Acknowledge

Engage

Chart

| Register

>> >>

Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

What has the Army done? What does the Army have planned? Why is this important? Read more about it.

What is it?

An environmental management system (EMS) is a systematic approach to dealing with the environmental aspects of an installation. An EMS integrates environmental stewardship into the overall management of an Army installation and provides an organized structure for achieving the goals established in an installation’s environmental policy. The goal of the Army's mission-focused EMS is to actively promote mission readiness by continually improving environmental performance to reduce mission impacts across Army installations, and by focusing resources on activities that have the greatest potential to enhance the Army mission.

It employs a continuous cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing, and improving the actions that an organization takes to meet its environmental obligations (Plan-Do-Check-Act). As such, it provides a framework for managing all of an organization’s environmental responsibilities so they become more efficient and more integrated into overall operations and activities. An EMS enables an installation of any size or type to identify and control the impact of its activities, products or services on the environment. This allows them to not only achieve and maintain compliance with applicable environmental requirements, but also to continuously improve their overall environmental performance. This integrated approach to managing environmental aspects allows for efficient, prioritized program execution.

President Clinton signed Executive Order (EO) 13148, Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management on 22 April 2000. This EO established new environmental goals and requirements for all federal agencies. Included was the requirement to implement an EMS at all appropriate agency facilities by Dec. 31, 2005. Sections 201 and 401 specifically address the new EMS requirements. View the entire Executive Order at http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/2000.html#13148

In October 2009, The President signed Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which reaffirmed support for EMS first required by Executive Order 13148 of April 21, 2000 Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management. Executive Order 13423 of January 2007, Strengthening Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, expanded the requirement to at all appropriate organizational levels, expanding the scope of the EMS, and imposing new EMS auditing requirements.

(go to top of page)

What has the Army done?

In July 2001, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health) signed an action memorandum on EMS, which directed installations to initiate EMS implementation before October 2004 with an EMS in place by Dec. 31, 2005 and full ISO 14001 implementation required by Sept. 30, 2009.

Army compliance assessors saw a connection between EMS and Environmental Compliance Assessment System (ECAS) in 1996, when the Army analyzed repeat findings. On review, the ECAS team found that while Army installations already had environmental programs in place that addressed many of the elements of the ISO 14001 standard, implementing ISO 14001 could help solve many environmental performance problems. The Army began evaluating EMS conformance at installations in 2003, as part of the Environmental Performance Assessment System (EPAS), which evolved from the ECAS. In 2006, full EMS audits were conducted at installations designated by the Army as EMS Appropriate Facilities to document conformance with the ISO 14001 standard.

To conform with Army policy and the ISO 14001 standard, all major non-conformances documented in an EMS must be fully corrected with an approved corrective action plan in place for any minor non-conformance. All Army EMS appropriate facilities met the requirement to conform to the ISO 14001 standard by Dec. 31, 2009. Current Army policy from October 2010 requires all EMS appropriate facilities to maintain and mature their EMS as the framework to manage all environmental programs, as well as environmental aspects associated with other installation operations.

The Army developed the Environmental Management Systems Implementers Guide, which is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help installation staff in implementing an EMS. In emphasizing the need to take mission priorities into account, it provides guidance on the use of a broad Cross Functional Team, involving leadership, and identifying mission priorities across the installation. Army leadership understands that an EMS will not be successful if it remains only in the environmental office. The people responsible for ensuring success of the mission will embrace programs that truly are designed to benefit them. A properly implemented EMS will help support and enhance the Army’s mission.

The Army also developed the Army Commander’s Guide to Environmental Management Systems. This guide focuses specifically on actions that should be taken by the Garrison Commander (GC) to successfully implement and sustain an effective EMS. The Army has emphasized that the Garrison Commander is the “EMS champion” for an installation, providing direction and leadership to the initiative. The content of this document has been included in the Garrison Commander Course to ensure proper leadership visibility is given to this area.

The Army later developed the Environmental Management System Aspect and Impact Methodology for Army Training Ranges. This methodology, along with Army guidance ensures that impact to training is one of the most prominent factors when determining overall significance of environmental aspects. It also ensures proper visibility and management of those aspects that have the potential to impact installation missions. This represents a dramatic shift in how the Army manages its ranges, and moves the Army from a reactive to a proactive posture, ensuring that training performed today does not restrict the training needs of tomorrow.

The Army's Incentive Programs for Implementing Environmental Management Systems provides a resource installations can use to determine if their state has a program in place which offers regulatory flexibility or other incentives for organizations implementing an EMS.

(go to top of page)

What does the Army have planned?

Although Army installations have implemented ISO 14001 conformant EMS’s, the systems must continue to be improved and matured. The efficient application of resources to adequately prevent or mitigate environmental risk, while fully supporting the mission, is an ongoing goal of Army EMS. Refining installations EMS to better reflect the environmental program management practices at both the installation and headquarters levels will continue to reduce the administrative burden commonly associated with EMS. Efforts to better communicate EMS as how environmental programs are managed, rather than another environmental program to be managed, are ongoing and will be continually reinforced. Once this is achieved, Army environmental programs will better reflect standard Army business practices and be able to better serve mission priorities by providing accountability for resources, documenting decision making processes, reducing redundancies, and providing improvements for continuity of operations.

At the tactical operations level, Soldiers strive to ensure that the mission can continue even with the loss of key personnel. Continuity of operations is also a goal of Army EMS. How the environmental programs at an installation are efficiently executed should be documented so the loss of key staff is not detrimental to the program execution. This will better support the commander to continue the mission and sustain the installation.

(go to top of page)

Why is this important?

EMS makes systematic management of environmental activities a tool for mission accomplishment. EMS can enhance mission performance by:

Aligning mission and environmental goals
Facilitating communication of the true "cost to mission" of environmental issues
Prioritizing limited resources around mitigating risks to mission
Providing clear objectives based on installation defined factors such as mission impact and community concern - not just compliance
Prioritizing program resources around risks that impact the sustainability of the installation
Facilitating communication with stakeholders outside the fence line and building stronger relationships with the community and regulators
Eliminating unnecessary compliance burdens, increasing operational flexibility and reducing total ownership costs through participation in various EMS incentives programs

The USAEC EMS program directly assists in the development and review of Army EMS policy and guidance, and in identifying and leveraging resources, best practices, and lessons learned from other federal and non-federal EMS programs. USAEC seeks out implementation lessons learned and develops materials to support installation implementation efforts, reduce implementation costs, and assure support for mission priorities.

(go to top of page)