2004 may be objectively audited for certification/registration purposes or for self-declaration purposes. ISO 14001:2004 includes examples, descriptions and options that aid both in the implementation of an environmental management system and in strengthening its relation to the overall management of an organization.
In the introduction part of the revised standard (ISO 14001:2004), a note on the application of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology has been added to make continual improvement in environmental performance more clear. On looking to the EMS model in ISO 14001:2004, we find that the intent of EMS model of earlier version (ISO 14001:1996) has been retained.
Subcommittees (SC), Working Groups (WG) and Terminology Coordination Group (TCG) related to ISO 14000 series are as under:
ISO/TC 207 – SC1 – Environmental Management Systems
ISO/TC 207 – SC2 – Environmental Auditing and related investigations
ISO/TC 207 – SC3 – Environmental Lebelling
ISO/TC 207 – SC4 – Environmental Performance Evaluation
ISO/TC 207 – SC5 – Life Cycle Assessment
ISO/TC 207 – TCG – Terms and Definitions
ISO/TC 207 – WG4 – Environmental Communications
ISO/TC 207 – WG5 – Climate Change
Above subcommittees, working groups and terminology coordination groups of ISO/TC 207 are producing standards and guidance documents in the areas mentioned above.
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