Eshcon’s EMS – ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
Eshcon is of course committed to managing its environmental impacts (both negative and the numerous positive ones) through the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS).
I have worked with so many clients to put in their own EMS – most of them medium or large organisations. Not many of them are as small as Eshcon!
The scope of my EMS covers the whole of the company. However, given that this is a micro business, with just myself on the staff, working from an office at home, it is clear that Eshcon’s own environmental impacts are particularly limited.
EMS Objectives
My objectives all relate to environmental protection and reducing carbon (GHG greenhouse gas) emissions:
- Energy and water consumption – focussing on energy efficiency practices and purchase of renewable electricity
- Business travel – reducing the need to travel and choosing lower-carbon options where possible
- Procurement of low impact goods and services – aiming to work with suppliers with high environmental standards
- The services I offer to clients – this shows the positive environmental impact I can have, in influencing my clients and partners to make environmental management THE business norm.
Carbon Footprint
Each year I calculate the company’s carbon footprint. I track emissions in both absolute terms and relative, compared to business activity.
Initially tracking just ‘operational emissions’ like business travel and energy, the footprint boundary has now been expanded this year to include purchasing and upstream energy emissions (Well to Tank). This has required the baseline year (2019-20) to be recalculated, to allow comparison.
Eshcon’s emissions in 19-20 were 9.29 tCO2e. If purchasing is excluded, this falls to 3.04 tCO2e, 74% of which came from business travel.
Emissions in 25-26 amounted to 11.6 tCO2e, a drop of 17% since last year.
With business travel so important, I have purchased a BEV fully electric car which has reduced emissions significantly. But still, long journeys are done by train and I have a no domestic flights policy.
Supply chain emissions will be examined further to improve accuracy and, when working with low carbon suppliers, will see my company emissions decrease over time.
I arrange for my unavoidable emissions to be offset. I have purchased carbon credits from Climate Care, who support projects around the world that cut global carbon emissions and improve people’s lives. One example is Lifestraw Water Filters – Providing Safe Water in Kenya. This project provides simple, gravity fed water filters for families in Kenya. Not only does it provide safe drinking water to 4 million people, it also cuts carbon emissions by removing the need to boil water in order to make it safe to drink. In addition to this, I donate monthly to Ecologi to plant trees to (more than) cover the company’s emissions.
I have also signed the Pledge to Net Zero, joining other companies in the environmental industry in tackling climate change. I have set a science-based target to align with a 1.5o scenario, reducing emissions by 63% over a 15-year period and using carbon offsets now to compensate for unavoidable emissions.
As you may know I am particularly committed to ISO 14001 – I have used the standard for over 25 years and I actually represent the UK to the International Standards Organisation, leading on Environmental Management System standards.
I thoroughly recommend other businesses implement their own ISO 14001 EMS – it really is a driver for commercial benefits, showing your staff and customers your commitment to managing your impacts.
For a copy of Eshcon’s Environmental Policy, please click here.
See here for my ISO 14001 Certificate.
If you’d like to put in your own ISO 14001 EMS, I can help you – more info is here.
