EMAS VERIFICATION : Key to credibility Verifying small companies

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EMAS VERIFICATION Key to credibilityVerifying
small companies

• Ir. Jean-Charles de Viron
• Lead Auditor
• AIB Vinçotte International

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Table of content

• What is an Environmental Management System ?
• EMAS for whom ?
• Too much paper for the SME ?
• Remaining internal problems
• Reflexion pists
• The auditor's added value

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What is an Environmental Management System ?
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Words Definition

• Environnemental from the old french viron
  surrounding
• Relative to the physical, chemical and biological
  elements, naturals and artifical, surrounding a
  human being, an animal, a vegetal or a species
• System from the greek sustêma group
• Group of methods, processes aimed to assure a
  defined function or to produce a result
• Management from to manage direct
• Group of direction, organisation and management
  technics of a company

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ISO DEFINITIONS

• Environmental Management System (EMS) The part
  of the overall management system that includes
  organisational structure, planning activities,
  responsibilities, practices, procedures,
  processes and resources for developing,
  implementing, achieving, reviewing and
  maintaining the environmental policy

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Development and phases of the Environmental
Management 1. Repression and
constraint 2. Clarification - persuasion 3.
Facilitation - stimulation 4.Total environmental
management / confidence
Attitude du voisinage

• Confiance
• Positive

direction du développement
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Attitude de l'organisme

• Active
• Offensive

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• Passive
• Défensive

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• Négative
• Méfiance

Attitude des Autorités
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EMAS for whom ?
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Registrable entities

• FOR ORGANISATIONS THAT HAVE AN IMPACT ON
  ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THEIR ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS OR
  SERVICES !
• gt To set up an EMS compatible with EMAS is not
  relevant for every organisation !

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Too much paperwork for SME's ?
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Commission Recommandation 7 September 2001

• 4. Guideline to the verifiers for the
  verification of small and medium enterprises
  (SME), particularly for small an micro
  enterprises
• This guideline asks the environmental verifier,
  particularly within SME's, to search objective
  proofs of the effectivity and efficiency of the
  EMS without asking a too documented system.

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Remaining internal problems
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Personnel Qualification

• Internal auditors must be independent from the
  audited activities
• Access to legal and other requirements requires
  time and legislative knowledge

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Costs !

• Internal and external costs for setting up an EMS
  (environmental analysis, environmental report, )
• Costs related to verification of the system and
  validation of the declaration
• Number of audit days defined by European
  Cooperation for Accreditation

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(No Transcript)
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Possible solutions
?
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Group initiative

• Repartition of the consultant's costs
• Global legislation follow up
• Cross internal audits
• / Different speeds between the participants
• Same activities gt concurrence !
• Different activities gt parallel but not common
  work

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Group verification

• Repartition of the audit costs (if same
  activities, audit by sampling)
• Necessity to have its own common functions and
  aministration (cf definition of an organisation)
• If one of the members does not play his role in
  the game
• Risk of having the impression to be registered
  "without knowing it"

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The auditor's added value ?
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Role of the auditor

• The auditor should be a partner, not a policeman
• The auditor, through his external vision, must
  bring an "added value"
• The auditor must look at the company's management