Content
Standards
The international ISO 14001 sustainable management standard specifies internationally approved requirements for an environment management system (part of an organisation’s management system that regulates responsibilities, actions, processes and specifications for implementing a company’s environment policies).
ISO 14001 focuses on a continuous improvement process as a means to achieve a respectively defined goal for the environmental performance of an organisation. For this purpose a company must specify an in-house environment policy, environmental goals and an environment programme and create a corresponding management system that will help achieve these goals.
The goals and final objectives must – where practicable – be measurable and comply with the environment policy, including the obligation to avoid environmental hazards, meet effective legal obligations and further requirements which the organisation commits to, and seek constant improvement.
The standard expressly points out that it specifies no absolute requirements for environmental performance. But it does demand that the obligations that the organisation has itself as part of its environment policy must be met.
The European Union’s EMAS - Eco Management and Audit Scheme - is based on the guiding principle of sustainable development. EMAS aims to assess and boost the environmental performance of organisations and educate the public; and organisations can participate voluntarily. The goal of the scheme is to continuously improve the environmental performance of organisations by creating environment management systems, evaluating them regularly, informing the public, actively integrating employees and offering them adequate education and training.
All of the components required for EMAS registration are regularly assessed by an independent environment auditor. Organisations that participate in the EU’s Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) must meet the requirements in section 4 of the European EN ISO 14001:2004 standard.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/index_en.htm
OEKOPROFIT
ÖKOPROFIT is a co-operation project between the local authorities and industry with the aim of lowering operating costs and simultaneously saving natural resources (such as water and energy). This includes both manufacturing companies, service providers and social institutions as well as craftsmen.
The most important components of the scheme are joint workshops of the participating businesses on cleaner production principles (how companies can lower resource consumption in their business processes) and incorporating local counselling sessions by experienced ÖKOPROFIT consultants (companies like STENUM, B.A.U.M. Consult, Arqum). After a one-year project the companies are then audited according to a list of criteria (submission of a waste management concept, successful implementation of measures, ambitious environment programme, environmental policy, environment team, use of indicators, etc.) and are rewarded by the city for their achievements. Many companies complete their environment management system after taking part in a basic ÖKOPROFIT programme and are then certified according to DIN EN ISO 14001.
Unlike other environment management schemes that focus only on the individual business, ÖKOPROFIT aims to create a local network for environmental protection.
On average every company saves €30,000 a year thanks to ÖKOPROFIT, and the local authorities are happy about the reduced CO2 emissions.
Green Globe is the only international benchmarking and certification programme that is based on the guidelines of Agenda 21 (Agenda 21 is a development and environment policy programme for the 21st century, a paper for the sustainable development adopted by 178 states at the Conference for Environment and Development of the United Nations in Rio de Janeiro 1992). It specifies the framework conditions for improvements in the fields of ecology and society thanks to an independent audit by third parties. The Green Globe standards include the measurement of scientifically demonstrable indicators including energy, CO2, water and wastes.
http://www.greenglobeint.com/ Global Compact
In January 1999 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan first proposed the conclusion of a global compact. He explicitly asked industry leaders all over the world to ensure that globalisation would benefit the entire human population.
Since July 2000 the German Global Compact companies have joined forces in an informal network, the German Friends of the Global Compact. The Global Compact is a value-orientated platform with ten principles that members must acknowledge and commit to in the fields of human rights, work standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption measures. The scheme includes no audit or fulfilment of standards. However, the participating companies are expected to report what specific measures they have taken to realise the ten principles – even beyond the sphere of influence of their own company - in their sustainability reports every two years.
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/
Page infos
GCB German Convention Bureau e.V.
