Eshcon’s ISO 14001 Success

By Anya Ledwith Comment Closed
Eshcon’s ISO 14001 Success Hooray! Another successful ISO 14001 audit. Rather than for my clients, this one was for me! Eshcon is certified to ISO 14001 and has just sailed through the annual surveillance visit with the certification auditor.   Why should a single person business put in an EMS, let alone go to the trouble of certifying to ISO 14001? Well, it allows me to properly understand my environmental impacts, risks and importantly the opportunities arising for the business.   I’ve put in a framework to do this – it doesn’t have to be overly onerous, given the size and nature of the business. No endless procedures, nice concise records. Having the goal of the annual audits gives me something to aim for, keeps me on track – yes, even committed environmental consultants sometimes get diverted away from their beloved EMS! All in all, a worthwhile exercise for the business… plus of course my clients expect it.   This year’s highlights include: - With business travel by far the...
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Tell me your Environmental Stories

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Tell me your Environmental Stories “Where do your machines go when they die, Daddy?” A talk with his young daughter prompted the MD of medical manufacturing company to start their environmental journey, managing energy, materials & waste – all done through their ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. With the ongoing pandemic, I’m making use of the time I used to spend travelling. Rather than learning a new language or baking sourdough bread, I’m finally getting round to writing my book. It’s all about how, why & when to put in an Environmental Management System.   Do you have environmental stories to share? For my research, I want to speak to businesses, particularly SMEs, who have an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. Why did they get started? How involved is senior management? Did they use a consultant? How long do staff spend each month? What motivates staff to be part of environmental projects? What’s the weirdest thing found in the audit? Anecdotes & stories are really useful, especially when...
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My Story, My Mission, My Vision

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My Story, My Mission, My Vision On this World Environment Day, I wanted to share my story. Much environmental messaging comes across as (slightly) negative – we’ve got to stop doing / reduce / prevent XYZ or it’ll devastating for us / the planet / wildlife / oceans. And yes, this is true. It is important to change. But negativity & fear don’t motivate most people. It can be much more inspiring to focus on the positive… to have something wonderful to aim for. So, I thought I’d share how I got involved in environmental management (My Story), what I’m trying to achieve (My Vision) and how I go about this (My Mission).   My Story My Story begins with me, aged 10, sitting on the floor in front of the TV watching the wonderful David Attenborough’s Life on Earth. This series was so inspirational to me, seeing the beautiful world around us, its diversity & fragility. We are so lucky to live here & benefit from...
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Hear me speak

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Hear me speak (summer/autumn 2018) I have a number of speaking engagements over the next couple of months, including the following: 7th September: University of Sussex Business School conference Leading Organisations Through Change and Challenge - I will share my experiences of developing the vision for Gatwick Diamond Business & leading it through a significant period of change. Book here   17th October: Sustainable Business conference How to gain commercial benefit by putting the environment into the core of your business. Book here   22nd November: BSI webinar - ISO 14001 & the SDGs This webinar will examine how an ISO 14001 EMS can help your business deliver the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More details soon   I've been busy - here are some of my past events: 10th August: Sustainable Business Partnership breakfast What I learnt about Environmental Management Systems by riding a classic motorcycle over the Himalayas! 10th July: Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers seminar Opportunity Knocks: Growth through Innovation. You don't need to radically change your business to innovate; responding to customer's requirements for Environmental Management Systems can be enough....
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April 18 Newsletter – Risks & Opportunities

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April 18 Newsletter - Risks & Opportunities Eshcon regularly sends out an e-newsletter to contacts – here’s the latest from April 2018.   ISO 14001 Deadline is Looming I’m getting a lot of calls from companies realising they need to act before the September deadline to update their EMS to the new ISO 14001 standard. Here’s how to turn hassle into success. Are you ready for MEES? From April 2018 the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard requires properties to have an EPC rating of E or better. A landlord or a tenant, this can affect you. Making ESOS Work for You To make your next ESOS Assessment run smoothly, it’s worth the effort now to put in the processes to gather good quality energy data. The better the information you supply to your ESOS Assessor, the deeper they can analyse it for energy saving opportunities. Here are 5 Top Tips to help your ESOS Assessor. FSB Awards – Eshcon is Green Business of the Year I was thrilled to be recognised as...
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I am FSB Awards Winner

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FSB Awards - Eshcon is Green Business of the Year Today I attended the FSB Awards. The Federation of Small Business is a membership organisation whose mission is to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. The FSB runs a national awards scheme, with regional events for the 12 awards categories.   Eshcon was shortlisted in the South East as a finalist for the Ethical - Green Business of the Year Award, which was sponsored by the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform.   There was really strong competition with the other finalists being: SAS Energy – the designer, supplier & installer of renewable energy systems Crumbs Brewing – creating beautiful beer from artisan bread that would otherwise go to waste Nature Shop – an online retailer of premium, natural fibre clothing Genuine Solutions Group – distributor of mobile phone accessories.   I am thrilled to say that I was successful & crowned the Green Business of the Year. My application explained how I manage my own company’s impacts & costs, e.g. Eshcon...
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ISO 14001 Deadline Looming

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The ISO 14001 Deadline is Looming - Turning hassle into success If you have an ISO 14001 EMS you need to think now about updating to the new standard. The deadline for this is September 2018. I see that many organisations are worried about the doing the transition - they don’t know what’s involved, how to do it or whether they have the commitment from their bosses. You know what it feels like - it's a hassle, like pushing a boulder up a hill. So they leave it for now … then suddenly it’s mass panic to get it done in time! Take one company I helped recently, they first put in their EMS to show their customers just how committed to the environment they are. They already did lots of good green stuff but it was a bit sporadic & they wanted to shout about their successes - hence a formal ISO 14001 system. But their certification audit was looming - they were feeling...
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Case Study – ISO 14001 Transition – Roffey Park

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Case Study – ISO 14001 Transition – Roffey Park Institute Eshcon helped Roffey Park transition its EMS to ISO 14001:2015, with a Gap Analysis, updating the system & then supporting the certification audit.   Roffey Park Institute is an internationally renowned leadership institute based in West Sussex, operating across the UK and in Singapore.   Roffey Park has had an Environmental Management System (EMS) in place for a number of years and was certified to ISO 14001:2004. There had been a change of staff, particularly those leading on the EMS so it was important to ensure all elements of the system were properly covered.   Work started with a Gap Analysis to identify where the EMS needed to change. This gave a RAG-rating for each issue and a transition plan, with actions & timescales. Eshcon then worked with the ISOe Group on the transition work, starting with a workshop on context, risks, opportunities, interested parties, lifecycle & the company’s strategic direction. The EMS itself was revised & streamlined;...
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My Why – Why I am an Environmental Consultant

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My Why I'm reading a lot of business books at the moment - strategy, marketing, sales & psychology. The latest is putting the WHY into our business…. in developing our strategy, we should Start with Why. For me it's about improving the environment.   I was mesmerised by the wonderful David Attenborough when I was a kid. I knew it was my calling - to improve the environment ... & to make a living out of it!   - Diverse ecosystems - beautiful places to visit & of course to live. - Healthy air, healthy people. - Fabulous plants & creatures. - You don't have to travel far & wide to see beautiful things. The world is an amazing place & we all have to look after it.   My consultancy Eshcon puts the environment at the core of business. Indeed it is my mission to make environmental management the business norm.   I didn’t want to change the world by being an environmental campaigner. I wanted to do it in more pragmatic...
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Increases in ISO 14001 numbers

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Increases in ISO 14001 numbers Each year the International Standards Organisation releases the results their research on take-up of ISO standards across the world. This year follows past upwards trends.   As usual the Quality standard ISO 9001 dominates the scene with over 1 million certificates in 2016 (current certificates, not just issued that year) - 1,106,356 up by 7%.   ISO 14001, the standard for environmental management, is the second most widely used with 346,189 certificates worldwide. This saw an 8% increase over the last year.   China has the most ISO 14001 certificates by far with 137,230, with Japan & Italy following with 27,372 and 26,655 respectively. This year the United Kingdom is down slightly (6%) & slipped one place in the league table to fourth, with 16,761 certificates.   It could be that this slight decrease is due to companies not knowing how to implement the latest version of the standard, ISO 14001:2015. Talking to certification bodies, they’ve told me that companies are worried about how...
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Roffey Park’s ISO 14001 Success

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Roffey Park’s ISO 14001 Success I am pleased to say that another of my clients has successfully recertified to ISO 14001 - Roffey Park Institute is an internationally renowned leadership institute based near Horsham, operating across the UK and in Singapore.   The Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is used to manage impacts, reduce risk, identify opportunities for cost savings and address customers’ needs.   Key achievements include paper usage down by 22% this past year, electricity by 16% and oil consumption has fallen dramatically since the installation of a ground source heat pump. The extensive grounds are well managed and the kitchen garden even grows fruit and veg for the restaurant (see picture above).   The new ISO 14001 standard has extra requirements, including a strong focus on leadership and alignment to the business strategy. Eshcon guided Roffey Park through the transition process starting with an ISO 14001 Gap Analysis, improving the EMS documentation, conducting the internal audits & attending the certification. With a change of staff...
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EMS – Going a bit further…

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EMS - Going a bit further… What I like about networking is meeting new businesses & chatting about them, their activities, challenges & opportunities. We talk about the work I do & I often hear about their own environmental activities. It’s pleasing to hear how companies are recycling their waste or using low energy lighting.   They are beginning to see the benefits that putting the environment into the business generates. But they realise they’re not as successful as they could be. Energy prices are still spiralling. Legal issues keep cropping up. Customers want more & more information. Staff don’t seem to be engaged.   What they haven’t realised is that putting in an Environmental Management System can help address these problems. It gives the structure to manage impacts, find efficiencies & savings, get staff involved & communicate with their stakeholders.   Seeing as most companies get started on the environment because their customers demand it, it makes sense to put in an Environmental Management System &...
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Student Mentoring

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Student-Business Mentoring Scheme It's been a while since I left university & went into the world of business. I have over 20 years of experience in the environmental management sector. I enjoy what I do & get satisfaction from helping my clients improve. And it occurred to me that I had experience that I could share with others, perhaps younger people starting out on their career. So when the Head of the School of Business, Management and Economics at the University of Sussex asked me to become a Student Mentor, I thought that would be a great opportunity.   Sussex runs a program linking local business people with their students. The idea is to share experience, the things we've learned along the way. This is particularly good for me, returning to my old Uni.   I was linked with a young woman studying economics. At our first meeting we completed the Mentoring Wheel diagram. On each spoke of the wheel, an issue or area that was important...
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University of Kent

University of Kent

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Testimonial from the University of Kent ESHCon recently helped the University of Kent implement their Environmental Management System. They kindly provided the following testimonial, after successful certification to ISO 14001.   “The University of Kent is the size of a small town in terms of its geographical size, population and operations, and contains a good deal more in the way of environmental features and risks.  Building an EMS was a daunting task – especially as the elaborate system which appeared necessary would have been unwieldy and doomed to failure.  Anya provided the perfect means to help us draw the many strands together into a really lean and manageable system which nevertheless covers all our requirements and really delivers.  Her vision of how this would take shape overall, her wide and detailed subject knowledge, and her highly personable manner were vital to driving the project forward, and getting numerous key players enthused.  We achieved accredited certification to ISO 14001 in just 14 months, which...
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