Hemargroup's Swiss-Made quality is well known in the international market. Thanks to our 100% traceability and quality assurance we are a best-in-class EMS company and our ISO certifications show our commitment to always deliver an excellent service.
We are proud to announce our fresh and new certification ISO 14001, which attests the environmental responsibilities of Hemargroup.
An Environmental Management System is a framework of processes and practices that helps an organization achieve environmental goals through consistent review, evaluation, and improvement of its environmental performance. The assumption is that this consistent review and evaluation will identify opportunities for improving and implementing the environmental performance of the organization. The Environmental Management System itself does not dictate a level of environmental performance that must be achieved, rather each organization's system is tailored to its own individual objectives and targets.
The official international framework for an Environmental management System is the one developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the ISO 14001 standard. Established in 1996, this framework is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology. More specifically, here the five main stages of implementing an Environmental management System within a business:
1. Commitment and Policy: top management commits to environmental improvement and establishes the organization's environmental policy. The policy is the foundation of the Environmental Management System.
2. Planning: as first step, an organization should identify environmental aspects of its operations, which can have negative impacts on people and/or the environment. The organization should then determines which aspects are significant by choosing criteria such as worker health and safety, environmental compliance, and so on. Once significant environmental aspects are determined, an organization sets objectives and targets.
3. Implementation: the organization should then be pursuing the action plan using the necessary resources (human, financial, etc.). An important component is employee training and awareness, as well as the engagement with third parties. Other steps in the implementation stage include documentation, following operating procedures, and setting up internal and external communications and operations in line with environmental objectives.
4. Check: the improvement of environmental performance should be constantly verified by monitoring, measuring, analysing and evaluating key system parameters, but also by carrying out internal system audits and periodic management reviews.
5. Act: in case of non-conformities and problems in the performance of the environmental management system strategy the top management should continuously improve and correct flaws in the system.
Why is ISO 14001 essential in your business
The importance of a change towards a sustainable development is a global well-known topic, and if we would like to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, we need to be aware of the crucial role companies play in achieving them.
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, sustainability, climate change and the big role of companies were once again at the centre of the discussion. As a matter of fact, the awareness of paying attention to corporate responsibility is increasing among managers and executives and even among the major investment management companies is emerging the absolute necessity to choose new approaches and give more importance to sustainability.
As previously said, an Environmental Management System enables an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and at the same time to increase its operating efficiency and its reputation. If at the beginning the adoption of an Environmental Management System could imply an investment and could lead to higher costs, long-term this system is profitable and leads to various advantages for businesses. The key points are: