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June 13, 2016
According to government statistics in 2015, the United States had in excess of 260,000 schools and colleges. Given the modern emphasis on education and the fact that the population continues to grow, this is only likely to expand in the future. It is, therefore, obvious that these organizations are huge consumers of energy and resources, and would, therefore, benefit from controls being in place, from both an internal cost and an environmental impact point of view. So, given that this is a sector that has largely been overlooked in terms of ISO 14001, what would the benefits be of implementing ISO 14001 in the educational sector?
As mentioned above, the educational sector has been largely ignored in terms of environmental impact, but the environmental considerations and impact of schools and colleges can be great. Let’s look at areas of potential concern to understand where an ISO 14001 project could be of benefit:
In the last five years, there have been a number of colleges that have started their own “sustainability programs” to help reduce their respective environmental impacts, but compliance with a known standard like ISO 14001 could be of great benefit in reducing this collectively huge environmental impact from the sector. So, what benefits could ISO 14001 bring, and how could this be done?
An ISO 14001 implementation in a school or college would obviously need to meet the same requirements as any other, and require the formation of an Environmental Policy, which you can read more about in the article How to write an environmental policy. Identifying the environmental aspects that affect the organization and managing these accordingly is generally the area where the biggest benefits can be seen, and we have listed some of these above; so, let’s consider how these can be managed to yield the greatest benefit:
Planning these strategies and programs within your ISO 14001 implementation can bring many cost and environmental benefits to your school and college, so is that where it ends?
Implementing ISO 14001 can bring all of the stated benefits to your balance sheet and the environment, but a well-managed implementation can achieve more than these relatively short-term results. In the article How to perform communication related to the EMS we examined the communication aspect. If you include your student base in this vital element, you should see results quickly. Environmental issues are very topical, so as well as mitigating your current risks and meeting objectives, you have the chance to educate and equip the student base of today and work base of tomorrow with the knowledge and awareness to help prevent unnecessary damage to the planet. If that isn’t a reason for implementing ISO 14001 in schools and colleges, what is?
Why not use our free ISO 14001 Foundation Course to enhance your knowledge of the standard?