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More and more companies are implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to reduce their environmental impacts, improve their efficiency, comply with legislation and demonstrate to clients their commitment to environmental protection. Many companies have chosen to obtain independent certification of their EMS to the international standard ISO 14001^[1]. Due to copyright laws, the ISO 14001 Standard could not be provided in this package. Meanwhile, the ISO 14001 could be purchased through various sources^[2] .

^[1]  International Organization for Standardization
^[2] The Standard can be purchased through the Product Standards Information Bureau of the Innovative and Technology Commission, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (www.itc.gov.hk/en/quality/psis/sales.htm), local certification body agencies, or online purchasing through ISO (www.iso.ch).

The Business Environment Council and Environmental Protection Department, HKSAR have developed a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) support package for ISO 14001 EMS implementation, in order to :

This EMS support package is designed to help local SMEs to implement an effective EMS. The support package, provided in English and Chinese, comprises

This User Manual and Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates are designed to be of assistance to any SME in any sector. Additional Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS are also provided for SMEs in various trades of the electrical / electronic sector. The trades covered by the Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS are listed in Table 1.

An effective EMS requires the involvement of all staff in your organisation, from top management to the workshop floor. Although an "EMS Manager" or "Coordinator" will be nominated to take day-to-day responsibility, other staff will be involved in various ways. Different parts of this support package should be read by the relevant people as follows :

Section I : ISO 14001 EMS Support Package for SMEs

Describes this package and how it should be used. Summarises ISO 14001 EMS concepts, with an overview of the development and implementation approach.

Section II : EMS Planning

Describes the process for planning an EMS, including guidance on how to undertake an "Initial Environmental Review" as the first step.

Section III : EMS Development and Implementation

Provides detailed guidance on how each element of the EMS should be designed and documented, and describes how to use the Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates to develop and implement your own EMS.

Section IV : ISO 14001 EMS Certification Process

Explains the general ISO 14001 certification process and steps involved leading to ISO 14001 certification.

Linkages to download relevant documents and helpful websites are underlined in blue colour. For instance, the link to relevant Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates and Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS are indicated as Download (Template) Download (Sample 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Helpful tips are provided throughout this User Manual to give some handy and practical hints on developing and implementing a successful EMS within your company.

Case specific information in Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS is highlighted in red colour to help you creating your EMS documents.

The following are some general tips for using the Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates to create your own EMS:

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a continual business cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the processes and actions that your company undertakes to meet its environmental obligations and continually improve its environmental performance. An effective EMS is developed on "Plan, Do, Check, Act" (PDCA) model which embodies the concept of continual improvement.

Figure 1. "Plan, Do, Check, Act" model

a) ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems - Requirements with guidance for use

	is an international standard which specifies the requirements of an environmental management system.
	provides a framework applicable to all types and sizes of organisations using the approach shown in Figure 2.
	the success of the system depends on commitment from all levels and functions, especially from top management.
	enables an organisation to establish and assess the effectiveness of procedures, to develop an environmental policy and objectives, achieve conformity with them, and demonstrate such conformity to others.

b) The Evolution of ISO 14001

ISO 14001 EMS standard was first published in 1996 and has been technically revised in 2004, the second edition ISO 14001:2004, issued on 15 November 2004, cancels and replaces the first edition ISO 14001:1996. This EMS standard is adopted worldwide by organisations for certifying ISO 14001 EMS.  The standard was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, subcommittee SC 1, Environmental management systems.  The Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates provided in this package are developed based on ISO 14001:2004.  

The comparison between the ISO 14001:1996 standard and ISO 14001:2004 standard is summarised in Appendix 1 to this User Manual. This international standard is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model. The linkage of the clauses of elements in ISO 14001 Standard with PDCA is illustrated in the following table.

Table 2. Comparing the PDCA cycle to the ISO 14001:2004 Standard

2. Approach to EMS Development and Implementation

This support package recommends the four-step "PDCA" approach to implementing an EMS, since this is the approach taken by most ISO 14001 certified companies. When an EMS is to be initially set-up, two preparatory steps (initial planning and management commitment) are also recommended as shown in Figure 3.

Although these steps are not mandatory requirements under ISO 14001, these steps are useful to facilitate the development and implementation of the EMS in accordance with the ISO 14001.

Figure 3. Approach to EMS Development and Implementation

* Initial EMS Planning is not an ISO 14001 Standard requirement; however, it is useful preparation work to facilitate the set up and development of the EMS in accordance with the ISO 14001 Standard.

The different tasks for each phase and the relevant Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates that you can use are shown in Table 3. In addition, Table 3 illustrates the estimated time that each phase of EMS development and implementation usually takes for a typical company. The detailed implementation of each phase is described throughout the rest of this User Manual.

Table 3. Phased EMS Implementation Flow