Why would you get ISO 14001 certification?

In this Issue
Note from Jean
Featured Articles
Enviro Action Activities
Links to Articles

Note from Jean
Winter has certainly arrived in South Australia it has been a maximum temperature of around 13 degrees C and raining heavily.  On Saturday we had hail!  I am really pleased that with my well insulated place I have only needed to use heating for an hour or so each day.  We certainly need the rain but I wish the SA Government had implemented storage for our storm water instead of letting it all run out to see and pumping from the Murray!  I guess the ground water is increasing.  It is really sad to see dying and dead trees in the suburbs and there are lots of them that I see as I move around my district.  Hopefully increased winter rain will help some more trees survive.

This week I am in Melbourne at a marketing confernce.  It is no use being very good at helping clients implement effective environmental and other management systems if only a few people know this.  So I need to learn to market.  I need to ask you to pass on my information when you know someone who wants help.  I would deeply apreciate that and if some of you want to earn affiliate commission for helping in this way, please let me know by phone, fax or email.

I was speaking to a potential client last week who thought I only ran training programs about ISO 14001 and did not realise that my form of consultancy is about training my clients and coaching them while they buld their system using my format and templates.  This way they build a more sustainable system that happens using the more traditional consultancy model where the consultant does more of the work.  I do it this way because it works better for you. 

I do work both on and offline and also as a combination where I start and sometimes finish in your own business then work with you either in a group, individually or with your own group on line between visits because this reduction of travel is more environmentally friendly and more frequent short sessions work more effectively that having a consultant onsite for a full day.

Featured Article  Why certification?
Enviro Action had our ISO 14001 Audit on Monday - and passed.  The first time requires a Pre-Audit which happened in June and is followed by the main audit.  It is very good for me to be in my clients shoes and undergo the auditing process.  I found the process very worthwhile because I always learn more from having an auditor going through everything in my business and giving me an objective assessment. 

This is special because as far as I know, I am the only consultancy in Australia that actually has ISO 14001 themselves!  I live what I teach, coach and consult.  There are a few consultancies with ISO 9001 but very few are focused on the environment, most are quality based.  Enviro Action has been certified to ISO 9001 for 4 years because I have always felt that the greatest risk in my business is in being sure we give good customer satisfaction and that is what quality is about.  

However, with all the pressure about green marketing I decided that Enviro Action should also be certified “green” with ISO 14001.  And although I am a qualified auditor myself, I wanted to be on the customer end of the audit.  I find that the audit is a valuable service where an experienced professional has a good look at my business from an outside view and gives me opportunities for improvement.

So what is the difference between the two standards.
•    ISO 9001, quality is about ensuring your customers are satisfied and that you have the infrastructure in place to do this.  It is about giving repeatable and predictable service.
•    ISO 14001 is about identifying your environmental footprint and analysing the risks of having significant impacts.  It is also about complying with legislation and regulations and reviewing and assessing how well you comply with these regulations.  

Both systems develop a management plan with objectives and targets.  What is important is to identify the resources you need to manage each risk and achieve the objectives that you set.  These resources are what you build into your operation and the trick is do the initial work very thoroughly so that the system you build is able to be simple and low in paper.  

If it is not simple it won’t work and go on working.  The core of your management system is the same for both quality and environment.  In both systems you take the plan, make it work and build in feedback, review and continuous improvement.

A good system saves you time and money.  It helps your staff to know what is expected of them and to do their jobs well.  If you do a job more than once, it is worth documenting it so you can quickly look it up and save making mistakes or reinventing the wheel.  Just keep the documentation simple.  I find having a system saves me hours and increases efficiency.  It builds in certainty.  The system also gives customer and regulatory confidence.

You can easily integrate both systems and also add ISO 14001 onto an existing ISO 9001 system.  ISO 14001 is the internationally recognised “green” certification, and is increasingly being required for tenders and contracts.  The most important benefit is the increase in efficiency and the help it gives your business. 

Identification of all your impacts also gives you a very good handle on your carbon footprint which you all need but especially if you are in a supply chain to a larger business requiring carbon accounting.

The next group putting ISO 14001 in their business starts this week with a download of information to either read or listen to (MP3 files) and the first teleconference on Wednesday next week.  I still have 5 places left in this group so don't miss out.  If you start now, you can have it in place by Christmas.  It will save you far more than the $2,400 it costs!  One client rang me 3 weeks into his training to tell me I had saved him $40,000 by getting him to re-think a process.

Enviro Action Activities
Enviro Action offers training and consultancy to help businesses achieve better environmental management and certified management systems.  Here is a link to the main services we offer and you can get a range of off-the-shelf or do-it-yourself training at very cost effective prices.  I have been helping businesses implement management systems for over ten years and I would not be still doing it if my clients did not find it helpful.  I certainly would not be given awards for my work unless it was effective.

I am getting a lot of requests recently for help with their buildings and help on the home front and I am responding to this.  I am working with someone to develop a range of off the shelf DVDs to help with environmentally friendly lighting, building products etc and I will let you know when these are available.

Just a reminder I have a new group starting ISO 14001 towards the end of this week with the first teleconference next Wednesday.  Don't miss out.  I have 5 places left.

Here are the links to the latest articles on the Enviro Jean Blog

Coastal property values affected by landmark decision

In a landmark decision, Victoria’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal has banned the development of six homes in the farming/coastal area of Toora, nearly 200km south-east of Melbourne because of rising sea levels and storm severity.

What is the State of the World?

We all know about rising food and energy prices, water scarcity, climate change and this all leads to increasing migration and political instability

The 2008 State of the Future report by the Millennium Project has reported on this and also insists that “advances in science, technology, education, economics and management seem capable of making the world work far better than it does today”.  Read more

Green Beer? What next?

The Fosters group have brought out a carbon neutral beer called Cascade Green  I watched an interview with Mr DelZoppo from Fosters on the Eco Report.  He discussed the difficulties they had quantifying the impact of the supply chain This needed to include the packaging, label, bottles and lids as well as the contents including all the ingredients from water, to hops and all the rest.  Read more

Can going green destroy a species?

Using palm oil as an alternative fuel is driving the orang-utans of Borneo to extinction.  These beautiful animals only live in the wild on Sumatra and Borneo now and their forest is being destroyed to plant palm trees to collect the oil, then the displaced orang-utans are being killed by the famers to prevent them eating palm shoots.  They consider them to be a pest.  Read more

Queensland Timber Industry Concerns about Carbon Trading

Members of Queensland’s forestry industry will meet in Brisbane today to discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of the plan which the Government wants to start in 2010. They feel it could change the face of their business.  Read moreCoastal properties

South-east Australia’s natural forests are among the most carbon dense in the world

These forest store three times more carbon than Australian and international climate change experts realise, according to a new report by The Australian National University.  Read more

Kindest regards

Jean Cannon
Helping business build effective management systems to save money and grow
It is easy to be green

Winner 2008 FarmBis Distance Learning/eLearning Award, 2007 South Australian Seafood Industry Training Award in recognition of training excellence and more

For more information or suggestions about how I can serve you better,
please contact me on jean@enviroaction.com.au.

Customer information is never supplied to any other list or provider.  We retain your information only so we can serve you better and supply you with bonuses and additional information as it becomes available in the future.  Your information is kept using our strict in-house confidentiality procedures.