The May 2011 issue of ISO Focus+ announced that the much anticipated ISO management system for energy management will soon be published in 2011.
ISO reports that 50001 will specify requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an energy management system, whose purpose is to enable an organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy use, and consumption. This standard will specify requirements applicable to energy use and consumption, including measurement, documentation, and reporting, design and procurement practices for equipment, systems, processes, and personnel that contribute to energy performance. ISO indicates that it applies to all variables affecting energy performance that can be monitored and influenced by the organization. Read More
An evolving component of sustainability management is the use of integrated reports that capture an organization’s financial, environmental, social, and governance performance in one document. A seminal event on this was held last October (2010) at Harvard Business School (HBS).
Understanding and crafting your supply chain is an integral part of a meaningful sustainability/CSR strategy. The inputs to your products and services play a huge role in defining them in this sustainability/CSR era. For instance, the amount of water used in producing a liter of soda, or the labor practices in harvesting cotton used in making a T-shirt have become significant issues for manufacturers of these products.
“What gets measured, gets done” is a popular saying in performance improvement circles. There is more though. Yes, true as this is, measurement—and I’ll go a step further here and say auditing—is just part of the “gets done” piece. When crafted within a context of breakthrough performance, EHS auditing and the audit function in an EHS department can be a catalyst for accelerated performance improvement and EHS integration. EHS auditing is commonly viewed as a necessary evil or burden to satisfy regulatory and legal requirements. Within this context, the results are predictable. There is little if any enthusiasm; there is a struggle; and there can be challenges with inter-rater reliability.
There is increased activity on occupational health and safety (OHS) programs in OSHA under its new administration. The agency’s new director is addressing and improving the safety culture in companies. One vehicle to do this is addressing comprehensive OHS programs. There was activity in the mid- to late 1990s in this area with attempts to codify the highly regarded Voluntary Protection Program and elevate the status of OSHA’s 1989 Program Guidelines. These efforts morphed into attempts in federal OSHA to adopt a national Illness and Injury Prevention Program (IIPP) found in a handful of states, including California.