Grow me the money

EMS.  In an increasingly acronym filled world, don't let these three little letters pass you by, as they could be critical in future proofing your business, from preparing for a carbon strain economy through to saving money via resource efficiency.

An environmental management system (EMS) is a program that can be used to identify, manage and reduce your organisation's impact on the environment, along with generating reports on environmental performance progress. It provides an ongoing systematic and methodical approach to planning, implementing and reviewing an organisation's response to those impacts- otherwise referred to as a Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle, or PDCA.  This is a model that can be used by a wide range of organizations - from manufacturing facilities to service industries to government agencies.

An EMS does not set environmental standards, but sets out procedures designed to meet environmental performance requirements that are most relevant to your business. It can also be integrated with other management systems (such as occupational health and safety) to give a whole of business approach. Best of all, apart from the wider environmental impacts, your business can benefit from implementing an EMS in a number of ways including:

• Rationalising resource use
• Making licences and permits easier to obtain
• Helping you meet your own environmental and quality targets
• Cost savings through the reduction of waste and more efficient use of natural resources
• Avoiding fines and penalties from not meeting environmental legislation by identifying environmental risks and addressing weaknesses.
• Reduction in insurance costs by demonstrating better risk management.

There are a number of EMS programs that are available for business to implement, they can even be started at a very basic level by your office Green Team, or undertaken at a more advanced certifed level, such as ISO 14000 and ISO14001.

ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, located in Geneva, Switzerland, with ISO 14000 referring to a family of voluntary standards and guidance documents to help organisations address environmental issues. ISO 14001 is considered the Environmental Management Systems standard. This is an international voluntary standard describing specific requirements for an EMS and a specification standard to which an organization may receive certification or registration.

If your business is considering implementing an EMS, yet you are unsure of where to start, take a look at VECCI's Grow Me The Money program.  Originally designed in partnership with EPA Victoria, Grow Me The Money has been developed as an introductory EMS, focusing on measurement and monitoring and the development and implementation of actions that reduce environmental impacts and increase operational efficiencies. Furthermore, participants in the 12-step program have saved, on average, $7,019.81 and 60.6 tonnes of CO₂.

In order to provide the most practical, relevant and cost-effective services to members, Grow Me The Money packages have recently undergone a Spring clean. There are now three packages available to choose from, covering those who are just beginning their EMS journey, through to an Intensive Support package, and those who need a hand with ongoing resource monitoring and further development of an EMS.

For more information on the revised Grow Me The Money packages, visit www.growmethemoney.com.au/JoinNow, or call VECCI Sustainability Services on (03) 8662 5196.

To celebrate the launch of Grow Me The Money's new packages, VECCI Sustainability Services is giving away five double passes to the 2011 Environmental Film Festival Melbourne. To be in the running to win, simply follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CarbonDown) and tweet "@CarbonDown I'd like to win a double pass to the 2011 EFFM, please".