Government agencies consider adopting ISO 14000 standards. (Industry Viewpoint).

As the third largest federal landowner and steward for tens of millions of acres of land, the Defense Department has a vast responsibility to protect the environment. In recent years, the Pentagon has developed environmental programs that emphasize compliance, pollution prevention and conservation.

However, a recent Defense Department Inspector General report concluded that while traditional compliance-based environmental management programs had resulted in substantial improvements in environmental quality and human health and safety, the existing programs were not effective for assuring continual improvement.

The IG report concluded that the Defense Department needed a more mature, quality-based environmental management program to improve compliance, lower compliance costs, decrease regulatory oversight, reduce or eliminate penalties and more effectively demonstrate environmental achievements. Pentagon officials decided that the ISO 14000 provided the tools to achieve those goals.

Executive Order

In April 2000, then-President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 13148 tided, "Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management." The order was meant to ensure that government agencies implement environmentally sound practices. During his first year in office, President George W Bush re-confirmed EC 13148 as a national priority for government agencies.

The EO requires that each federal agency implement an environmental management system at all appropriate agency facilities by no later than December 2005. As that deadline approaches, many government organizations are finding that ISO 14000 often is a useful option.

ISO 14000 is a series of international standards that were established in 1996 by the International Organization for Standardization. The ISO 14000 series defines and establishes environmental management best practices for global industries.

The Global Environment & Technology Foundation predicts that by the end of 2002 there will be at least 150,000 organizations compliant with ISO 14001 (ISO 14001 is the actual standard in the ISO 14000 system that constitutes third-party registration).

Well before Clinton issued that executive order, the Defense Department had conducted a pilot program for implementation of environmental management systems (EMS) at selected installations. As a result, some military organizations proceeded with ISO 14001 EMS registrations.

(Log onto www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/ Library/ISO14000 for more information about the Defense Department pilot ISO EMS project.)

The Air Force has instituted an Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Management System (ESOH-MS) policy statement, directing the implementation of an "ISO-like" management system structure. The Air Force's initiative will include the areas of safety and occupational health. Some individual Air Force bases also are pursuing ISO 14001 registration.

The Air National Guard has provided its ESOH staff with initial training in ISO 14000 EMS implementation and analysis.

The U.S. Navy, following its participation in the original Defense Department pilot study, has sought registration to ISO 14001 at individual bases. The most recent example is the successful registration of the T-AKE, a new line of replenishment vessels that is the first in a line of Navy ships that have been built to be more environmentally friendly.

The Coast Guard and the Marine Corps also have successfully registered individual bases to the ISO 14001 standard.

The Army has issued an EMS mandate, staring that all installations conform to the ISO 14001 EMS standard by 2005. The Army EMS action memorandum was issued by Raymond J. Fatz, deputy assistant secretary of the Army.

Other government agencies have moved to address conformance to BO 13148, including the U.S. Agriculture Department, Forest Service, Postal Service and Department of Education. Many organizations are still reviewing their options and the applicability of the EO to their activities.

Government Attention

EO 13148 was what initially forced the government's attention to ISO 14000. Many government agencies have identified ISO 14000 as the most flexible and applicable EMS model. The ISO framework is pliable enough to encompass safety and occupational health issues.

Another reason for seeking compliance with the ISO 14001 EMS standard is the opportunity to reduce fines and minimize liabilities should the organization find itself out of compliance with another environmental regulation. Moreover, by establishing a disciplined ISO 14000 EMS framework, the probability of failing to meet another environmental regulation decreases significantly.

Environmental responsibility has become a source of concern in the United States, even among the general public. Establishing a strong environmental image helps government agencies bolster the public's confidence, as well as promote a standard for how private companies should operate.

The popularity of ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) certifications in government agencies is another important reason for the increased adoption of the ISO 14000 EMS standards. The management system principles of ISO 9000 were incorporated into the ISO 14000 EMS standards, but were specifically targeted at the organization's environmental activities. ISO 9000 QMS certification follows a similar structure as ISO 14000.

By establishing an ISO 14000 EMS, organizations might be able to reduce costs--by decreasing waste, improving energy consumption, developing better waste disposal methods and preventing liability fines. Studies show that organizations registered to ISO 14001 have identified cost savings as one of their first improvements.

Many ISO-consulting companies specialize in providing services to government organizations seeking to implement ISO 14000. There are software programs available to guide organizations through their own ISO implementations. One such tool, for example, is called equisitionASP.

Advice to Managers

Before an agency begins the ISO 14000 process, it is important to get commitment from top management. A way to do this is to prepare a presentation that assesses the organization's environmental strengths and weaknesses; environmental improvement goals; estimated current environmental costs versus post-certification costs; approximate implementation costs and a list of ISO 14000 benefits.

Hiring an outside consulting team could help direct the audit, interpret the environmental standards, set realistic environmental objectives and a timeline for achieving those objectives, expedite procedures and processes and manage training and documentation.

The organization should perform an environmental aspect/impact analysis. To conduct this analysis, it is important to determine the magnitude of factors such as administrative and engineering controls, resource use, biophysical considerations (air emissions), generation of hazardous or non-hazardous waste, noise or odor issues, legal requirements, business considerations, community environmental concerns, past history (internal audits and environmental reports) and support infrastructure, such as training, procedures and monitoring.

An ISO 14000 EMS implementation takes a great deal of commitment, financial support and work to complete. Once the decision has been made to pursue certification, it's important to establish a realistic timeline fur completing the project. Depending upon a number of variables, an efficient implementation will typically take between six and 10 months.

The fastest and most cost-effective way to complete the ISO 14000 certification is to build upon an already established EMS. If an organization has an ISO 9000 QMS in place, most of the time and costs of implementing the EMS can be avoided, because both systems follow a similar structure and are designed to work together.

When it's time to select a registrar to perform the ISO 14001 registration audit and issue the certificate, the organization must ensure that the registrar is approved by an official accreditation service. Otherwise, any certification performed by the registrar may hold little or no value. Also, one must be aware of non-accredited certification bodies that offer help for achieving ISO 14000, or award "certificates," without performing a full assessment of the system.

Executive Order (EO) 13148: Timeline of Activities

EO Section                                         Due Date

305         Planning and Accountability            March 31, 2002

            Each agency shall ensure that its
            facilities develop a written plan
            to achieve the goals
            established under the EO.

307         Annual reports                         Ongoing

            Each agency shall submit
            annual reports to the
            Environmental Protection Agency
            on implementation of this order.
            Reports are due October 1.

401         Promoting Environmental                October 31, 2001
            Management and Leadership
            Environmental Management Systems

            Each agency shall conduct an           April 22, 2002
            EMS self-assessment.
            Each agency shall implement            December 31, 2005
            an EMS pilot project.
            Each agency shall implement an EMS     April 22, 2001
            at all appropriate agency facilities.

402         Facility Compliance Audits

            Each agency that does not have         April 22, 2001
            an established regulatory
            compliance audit program shall
            develop and implement one.
            Each agency shall develop              Ongoing
            an awards program.

404         Management Leadership and              Ongoing
            Performance Evaluations:

            Each agency shall include
            training provisions of the EO in
            senior-level management
            training and for program managers.

Peter Grier is vice president of environmental services of Prism eSolutions, in Philadelphia. The firm's Web address is www.primesolutions.com.