Definition of EMS
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is a continuous approach for planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the processes and actions that an organization undertakes to meet its purpose and environmental goals. Simply stated, EMS is a series of logical steps for effectively meeting the environmental needs of a variety of systems, ranging from one’s home to a company or a community.
Need for EMS
EMS is one of the effective approaches for pollution prevention and control.
Pollution prevention is defined as "source reduction - preventing or reducing waste where it originates, at the source - including practices that conserve natural resources by reducing or eliminating pollutants through increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water, and land." [Coglianese & Nash, 2001].
EMS is approach is complementary to the traditional "command and control" pollution prevention approach. The "command and control" (C&C) approach, as the name implies, involves enacting laws and enforcing them to prevent and control pollution. The C&C approach is effective where environmental regulations can be enforced easily to achieve the desired pollution prevention and control.
EMS is a process-oriented (series of logical steps) approach and is flexible to adapt and implement in any type of a system. The continuous nature of EMS allows systems to manage their environmental needs on an ongoing basis and be proactive in preventing and controlling pollution.
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