Archive for September 2011
Solar Renewable Energy – Sun Power
September 29, 2011 | 
Author It is no secret that the sun can be harnessed to provide a source of energy for homes and businesses.
The sun is a powerful star. It supplies us with energy, through a process called nuclear fusion, and sustains life on our planet Earth. Solar energy, or energy from the sun, has existed since prehistoric times when men would magnify the sun’s energy in efforts to start fires.
The sun is a valuable resource that radiates enough energy on the United States in one day to meet the nation’s needs for one and a half years. Since it is a free, clean and renewable source of energy, it is an energy source that will play a vital role in our future.
Using the sun’s energy for our energy source seems like an easy solution to having an energy supply forever. Harnessing the suns energy is where the problem lies. The sun’s rays shine all over the world and not in just one spot. Although it takes only 8 minutes for sunlight to travel to the earth, trying to catch the rays over such a wide area can prove to be tricky. Also, the energy in any one given place will vary due to factors, such as, clouds and weather conditions.
The history of using solar energy began in 1890′s when solar water heaters were used in the United States. Solar water heating requires a storage collector and a storage tank. Flat plate solar collectors are mounted on rooftops. Pipes carrying water are pumped through these collectors. The tubes are painted black so they will get hot quicker. As the heat is collected the fluid in the tubes get heated. A storage tank holds the hot liquid. This helps with central heating and cutting fuel costs. Solar heaters became popular when natural gas was expensive and burning wood and coals were burdensome. It’s popularity diminished with the discovery of an abundance of natural gas and oil deposits. Now they are making a comeback to replace the depleting fossil fuels that had taken its place.
Solar energy can be in the form of heat energy or light energy. The technology of photovoltaic, or PV as it is commonly called, converts the suns energy into electric currents through the use of solar cells. These electric currents can be used instantaneously or stored for later use. The PV cells consist of pieces of silicon under a thin piece of glass. They have both a positive and negative charge. Simple examples of this are the solar powered calculators that are common today. More complex examples are solar panels placed on roofs. This consists of using thin film solar cells as rooftop shingles, roof tiles, and even glazing for skylights. Unfortunately, the cells generate only about one sixth of the sun’s energy into electricity. This means bigger arrays are needed and along with this come larger costs.
Solar thermal power plants use the sun to heat fluid, which in turn, is transferred into steam similar to fossil fuel burning plants. The steam is transformed into mechanical energy in a turbine and electrical energy from a generator. The downfall is solar plants cannot produce energy on cloudy days.
It is expected the next few years will see millions of households using solar energy. As research continues and processes improve, using our sun as a renewable energy source will produce efficiency and cost savings. So, let the sun shine in and take full advantage of this warm energy source where you live.
Corporate Sustainability Reports
With environmental tragedies increasing in recent years, many wonder what companies plan on doing to boost their sustainability efforts. Growing concerns related to the state of natural resources and their future availability needs to be a major focus for all corporations, as the future of their business heavily relies on the environment- and vice versa. Corporate sustainability reporting has been adopted by a number of industry-leading firms, used to communicate their plans to the public. Reevaluating product sourcing, packaging, transportation and other steps involved in product preparation, are just a few of the changes companies have employed to reduce their environmental impact.
Sustainability Reporting/ Transparency
Transparency and reporting corporate sustainability initiatives are best practices for all organizations. Reporting on these policies prompts businesses to think about the impact of their processes on the environment, as well as the impact the environment has on their business. Sustainability reports force businesses to become conscious of their decisions. In many cases, companies have been able to save money as they reduce waste.
The Coca-Cola Company has done a fantastic job in communicating and reporting their sustainability initiatives on their corporate website. At Coca-Cola, manufacturing processes require the use of significant volumes of natural resources. Reporting on sustainability has forced decision makers at Coca-Cola to find innovative ways to reduce the impact of the company on the environment, as they understand that the possibility of future resource depletion would inhibit them from creating their products. Acknowledging that sustainability reporting is a work in progress, here are some examples of the goals set by the Coca-Cola Company to improve corporate sustainability:
Water Usage: Safely return the equivalent amount of water, to what we use in all of our beverages and their production, back to communities and the environment.
Packaging: Reduce the amount of materials and energy used in creating product packaging. Invest in recycling and recovery programs so that packaging can be reused again. The company has invested in establishing PET recycling plants in various locations around the world. Lastly, increase the use of recycled products in the manufacturing of cans, bottles, caps and other products. This allows for recycled items to be reused, and for the finished product to be recycled in its entirety when consumed.
Reduce Carbon Footprint and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Climate change is a two way street. Emissions from manufacturing processes and delivery (ex.vending machines and refrigeration) contribute to climate change. On the flip side, droughts, flooding and extreme weather impact a company’s ability to carry out business processes, the availability of raw materials and consumer ability to purchase products. Coca-Cola has begun using energy efficient cooling systems, mixing energy sources and set standards to reduce the energy used throughout product manufacturing and delivery.
The goals and initiatives established by the Coca-Cola Company can be used as examples of goals and areas for consideration by other companies. According to experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, reporting on non-financial information, such as sustainability, requires the same amount of care given to reports that are mandatory for every business to publish:
“Currently, companies issue their sustainability reports voluntarily. Sustainability reporting is not a public relations exercise. These reports must contain factual information about a company’s policies, programs, and performance, as well as management’s analyses and interpretations of that performance. These reports help the reader understand how the company’s operations impact society and the natural environment, and what the company is doing to reduce the negative impacts.
Brand Image
Sustainability efforts create significant benefits for brands. When an environmental catastrophe is caused by a business or business process, the public response can be detrimental. Just look at the hit BP has taken for the explosion and oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The damages of the events in the Gulf are still unclear; however, it’s likely the impacts will be felt for many generations to come.
In the SustainAbility article, “Five Principles for Sustainable Brands,” they write:
“Brand is the embodiment of an organization– the symbols, experiences and associations connected to it. The connection between sustainability and brand helps build better relationships across value chains, creates new market opportunities, reduces risk, and, critically, more deeply embeds sustainable practices by making them part of the organization’s identity, its story – and when sustainability is part of the brand promise, it is far less likely to be compromised.”
As mentioned earlier in the post, sustainability forces organizations to consider a number of risks and implications of their processes on the environment. Building sustainability into corporate compliance or social programs is becoming increasingly common. When a company comes forward with their goals, they are held accountable for achieving them. Sustainability goals can also be credited for improving overall corporate performance, as waste and costs are reduced.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy
There are many energy sources today that are extremely limited in supply. Some of these sources include oil, natural gas, and coal. It is a matter of time before they will be exhausted.
Estimates are that they can only meet our energy demands for another fifty to seventy years. So in an effort to find alternative forms of energy, the world has turned to renewable energy sources as the solution. There are many advantages and disadvantages to this.
Renewable energy sources consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass. The most common advantage of each is that they are renewable and cannot be depleted. They are a clean energy, as they don’t pollute the air, and they don’t contribute to global warming or greenhouse effects. Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced and they also require less maintenance on their plants. A common disadvantage to all is that it is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to. Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.
Solar energy makes use of the sun’s energy. It is advantageous because the systems can fit into existing buildings and it does not affect land use. But since the area of the collectors is large, more materials are required. Solar radiation is also controlled by geography. And it is limited to daytime hours and non-cloudy days.
Wind energy uses the power of the wind to produce electricity. Although it is the largest job producer, it is reliant on strong winds. Wind turbines are large and, although you can use the area under them for farming, many consider them unattractive looking. They are also very noisy to operate. In addition, they threaten the wild bird population.
Hydroelectric energy uses water to produce power. This is the most reliable of all the renewable energy sources. On the down side, it affects ecology and causes downstream problems. The decay of vegetation along the riverbed can cause the buildup of methane. Methane is a contributing gas to greenhouse effect. Dams can also alter the natural river flow and affect wildlife. Colder, oxygen poor water can be released into the river, killing fish. And the release of water from the dam can cause flooding.
Geothermal energy uses steam from the Earth’s ground to generate power. It uses smaller land areas than other power plants. They can run 24 hours per day, every day of the year. Disadvantages are that it is very site specific and, along with the heat from the Earth, it can also bring up toxic chemicals when obtaining the steam. Drilling geothermal reservoirs and finding them can be an expensive task.
Biomass electricity is produced through the energies from wood, agricultural and municipal waste. It helps save on landfill waste but transportation can be expensive and ecological diversity of land may be affected. In addition, its process needs to be made simpler.
Ocean energy is a clean and abundant energy form. It does, however, have high costs. Ocean thermal energy also requires close to a forty degree Fahrenheit difference in water temperature year round. In addition, construction and laying pipes can cause damage to the ecosystem.
There are many advantages to the use of renewable energy sources. There are also some disadvantages. The fact is energy demands will continue to increase. Through research and development, as well as, new technologies, the hope is many of the disadvantages of renewable sources of energy can be eliminated and we can successfully incorporate it into our power supplies.
The W.e.e.e Directive
Since the WEEE directive got its green’ light and became law,has the dust yet settled on the legislation, or is business’s understanding of the directive still very much up in the air?
Time was that organisations felt roughly the same way about their old PCs and servers as anyone that hasn’t had a pre-frontallobotomy feels about former Big Brother contestants we didn’t know where they ended up afterthey’d left the building. And we didn’t care.Those were the days, eh?
Slowly and reluctantly though, the realisation dawned that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to just dump such dangerous, toxic products after all.
This thought soon took hold andbefore you could say Kyoto Summit, there were pesky global warming headlines everywhere, everyone suddenly grew a conscience, and the government had got its hands not so much on a cash cow as whole damn herd.And so, among other legislation, was born the European Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive. Coming into force in July 2007, the directive at least notionally made IT hardware manufacturers responsible for making sure end-of-life’ hardware is disposed of in an environmentally
friendly way.
Laying out guidelines on how kit should be treated and setting specific targets for recovery and recycling, it has forced producers of electrical and electronic equipment to not only collect end-of-life products, but dispose of them properly. Great, we all thought, that makes all our old kit their problem. But things weren’t, as it turned out, quite that cut and dried, and the last 12 months have seen companies without watertight hardware tracking processes finding to their cost that the laws apply very much to them too.
To coin an indelicate phrase, there are essentially two types’ of WEEE: historic and non-historic the pivotal deciding point between the two being Saturday the 13th August 2005. Non-historic kit equipment bought new after that date can be returned to its original manufacturer free of charge.
Hardware produced before then (providing it is being replaced with new equivalent kit) can also be returned free of charge, this time to the manufacturer of the new equipment. There is however, an apparently lesser known third scenario; one of which several businesses have fallen foul since WEEE came into force.
Because where a company is binning equipment that was purchased before 13th August 2005 and not replacing it with equivalent kit, the company in question is itself responsible for the proper disposal of said hardware. A similar responsibility exists for any kit whose producer cannot be traced. Such subtleties are still passing many businesses by, with a number of firms currently facing prosecution as a result. Moreover, the authorities no longer regard ignorance as an acceptable defence.
“You can’t just turn around and say it’s someone else’s job; the prosecution will come against the company who last had responsibility for the hardware.” “If you claim to have given it to someone who said they had disposed of it correctly the Environment Agency will ask if you checked the relevant certification. If you didn’t (or can’t prove that you did) you can’t be said to have carried out due diligence.”
Of equal concern is that if due diligence is not being observed where WEEE is concerned, chances are that compliance with other crucial legislation, and even basic best practice, are in jeopardy too. Data protection for instance.
Where hardware hasn’t been disposed of within stipulated guidelines, there’s always a risk that it (and any residual data on it) could fall into criminal hands. And that carries with it potentially huge commercial and legal repercussions. From a criminal damage perspective alone, data on each individual consumer can be worth £10 to a criminal, £1million for a drive containing 100,000 customer records in other words.
Thankfully though, keeping within the bounds of legality and good practice shouldn’t be too taxing provided businesses stick to a few basic ground rules.
First, when buying new hardware, be sure to take note of and keep its producer’s registration number so they can be contacted come disposal time. Alternatively, the supplier or retailer with whom you’re working may offer to affect the disposal on your behalf, but make sure they have the proper WEEE registrations. It’s also worth noting that many suppliers charge for such services. With existing hardware, check its recycling symbols. If the symbol is a bar underneath a crossed-out wheelie bin then it’s non-historic’ (produced after 13th August 2005) so its disposal is the responsibility of the producer.
Historic equipment displays a similar symbol but without the bar. Consumables such as printer cartridges fall outside WEEE regulations but instead are usually subject to Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) rules. Outsourcing to a specialist disposal company can be a tempting option. But proceed with care.
“By law, any business disposing of IT hardware is responsible for making sure that the company or companies it contracts to do the job for it are properly registered waste carriers”, “The disposer must also ensure that the hardware in question is accompanied by a waste transfer or hazardous waste consignment note and that it is removed to a suitable facility to be treated and recycled.” It is essential to obtain and retain proof of the above.
And a duty of care note may not be enough; companies have to show, and prove that they have shown,
due diligence.” This is not always helped by companies’ existing policies and practices however, there is “a huge amount of ignorance” as regards what does and doesn’t constitute proper hardware disposal.
“The job (often) gets delegated to a junior and not dealt with correctly”. “70% of even large corporates haven’t got a clue how to dispose of hardware properly, and their ignorance of the data protection laws is worse than their ignorance of the (WEEE) Directive.
They don’t understand how to completely destroy data and they often don’t track assets properly either.” In essence there are three ways of destroying data, but perhaps the most drastic and obvious physically crushing the drive is also probably the least effective. Overwriting with random patterns or degaussing, where a huge electromagnetic field destroys the hard disk, are generally considered most effective.
The third option is to disintegrate the hard drive, but this needs to be done to a minimum of 13mm otherwise it may still be possible to recover the data. Other options are now coming to the fore. Charitable donation is a clever way to combine WEEE compliance with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) efforts, for instance via organisations such as Remploy e-cycle, a provider of specialist employment services for disabled people that recycles or remarkets old hardware and components.
“Large corporations say that this gives them the opportunity to do top-to-bottom CSR”, i.e. If a firm chooses to dispose of its equipment via Remploy it is simultaneously helping people with disabilities, helping the environment, and donating useful equipment. It is even possible to profit from this process, with refurbishment costs varying from £10 per machine and refurbished machines selling for between £70 and £150.
Trends in Green Building and Sustainable Construction
“Green Building” is a broad term used to describe the design and construction of sustainable and environmentally conscious buildings.
The driving force behind this is to lower our negative impact on the environment and, at the same time, make the buildings we live and work in safer and healthier for us.
According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) statistics,`buildings are responsible for all of the following:
39% of US carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
70% of US electricity consumption
15 trillion gallons of water consumption
Even though there is still some controversy over the effect of greenhouse gases on the environment, the last two statistics are very important for those of us living in urban areas experiencing continuous growth, especially the American Southwest. With our population expansion, aging water and electrical infrastructure, and shrinking landfills, designing and constructing green and sustainable buildings makes practical sense from a utilitarian perspective.
In fact, USGBC data shows that green buildings use 36% less energy, require fewer raw materials, and divert less waste to our landfills. Furthermore, the “increased” cost of green building is only one or two percent more expensive than a conventional building. This minute difference exemplifies the tangible and long-term benefits of sustainable design, primarily due to the fact that green buildings conserve water and electricity. Thus, while they are more expensive to build, green structures will save money by conserving more energy over time.
Another push towards the green build movement is by local governments. More and more municipalities
are adopting the USGBC LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines for new
and renovated buildings. In 2006, at the USGBC Greenbuild expo, the Mayor of Denver challenged other major cities to see who can have the most LEED® certified green buildings. They are accomplishing this by offering tax breaks to private corporations and mandating sustainable construction for city-financed projects.
This has led to a dramatic increase in the number of sustainable projects built by LEED® Certified general contractors. However, this growth has not come without challenges. Currently, the following issues are restricting the number of green projects being built:
Increased demand for green products has lead to long lead times
New and unspecified materials are labeled “green” products which are not necessarily certified
Building officials are struggling with a steep learning curve on how to evaluate these new products and sustainable building techniques
Despite these difficulties, the USGBC, sustainability advocates, and green building construction management firms are meeting to overcome these challenges.
The LEED® process is constantly under review and continues to adopt the latest codes and products. This includes Standard 189, a new minimum standard for green building. The USGBC is currently developing LEED® 3.0 and working with national code writers to include new products and techniques.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has even rolled out a new initiative called “Sustainability 2030,” which at its roots, is looking to design all buildings by the year 2030 as carbon neutral. The USGBC has even initiated the Green Advantage Builders Certification for contractors to certify their knowledge in green building
techniques.
So what does green building mean at the end of the day? It’s simple yet profound: Do the right thing for you, the environment, and the next generation. While most companies are concerned with their bottom line, they ought to embrace the idea that energy and water conservation, green building, and the use of “green materials” in construction stands to increase their savings over time while positioning them as a leader in environmental stewardship.
According to the USGBC, we spend 90% of our time indoors. Due to this fact, scientists have identified an increase in allergies, asthma, absenteeism from school, and even work. There have been numerous studies done on post occupancy productivity levels, which have increased within “green” built facilities. Not only does
green adaptation result in less sick days taken, but also shows an increase in productivity, job
satisfaction, and in the case of schools, better grades.
So, as we positively affect the environment around us with sustainable green construction, we eventually create better health for ourselves.
Carbon Footprint, What’s your Shoe Size?
One in five drivers is suffering from Green Guilt according to research by Prudential.
There appears to be a trend that those who live and/or work in the city are more sympathetic to the problem of pollution. Whereas, in direct contrast, those who live rurally are said to be less likely to worry. Do we take our environment for granted; the answer to this question seems to be, unfortunately, yes.
3.5 million drivers confess to owning 3 or more cars, this would send the average carbon footprint rocketing skywards. There are some benefits to be had by decreasing your carbon footprint, cheaper motor insurance is just one of them.
So what can you do to make your carbon footprint smaller; Why not consider switching your fuel to join those who already benefit from cheaper tax and insurance in the diesel owning portion of the population. Diesel engines are typically much more fuel efficient than their petrol counterparts.
Ask yourself the questions; Could I manage with a smaller engine, could I car share, can I take the bus? And you will find the answer to these questions is more than likely to be yes.
There’s also the option of converting your car to run on Liquid Petroleum gas.
This is a BI product of off-shore oil production and can be commonly sourced at most large petrol stations. It is seen as a good stop-gap between high emission petrol engines and a future environmentally friendly fuel source. On average it will cost you half the price of petrol (although returning only half the fuel economy); the advantage to the environment outweighs the negative aspects due to much lower emissions.
So when you decide to next swap your car, consider changing to a more environmentally friendly engine. Who knows, you may even save money on your tax and car insurance.
The conclusion it seems, has to be, what can you do to help the environment?
Posted in Carbon accounting | 
Tags: Carbon Accounting, Footprint, Shoe, Size, What’s | 
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A Summary Of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Regulations (USA)
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) tracking and reporting will soon become mandatory in the United States, with the first reports due in early 2011 for the emissions data collected for the 2010 calendar year. The proposed federal law affects businesses and governments with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems or refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, as well as those who produce industrial chemicals, fossil fuels, cars and engines, and any organization consuming electricity. It is the responsibility of companies to review and comply with the new EPA GHG regulations or face substantial fines down the road.
Greenhouse Gas tracking is outlined in The Climate Registry Protocol, which details the requirements for mandatory monitoring and tracking. The premise around greenhouse gas tracking are included in the U.S. Clean Air Act, aimed at improving air quality and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes mandatory reporting of the gases contributing to global climate change from about 13,000 facilities nationwide. These facilities account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions within the United States and present a logical starting point for emissions reductions in the US. The regulation would cover companies that either release large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) directly or produce or import fuels and chemicals that when burned emit large amounts of carbon (CO2) gases.
One of the major focuses of the Greenhouse Gas tracking protocol is refrigerant gases used in refrigeration and cooling systems by numerous facilities, including manufacturers, food processors, retailers, grocery stores, office buildings, municipalities and hospitals, just to name a few. Because of their chemical makeup, refrigerant gases contain significant levels of carbon in the form of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Emission and/or venting of these chemicals were regulated under the U.S. Clean Air Act for several years.
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) as the name implies lead to an increase in heat trapping atmosphere and an ultimate increase in global average tempatures. The intent and overall goal of GHG tracking relates to better collection and management of the emissions data now so informed decisions can be made about future carbon trading schemes. The tracking protocols also help government entities to more accurately inventory the amounts of emissions reaching the atmosphere. The new GHG legislation puts in motion the data collection, organization, and first stage reporting mechanisms to allow the US to accurately calculate and maintain a GHG emissions baseline across the entire economy. This will allow for better understanding today as well as to determine progress for future Cap and Trade programs. With this accurate information, it can be determined if the guidelines are effective in lowering the harmful effects of these substances to the ozone layer.
Greenhouse Gas tracking involves measuring direct and indirect emissions and keeping extensive records on its usage, maintenance, leak containment and disposal. Heating and cooling systems, as well as other energy consumption, are defined as direct emissions.
Better and more effective GHG management is an objective of the current US government. No longer will the US sit by and watch the world attack the issue of climate change. The US is now taking action to lower carbon emissions to the betterment of future generations. By taking no action, the earth’s makeup would significantly change, with humans and animals adversely affected and marine and plant life severely damaged.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) management and reporting is now falling under the EPA regulations contained within The U.S. Clean Air Act because the causes of global climate change is now well know. Human activities and the use of global warming substances, like refrigerant gases, are all leading to increased global warming. The substances are carbon dioxide, chlorine, bromine, nitrous oxide, chloroflurocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, methyl bromide, methyl chloroform, sulfur hexafluoride, hydroxyl, perfluorocarbobs, halons, carbon tetrachloride, fluorine, and the fluorinated gases hydrofluorinated ethers and nitrogen trifluoride. The mandatory law is aimed at reducing the use of these substances to lower the effects of global warming.
Beginning in 2010, GHG management, tracking, and reporting will be environmental law for the highest emitting facilities. Part of the management will revolve around better tracking and reporting of refrigerant gases. Entities must submit usage reports and service records for all refrigerants having high GWP. Special calculations are applied to refrigerants when any leads occur. The GHG emission reporting rules and related protocols allow for progressive companies to take advantage of software already created to help with carbon emissions reporting. Some web applications allow organizations to track GHGs to the asset level across global, distributed facilities.
Posted in Climate Change | Tags: Greenhouse, Pending, Regulations, Reporting, Summary | No Comments »
Online Corporate Social Responsibility – The Latest Trend
Corporate social responsibility has moved from being a buzz word in management books to an important aspect of business activities. The concept of CSR is vague for many; however, it generally refers to the connection of business decision making with ethical values. Even though the modern society rests on the pillars of governance and ethics, the distinction between social role and business motive of an organization cannot be denied.
Publishing CSR reports can have tremendous benefits for any company as this affect its reputation and branding in a positive manner. Advancement in technology has led to the popularity of online corporate social responsibility reporting. With the Internet becoming an interactive platform for communication, online CSR reports can help business organizations expand their reach. Many companies are focusing on the maintenance of a significant profile on the Internet. The need to update latest information for the stakeholders and sharing good work initiatives with a wider audience has become order of the day.
The concept of using the Internet to share corporate social responsibility reports and programs has gained tremendous popularity in the last few years. Companies are cashing in on the scope and access of the latest technology despite being active through their community based projects. A section of their website is especially dedicated to CSR reports for the interest of far reaching audiences. BITC (Business in the Community) is one such company that has been taking advantage of online resources for the implementation of its corporate social responsibility programs.
Companies need to keep analyzing the sustainability section of their website on a regular basis. They need to keep a track of how many visitors browsed through the CSR report in a month. In case the figure is low, they need to come up strategies to make the report accessible to readers who might find the report interesting but are not visiting the website. It also helps to figure out who reads the sustainability report. This might help the companies generate better reports and also include a feedback mechanism to start a dialogue.
About ISO 14001
The ISO 14001 aims to reduce the environmental carbon footprints that many businesses leave behind today because of not taking the right steps to be environmental sustainable. This standard promotes the decrease in the waste of necessary business resources and also reduces the pollution that can sometimes be a by product of a business.
About ISO 14001
The most updated version of the ISO 14001 was released in the year 2004 by the International Organisation of Standardization (ISO), which was attended by members from all the committees from around the world. In order for a company to be awarded the ISO 14001 standard certificate, an external auditor has to audit the company by an audit body that has been accredited by an accreditation body. The certification auditors are required to be accredited by the International Registrar of Certification Auditor and the certification body has to be accredited by the Registrar Accreditation Board in the USA or by the National Accreditation Board in Ireland.
The structure of ISO 14001 is very much like the ISO 9000, which is management standard, so these two standards can be implemented side by side to achieve the best results. As a part of the ISO 14000 family, which deals with different aspects of environmental issues, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14002 deal with environmental management system (EMS). ISO 14001 gives the requirements for the EMS and ISO 14002 gives the basic guidelines for EMS.
Environmental Management System with ISO 14001:2004
The EMS, as per the requirements of the ISO 14001, enables the company, may it be of any size, location and income to:
It helps the company improve its environmental strategy and this positively affects their environmental performance. It helps in identifying and controlling the environmental impact that the activities, services or products of the company might have. And it helps in carrying out a systematic approach to set environmental targets and objectives, to achieve these and also to demonstrate that they have been achieved.
How does it work?
ISO 14001 does not specify or chalk out a definite level that each business has to reach. If the performance was determined, then it would have to be done for every specific business. But that is not how it works and has a very different approach, like:
The ISO has various standards dealing with environmental issues. ISO 14001 deals with a framework provided for a strategic and holistic approach to the businesses environmental policy, actions and plans. It gives the general requirements for the EMS. This also states the reference to the communication requirements for the communication of the environmental management issues between the company, stakeholders, the public and the regulators. As these standards are not company specific, any and every business can undertake them as long as they are dedicated to the continued and improved environmental performance and they have a commitment to comply with the set norms.