A Simple Guide to Set Up an Environmental Management System

A Simple Guide to Set Up an Environmental Management System

Establish Environmental Objectives And Targets (Module 5)

An Environmental Objective is .....
"An overall environmental goal, arising from the environmental policy, that an organization sets itself to achieve, and which is quantified where practicable."

An Environmental Target is .....

"A detailed performance requirement, quantified where practicable, applicable to the organization or parts thereof, that arises from the environmental objectives and that needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives."

(Definitions quoted from ISO 14001)

Why is it important to set environmental objectives and targets ?
Here are some examples of environmental objectives and targets :

Why is it important to set environmental objectives and targets ?

The development of environmental objectives and targets serves the following important purposes

• Translate the environmental policy to a more specific, tangible and measurable basis for implementation;
   
• Provide performance indicators for guiding the organization in planning and developing the environmental programmes in a focused manner;
   
• Provide clear benchmarks against which to measure the progress and success of the environmental programmes over time; and
   
• Provide a basis for external and internal reporting of achievements.