Environmental compliance - campus sustainability - the need to improve and report environmental performance - all have become important factors in the decision-making processes of universities. An Environmental Management System or EMS is an effective management tool that will enable the University to improve overall environmental performance, minimize environmental impacts, incorporate environmental issues into decision-making, and integrate environmental values into education and research. Simply put, an EMS is a systematic process to:
- Identify the environmental impacts of what we do,
- Establish priorities, set performance improvements goals,
- Initiate projects, and
- Continuously monitor and measure success.
The EMS can assist the University in moving on a performance continuum from regulatory compliance to environmental stewardship and sustainability through the use of systems thinking and input from key stakeholders.
Environmental issues are now more complex and interconnected. The traditional way of addressing environmental issues – in a reactive, ad hoc, end-of-pipe manner – has become highly inefficient. Few times has higher education been as receptive to change in environmental management as it is now. The University can embrace this opportunity to reinvent current environmental management systems that are reactive, end-of-pipe management processes into performance based management systems that emphasize continuous improvement of performance through increased quality, efficiency and integrity.
Why Colleges and Universities?
Higher education is increasingly receptive to change in environmental management. Aggressive enforcement of environmental laws and regulations has resulted in new performance and behavioral standards for universities and colleges. For example, US EPA Regions I, II, III, and X (Region IV has announced its intent to target colleges and universities in the coming year) launched initiatives to identify compliance problems at universities through comprehensive multi-media inspections. Numerous violations were found and significant penalties have been assessed. In most cases, negotiated settlements following citations for non-compliance have included a requirement to plan and implement an Environmental Management System. Further, the US EPA Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation issued a notice in May of last year that it had selected colleges and universities as one of seven industry sectors to participate in its Industry Sector Environmental Performance Program. Key elements in that program include:
- Definition of Environmental Performance Measures,
- Flexibility in Compliance Performance, and
- Promotion of the Use of Environmental Management Systems.
