Fourth Oomph Seminar – ISO14001 – beyond the badge

April 19th, 2012

Our fourth Oomph seminar has been informed by the proposed changes to ISO14001 and our involvement with a number high level roundtables and contributions to opinion pieces. The style of this seminar was very discursive with contributions from everyone being moderated by us to keep things moving (which actually wasn’t needed very often). So rather than chart the conversation, we have distilled some of the key points and areas of discussion into five groups.

Leadership and Management Review
Systems integration
External auditor involvement and personal confidence
Accreditation, certification and supplier selection
EMS value and strategic priorities.

If there is one overarching conclusion then it is this: if we are to make significant and meaningful progress, we must stop being obsessed with achieving the badge.

After a very brief introduction to the revision process for ISO14001 and the likely new High Level Structure based on ISO Guide 83, we dived straight into gathering first hand experiences of both the use and application of the standard and the process of certification.

1. Leadership and Management Review

The best barometer of an EMS is the efficacy of the Management Review process. The right people need to be in the room, involved actively in the review and direction of the system. This resulted in some uncomfortable shuffling amongst participants. In order for ISO14001 EMS to gain credibility and to increase it’s worth to the organisation, the top people need to attend and participate in the decision-making process.

2. Systems integration

Are Environmental performance and management in danger of being sidelined? While some said that integration of environment, safety and quality had resulted in better overall performance, this was not universal. At the root of this seems to be that all too often ISO14001 is seen as an end in itself, rather than the priority given to process of culture and behaviour change that is now becoming more commonplace in safety systems. One key phrase that struck a chord was that the EMS must “reflect the world as it is, not as you’d like it to be” – change takes time, vision and not just a certificate.

3. External auditor involvement and personal confidence

While its easy to blame weak or inconsistent auditing by certification bodies for poor performance in EMS, in reality all parties in this process bear some responsibility. Only one participant had discussed what value the organisation wanted from the process of certification. It was generally agreed that significant improvement can occur if the auditor understands what the organisation wants and indeed the organisation knows what it wants. It is therefore implicit on the system owner to recognise the broader benefits of external scrutiny and what the system can deliver. All too often the system owner feels extremely pressurised during external audits, in part because they have taken on too much ownership and have not delegated up and down the organisation. They feel they are being audited not the system. Ultimately this is both stressful to the individual and it can become a reason why the system doesn’t evolve or operate as effectively as it could.

4. Accreditation, certification and supplier selection

The common confusion over accreditation and certification is perhaps symptomatic of a deeper issue around implied quality and credibility. Organisations can create problems for themselves by insisting on ISO14001 as part of the supplier selection criteria. The feeling that some suppliers are badge collecting and the desire of procurement teams for a ready-made solution provided by certification are causes for concern. In practice, organisations need to look behind the badge carried by suppliers. The problem with a one-size doesn’t fit all approach is it is time consuming and expensive, however when done well can provide real value through developing truly beneficial partnerships.

5. EMS value and strategic priorities

It sometimes feels that environmental improvement happens in spite of the ISO14001 EMS, rather than because of it. All too often the EMS will be left to handle the on site and day to day operational matters, while the meaty strategic (i.e. big ticket) issues get sliced off to be managed by others. An example might be energy and carbon – a topic so obviously relevant – but increasingly not really an integrated part of many EMS. Decisions taken to install alternative energy generating sources will rarely be a part of the system and as such it will lose credibility and perceived value. This in turn perpetuates a view that it is a bolt on system run by ’tree-hugger’s, rather than one that is core to the business.

The common conclusion that we must move beyond looking at environmental management as a badge collecting exercise must happen if ISO14001 is to become a powerful strategic tool as some of those involved in the ISO revision process would like. To move beyond a simple compliance tool, we as professionals must start to incorporate the language and processes of the organisation and stop using the ISO14001 standard as the template for the EMS.

2 Responses to “Fourth Oomph Seminar – ISO14001 – beyond the badge”

Emma says:

April 20, 2012 at 12:44 pm

I particularly liked the model of how to tailor communications to different layers in organisations although money won’t always speak to senior decision makers in the university sector…

Reply
- Dan admin says:
  
  April 20, 2012 at 2:14 pm
  
  Thanks Emma,
  
  I’ve made an attempt at capturing the model. It is in another short blog http://www.vivianpartnership.co.uk/language-and-layers-internal-communications-model/
  
  Reply

Testimonials

It is fantastic to leave a seminar feeling inspired and full of practical ideas. Thursday’s oomph seminar did exactly that, Ben and Dan are naturals at putting an audience at ease which meant real participation from the group. As environmental professionals often form a one person team, it is fantastic to share a room with like minded individuals from local businesses who have faced and tackled similar challenges and can offer insight and advice. Eagerly anticipating the next installment of Oomph!

Nicola Duffy, Environmental Co-ordinator at Highcross, Leicester

Thank you both for inviting us to today’s Oomph seminar. From our point of view, we found the stimulus material and subsequent debate insightful from a sustainability perspective, but also in a wider context applicable to the successful deployment of general business initiatives.

Participant at Oomph Seminar 30 June 2011

Really enjoyed this morning. I have attended very few seminars over the past two years simple because they are all too similar, often the the same speakers and follow the same theme. Today was most importantly enjoyable, interesting and got the brain cells working. I like small groups with variety of people and backgrounds.

Participant at first Oomph Seminar 30 June 2011