The Environmental Management Standard ISO14001 - Emergency Preparedness and Response
One of the requirements of the Environmental Standard ISO14001:2004 is that any organisation putting this standard into operation will have a plan to deal with emergency situations and accidents.
The plan sets out the identification of potential environmental impacts and the routine to be performed in the event of an accident or incident to:
The plan aims at prevention and therefore all measures are taken to eliminate or reduce the potential causes of accidents and emergencies.
It is common practice to make a copy of the plan available to the emergency services and a copy kept offsite to ensure that timely action can be taken to mitigate any accident and coordinate a response to the incident.
The organisation should also test the plan to make sure that in an emergency the plan would work. Many organisations that do not practice the actions needed will find that the first major incident that happens for real will identify significant failures in the plan.
Testing should ensure that:
The better prepared you are, the better you will deal with an incident
The plan sets out the identification of potential environmental impacts and the routine to be performed in the event of an accident or incident to:
- Respond to the accident or incident;
- Prevent or reduce injury;
- Protect or reduce the impact on adjacent businesses, contractor's personnel and people living/working in the vicinity of the company;
- Prevent or reduce environmental damage;
The plan aims at prevention and therefore all measures are taken to eliminate or reduce the potential causes of accidents and emergencies.
It is common practice to make a copy of the plan available to the emergency services and a copy kept offsite to ensure that timely action can be taken to mitigate any accident and coordinate a response to the incident.
The organisation should also test the plan to make sure that in an emergency the plan would work. Many organisations that do not practice the actions needed will find that the first major incident that happens for real will identify significant failures in the plan.
Testing should ensure that:
- Everyone knows what to do
- There is less duplication of effort
- The organisation can prevent injury and reduce or prevent pollution
- Get the organisation up and running as soon as possible.
The better prepared you are, the better you will deal with an incident
Posted: Monday, 6 July 2009
Environmental Measures and Common Sense
Readers of this blog will know that I always advocate environmentally friendly measures and it is becoming increasingly clear that these measures are becoming the norm rather that the exception.
Measure 1 - I drive a Hybrid car - Not only does this car give me a good miles per gallon figure, it is comfortable, I pay only £15 per year road tax and I am exempt from congestion charges;
Measure 2 - By reducing my speed from 70 to 65 miles per hour, I have found that I now get between 55-60 miles per gallon. With fuel cost now becoming a significant expense this is a considerable saving.
Measure 3 - By reducing the thermostat by one to two degrees my heating bill will be reduced; it may not offset the huge rises in energy costs but it must go part way.
Measure 4 - I now turn off lights that are really not needed during the day; I open the blinds to let in natural daylight. The savings may not be great but contribute to then overall saving even with energy saving lighting.
Measure 5 - No equipment is left on standby; to do so would be wasting energy and money.
Measure 6 - If I feel cold; I put on a jumper rather than turning up the heat; I am often staggered to see people in summer clothes complaining about feeling chilly.
Measure 7 - I have changed Banks- not only because my previous Bank gave me such rotten service but my new Bank is within walking distance. No Car needed.
Measure 8 - We recycle as much as we can to reduce our impact on the environment.
Measure 9 - We buy in season food to reduce then air miles that our food travels; some of our food has travelled 10's of miles rather than hundreds.
Measure 10 - We buy our goods and services locally, wherever we can to reduce our carbon footprint.
Am I a crank, or just gloating at saving money (and the Planet)? I suspect that 10 years ago I may have been considered a crank but nowadays I am perfectly normal, and richer.
Measure 1 - I drive a Hybrid car - Not only does this car give me a good miles per gallon figure, it is comfortable, I pay only £15 per year road tax and I am exempt from congestion charges;
Measure 2 - By reducing my speed from 70 to 65 miles per hour, I have found that I now get between 55-60 miles per gallon. With fuel cost now becoming a significant expense this is a considerable saving.
Measure 3 - By reducing the thermostat by one to two degrees my heating bill will be reduced; it may not offset the huge rises in energy costs but it must go part way.
Measure 4 - I now turn off lights that are really not needed during the day; I open the blinds to let in natural daylight. The savings may not be great but contribute to then overall saving even with energy saving lighting.
Measure 5 - No equipment is left on standby; to do so would be wasting energy and money.
Measure 6 - If I feel cold; I put on a jumper rather than turning up the heat; I am often staggered to see people in summer clothes complaining about feeling chilly.
Measure 7 - I have changed Banks- not only because my previous Bank gave me such rotten service but my new Bank is within walking distance. No Car needed.
Measure 8 - We recycle as much as we can to reduce our impact on the environment.
Measure 9 - We buy in season food to reduce then air miles that our food travels; some of our food has travelled 10's of miles rather than hundreds.
Measure 10 - We buy our goods and services locally, wherever we can to reduce our carbon footprint.
Am I a crank, or just gloating at saving money (and the Planet)? I suspect that 10 years ago I may have been considered a crank but nowadays I am perfectly normal, and richer.
Posted: Monday, 20 October 2008
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