ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS A QUICK-START METHOD FOR SELECTING EMS PRIORITIES

摘要

United States companies are increasingly interested in developing a planned,rninvestigative approach when studying the environmental impact of their manufacturingrnsystems; therefore, an EMS guide was developed as a method of determining thernpriorities necessary to develop an EMS program. The guide addresses permit review;rnhazardous chemical identification, chemical inventory, and annual chemicalrnquantification; and review of process streams梬ith the objective of eliminating,rnreducing, and/or controlling the impact of the manufacturing processes on thernenvironment. The Quick-Start Method stresses the importance of the support of arncompany's executive management, the establishment of a company team thatrndevelops a fast track action plan to identify the elements that have the greatest impactrnon the environment, the follow-through analysis of the collected data, and the financialrnconsiderations that will impact the proposed solution. This presentation stresses that thernbenefits of a full EMS are enormous and will result in a more profitable company, arncondition attributable to increased product quality, increased production flexibility,rnincreased raw material yield, reduced energy use, and other benefits.