EMS Action Plan: Introduction

EPA’s Position on EMS

Environmental management systems (EMS) are increasingly being used by organizations around the world to help integrate environmental considerations into day-to-day decisions and practices. EMSs are the part of the overall management system that includes organizational practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing, and maintaining the environmental policy. They provide a framework for managing environmental responsibilities, including regulatory compliance. By improving overall environmental performance and placing more emphasis on pollution prevention, they can also help organizations move beyond compliance. From a business perspective, companies often find that EMSs can make them more competitive by improving their efficiency. Recently, public agency facilities at all levels—federal, state, and local—have begun implementing EMSs in an effort to reduce operational costs and to improve overall environmental performance. Moreover, Executive Order 13148, The Greening of Government Through Environmental Leadership, requires federal facilities to implement EMSs by the end of 2005 at all applicable facilities. EPA must not only comply with the Executive Order for its own facilities, but also has specific management and oversight responsibilities to assure compliance with the Order by other federal organizations.

In light of their growing use and potential for the effectiveness of EMSs in several industry settings, EPA has developed and tested EMSs for specific sectors, including local governments, metal finishing, and screen printing. EPA has promoted EMSs through several voluntary partnership programs, such as Design for the Environment (DfE)¹, and EPA has incorporated EMS requirements in enforcement settlement agreements. Most recently EPA launched the National Performance Track Program—which has a strong EMS as a required core element—to reward and recognize good environmental performers. These and other activities have provided practical, valuable experience, and they are the basis for EPA's recent commitment to promote EMS use.

In a July 1999 report, Aiming for Excellence: Actions to Encourage Stewardship and Accelerate Environmental Progress, EPA made this commitment:

"We will encourage organizations to use EMSs that improve compliance, pollution prevention, and other measures of environmental performance. We'll continue evaluation efforts to learn more about which EMS elements and applications are most effective, and we'll determine how these systems might be used to strengthen environmental programs and policies."

This action plan lays out the steps EPA will take to fulfill this pledge. It focuses on accomplishing three goals:

For each goal, EPA presents related work that is recently completed or ongoing, and a description of new work.

EPA does not expect to complete this work alone. EPA will collaborate with other partners, including state and local governments, other federal agencies, academia, and industry, as appropriate. EPA will make its efforts transparent to all interested parties, and will seek public input before making any policy decisions based on the results from its work.

An EMS focuses on environmental management practices. It provides the structure by which specific activities can be carried out efficiently and in a manner consistent with key organizational goals. It allows an organization the flexibility to adapt the system to its needs and priorities, rather than forcing a "one size fits all" mentality.

A number of EMS models have been developed, most of which use the Plan-Do-Check-Act framework. EPA does not prefer one EMS model over the other, but rather supports the use of any EMS model:

"EPA supports and will help promote the development and use of EMSs . . . that focus on improved environmental performance and compliance as well as source reduction (pollution prevention) and system performance. EPA encourages organizations that develop EMSs to do so through an open and inclusive process with relevant stakeholders, and to maintain accountability for the performance outcomes of their EMSs through measurable objectives and targets. EPA also encourages organizations to make information on the actual performance of their environmental management systems available to the public and governmental agencies."²

¹ Design for the Environment is an EPA voluntary program that develops and provides businesses with information on environmentally-friendly alternatives to existing products and processes.
² 63 FR 48, 12094 (March 12, 1998)

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EMS Action Plan: Introduction

EPA’s Position on EMS

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