Why is Ems important?
Agricultural markets are becoming more sensitive to the environmental impacts of production. Access to markets is sometimes restricted to those who are meeting international and market requirements on environmental management. The EMS is focused on the environmental impacts of production. It offers farmers a structured method leading to the reduction of direct and indirect on- and off-site impacts. Specific impacts targeted within EMS are leakage of water and nutrients, wind and water erosion, persistent toxicities, pests, diseases, weeds and the loss of biodiversity in surrounding areas. How does EMS work? An environmental management system (EMS) is a systematic approach to assist any enterprise to identify and manage its impacts on the environment, while providing opportunites for improved business performance. As an integrated business management tool, an EMS can effectively complement and build on other existing activities such as property management planning, best management pract
Perhaps the best general publication on why EMS is important to global environmental protection is the report, Global Green Standards. It details the objectives, history and applications of EMS and the policy frameworks that support it. The business perspective is well documented in Code Green: Business Adopts Voluntary Environmental Standard. This article examines the range of voluntary environmental standards including EMS and why they are an important complement to regulation for improving environmental performance. The OECD argues that EMS is an important part of global efforts on Promoting Global Corporate Responsibility. OECD has also tried to answer the question, “What Do Standards for Environmental Management Systems Offer?” as an alternative to regulation. One of the best general policy analysis articles is “Managing a Better Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for ISO 14001 in Public Policy and Commerce,” (needs MS Word or MS Word Viewer) which explores some of the impor
Some overseas background About 70,000 Canadian farms have completed Environmental Farm Plans. The Canadian Environmental Farm Planning program has been the model for several EMS approaches in Australia. It was initiated in the province of Ontario in 1991 and has since been adopted nationally. The process helps farmers identify and address environmental risks and opportunities. It is entry-level EMS (not ISO 14001 – see later) and introduces farmers to self-assessment and action planning. In Europe, several major supermarkets require farmers to provide evidence of responsible environmental management, as well as evidence of the farms being safe work places and the produce being quality assured. This is known as EurepGAP® which has protocols that define Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and sets standards relating to farm and food safety, quality of produce and environmental responsibility. EurepGAP requires that defined standards are met, whereas EMS is about having evidence of continuo
