ERI Home

Comparison of Available EMS Resources for Selected Sectors

The documents listed below contain information on currently available resources that may be useful for organizations that are interested in establishing Environmental Management Systems (EMSs).  Particular attention is given to resources relevant to seven selected industry sectors:

• Agribusiness (Food Processing)
• Chemicals (Specialty Batch)
• Cement Manufacturing
• Colleges and Universities
• Construction
• Forest Products
• Iron and Steel Manufacturing
• Metal Casting
• Metal Finishing
• Paints and Coatings
• Ports

(These sectors have been selected as participants in the EPA Sector Strategies Program.)

Each of the documents contains:

• a "state-of-the-sector" overview covering:
  • the degree to which the EMS approach has been adopted by the sector up to this point
  • the extent of trade organization support for EMS activities in the sector
  • the degree of visibility or prominence given to EMS programs by companies and technical assistance providers associated with the sector
• an analysis of EMS resources available to the sector, summarizing the relative quantity and quality of the resources, and the area of emphasis (see below) of their content
• an annotated list of the available resources, together with URLs, contact information

Areas of emphasis

In comparing EMS resources, it seems useful to distinguish among three areas of emphasis.

• Some resources, particularly those featuring an ISO 14001 based approach, tend to emphasis matters of process.  Much of the content of the resource will be related to the formal aspects of the system, such as areas of responsibility, procedures, forms, and requirements.
• Other resources will concentrate on items of substance, typically with detailed examples of sector-specific aspects and impacts, and operational considerations relating directly to activities typically carried out by organizations in the sector.
• Still others will provide primarily background information, which may be found helpful for putting the sector in a historical, technical, or regulatory context.

Users of these resources may find that the most useful among the available resources will depend on their purposes in undertaking an EMS program.  For example, those users primarily interested in ISO 14001 registration may find a process-oriented resource most relevant to their task, while those who are primarily seeking to measures to reduce environmental costs and facilitate regulatory compliance may find a substance-oriented resource most helpful.

For additional information, contact Paul Chalmer, NCMS, paulc@ncms.org or (734) 995-4911.