I'm obliged to share this paper which was first made public in 2003. In my professional opinion E.P.E is designed to alleviate the torment of compiling documents in view of reporting such as during an Audit and the Management Review. It's like the K.P.I used in conventional management. Without the E.P.E, it is like Sebastian Vettel having to drive his F1 beast without the tachometer or at slower pace a sailor without a compass! Ironically, too few organizations believed in this, even today. Happy reading!
A paper for
PUSPATRI in conjunction with a seminar entitled QUALITY ENVIRONMENT FOR QUALITY
LIVING, 29th December 2003, at Dewan Suasana Hotel Selesa, Pasir
Gudang, Johor
INTRODUCING ISO14031 –
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AS A TOOL OF SELF-REGULATION AND SELF
AUDITING
By SEKITAR SYNERGY SDN BHD and
delivered by Khalid Mohd Ariff
Introduction
Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE) is based on the adage, “what gets measured, gets managed”. It has been used globally by organizations in the manufacturing, health services, transportation, electrical utility and municipal sectors to improve environmental performance, provide a basis for performance benchmarking, demonstrate compliance to regulations and increase operational efficiency. This article describes the EPE methodology as set out in the ISO 14031 standards together with its benefit and objectives, implementation steps, and the results from a recent case study. Note: for specialized training in this area contact us at www.sekitar.com, khalid@sekitar.com or Tel: 07-2416491/92 Fax: 07-2416490 (these old contact links are no longer valid)
EPE is a
relatively new term used to describe a formal process of measuring, analyzing,
reporting, and communicating an organization’s environmental performance
against criteria set by its management. The Process involves collecting
information and measuring how effectively an organization manages its
environmental aspects on an ongoing basis. Certain concepts and components of
EPE have been applied for more than a decade. ISO 14031 now provides a
structured approach for organizations to follow independent of location, size,
complexity and type of activity.
Objectives and
Benefits
The objectives of implementing an EPE program include:
- Better understanding of an organization’s impacts on the environment;
- Providing a basis for benchmarking management, operational and environmental performance;
- Identifying opportunities for improving efficiency of energy and resource usage;
- Determining whether environmental objectives and targets are being met;
- Demonstrating compliance with regulations;
- Determining proper allocation of resources;
- Increasing the awareness of employees; and
- Improving community and customer relations.
Once achieved
these objectives are realized as benefits. One of the first steps in applying
EPE involves identifying environmental aspects and impacts and establishing
performance indicators to monitor.
The ISO14031
Standard
ISO 14031 is an
international standard that describes a process for measuring environmental
performance. It is not a standard for certification, as is ISO 14001. The EPE
tool is designed to provide management with reliable and verifiable information
on an ongoing basis to determine whether or not its organization’s
environmental performance is meeting criteria it has set for itself. It fits
into the ISO 14000 series of standards, and is intended to assist organizations
obtain ISO 14001 certification. ISO 14031 is also being used by organizations
of all sizes, type, locations and complexity, and provides benefits to
organizations with and without environmental management systems in place. In
applying the standard, an organization with an environmental management system
in place should evaluate its performance against its environmental policy,
objectives, targets and other criteria set established within the management
system. Organizations without an environmental management system may use EPE
to: identify its environmental aspects; determine which aspects it will
consider significant; establish environmental performance criteria; and assess
its performance against these criteria.
The process
described in the standard is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PCDA) business
process improvement model (see Figure 1).
The focus of planning efforts is on the
selection of indicators, which should be based on: significant environmental
aspects; environmental performance criteria, including internal criteria as
well as regulatory standards; and the views of interested parties. A review of
environmental aspects should be undertaken whether the organization has an
environmental management system in place or not.
Another important element of planning is
to obtain management input so that the scope and focus of the EPE program fits
into the organization’s overall business plan. Scope considerations may include
answers to the following questions;
- What information is needed to support the overall environmental policy and goals?
- How can the data requirements be integrated with existing measuring and monitoring systems?
- Should the program address the entire organization or be phased-in starting with selected activities or business units?
- Which activities, products or services represent the largest cost saving and performance improvement opportunities?
- How many performance indicators can be monitoring with the resources allocated to the program?
Operating Performance
Indicator (OPI)
|
Management Performance
Indicator (MPI)
|
Environmental Condition
Indicator (ECI)
|
|
Raw material used per unit of
Product (Kg/unit)
|
Environmental costs or budget ($/year)
|
Contaminant concentrations in ambient air (ug/m3)
|
|
Energy used annually per unit of product (MJ/1000 L
product)
|
Percentage of environmental targets achieved (%)
|
Frequency of photochemical smog events (#/year)
|
|
Energy conserved (MJ)
|
Number employees trained (% #trained/to be trained)
|
Contaminant concentration in ground- or surface water
(mg/L)
|
|
Number of emergency events or unplanned shutdowns
(#/year)
|
Number of audit findings (#)
|
Change in groundwater level (m)
|
|
Hours of preventive maintenance (hours/year)
|
Number of audit findings addressed (#)
|
Number of coliform bacteria per liter of potable water
|
|
Average fuel consumption of vehicle fleet (L/100 Km)
|
Time spent to correct audit findings (person-hours)
|
Contaminant concentration in surface soil (mg/kg)
|
|
Percentage of product content that can be recycled (%)
|
Number of environmental incidents (#/year)
|
Area of contaminated land rehabilitated
(hectares/year)
|
|
Hazardous waste generated per unit of product
(kg/unit)
|
Time spent responding to environmental incidents
(person-hours per year)
|
Concentration of a contaminant in the tissue of a
specific local species (ug/kg)
|
|
Emissions of specific pollutants to air (tonnes CO2/year)
|
Number of complaints from public or employees (#/year)
|
Population of an specific animal species within a
defined area (#/m2)
|
Operating Performance
Indicator (OPI)
|
Management Performance
Indicator (MPI)
|
Environmental Condition
Indicator (ECI)
|
|
Noise measured at specific receptor (dB)
|
Number of fines or violation notice (#/year)
|
Increase in algae blooms (%)
|
|
Wastewater discharged per unit of product (1000
L/unit)
|
Number of suppliers contacted about environmental
management (#/year)
|
Number of hospital admissions for asthma during smog
season (#/year)
|
|
Hazardous waste eliminated by pollution prevention
(kg/year)
|
Cost of pollution prevention projects ($/year)
|
Number of fish deaths in a specific watercourse
(#/year)
|
|
Number of days air emissions limits were exceeded
(days/year)
|
Management levels with specific environmental responsibilities
(#)
|
Employee blood lead levels (ug/100 mL)
|
The final step in analysing the data is
comparing the information to performance criteria and targets established for
the organization. Performance criteria can be derived from specifications found
in regulations, operating permits, or benchmarking data. There is increasing
interest amongst industry in benchmarking performance to define “best industry
practices” and cost-effective ways of improving performance. These are seen as
complementary approaches to existing risk-based regulatory approaches.
The final task in completing the EPE
assessment or “do” step of the PDCA cycle is to communicate the results to both
internal and external stakeholders. This is a critical step if environmental
improvements are to be realized. This will create awareness, demonstrate
commitment and put information in the hands of those who will be responsible
for making improvements. Important points that should be addressed by the report
include:
- A statement of the organization’s commitment to EPE as a tool for environmental management;
- A statement of its significant environmental aspects and related performance indicators
- A comparison of performance indicators to established criteria and targets;
- Trends in the organization’s environmental performance;
- Legislative and regulatory compliance;
- Cost savings and financial results;
- Opportunities or recommendations to improve environmental performance; and
- Actions arising from EPE.
CONCLUSION
A First Step Towards EMS Implementation
A technical report (ISO/TR 14032) was
published to support the ISO 14031 standard that describes examples of EPE
applications from around the world. Although intended as a tool to assist
companies in obtaining certification to the ISO 14001 environmental management
system standard, many companies are using EPE either as a first step towards
EMS certification, or as a stand alone program. Using EPE as a stand-alone
program is attractive to small and medium sized enterprises that want a means
to quickly and efficiently start measuring performance and making improvements
without getting bogged down with the certification process. Others are using
EPE as a starting point and means of focusing and tracking the implementation
of a certified EMS.
References
- ISO/TC207/SC4/JWG.ISO 14031: 1999(E) – Environmental Performance Evaluation – Guidelines. Canadian Standards Association.
- ISO/TC207/SC4/JWG.ISO/TR 14032: 1999 – Examples of Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE). Canadian Standards Association
- Kuhre, W. Lee. ISO 14031 – Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE): Practical Tools for Conducting an Environmental Performance Evaluation.Prentice Hall, Upper Saddler River, NJ. 1998
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