The environmental management system (EMS) has two areas of focus: environmental compliance and environmental sustainability.
- The environmental compliance aspect of the EMS consists of regulatory compliance and monitoring programs that implement federal, state, local, and tribal requirements; agreements; and permits under the Legacy Management contract.
- The environmental sustainability aspect promotes and integrates sustainability initiatives such as energy and natural resource conservation, waste minimization, green construction, and use of eco-friendly products and services into all phases of work.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) EMS was formally implemented in October 2005 and continues to evolve as new directives and guidance documents are issued and implemented. The LM EMS is a joint system between the LM employees and the contractor employees with the following Mission Statement:
LM EMS Joint Mission Statement
LM and its prime support contractor are committed to excellence in environmental stewardship. LM’s EMS is a comprehensive system to incorporate life-cycle environmental considerations into all aspects of the LM mission to maximize beneficial use of finite resources, minimize wastes and adverse environmental impacts, and meet or exceed compliance with applicable environmental, public health, and resource protection laws, regulations, and DOE requirements.
The LM EMS is a process for reducing the environmental impacts resulting from LM work activities, products, and services that directs work to occur in a manner that protects the workers, the public, and the environment. The LM EMS is integrated with the safety management system, which follows the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” cycle to ensure continuous improvement.
DOE Order 436.1 "Departmental Sustainability,” defines requirements and responsibilities for managing sustainability within DOE. It requires DOE to comply with the sustainability requirements contained in Executive Order (EO) 13653, Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change; and EO 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade; the National Energy Conservation Policy Act; the Energy Policy Acts (EPAct) of 1992 and 2005; the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; and continue to adhere to the inventory and reporting requirements of Section 301 through 313 (including implementing regulations) of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 at DOE facilities, and related statutory and administrative requirements. The Order requires each site to develop and commit to implementing an annual Site Sustainability Plan (SSP) that identifies its respective contribution toward meeting DOE’s sustainability goals. Additionally, DOE sites must use an EMS as a platform for SSP implementation and teams with objectives and measurable targets that contribute to DOE meeting its sustainability goals.
