ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF GRUPO MOLDURAS
For the last years there has been a growing concern in the society about the environment. The raising public awareness is meanly fed by the scientific evidence that proves the damages caused all around the globe by the human activity, and they cannot be isolated in a particular plan, sphere or zone. Thus we do know that a massive felling in the Amazon forest or in any part causes an increase in the level of CO2, responsible for the greenhouse effect and the rising of the temperature of the planet. This rising temperature is also the cause for the growing sea levels and affects the climatic alteration known for all of us. We could quote many other cases where the human actions seriously damage the environment. Those damages have persuaded the governments to legislate urgent measures that can lessen their effects, with the attention and surveillance of many environmentalist organizations, as well as an increased awareness.
Because of these conflicts an abundant legislation on environment has been published, affecting the industry directly and contributing to a higher relevance of the environment as an essential subject inside the company in order to reach the survival and success of the business.
To make the environmental
actions effective they must be integrated in a management system, structured
and coordinated with the rest of the activities in the company. The UNE-EN-ISO
14001 international regulations define an environmental management system
as “that part of the general system that comprises the organizing
structure, the responsibilities, practices, proceedings, processes and resources
to determine and put into practice the environmental policy”
Molduras del Noroeste started the implementation of its Environmental Management System at the beginning of 1998. The system combines the environmental management with the quality, taking advantage of the structure of the quality management that Molduras del Noroeste has implemented according to the ISO 9002 norms, certified by AENOR since 1991, and extending it till covering all the specifications that the ISO 14001 rules. The environmental management system of Molduras del Noroeste (CGM-001025) is certified by AENOR in 2001, becoming a pioneer in Spain in this field.
The application
of the environmental management system pursues always a better environmental
behaviour of the company. It provides a structured process to get the constant
improvement, based on a dynamic performance that follows the cycle of “planning,
putting into practice, verifying and reviewing”.
Firstly, estate and design a proper environmental policy for the company.
Such policy was distributed time ago to the customers and suppliers of Molduras
del Noroeste, as well as various institutions and organizations to make it
public. The commitments are: comply the legislation, guarantee a constant
improvement and the prevention of polluting actions, document the environmental
policy and make all the employees aware of it, seek the purchase of timber
from sustainable forests, mark annual objectives and goals checked and approved
by the board of directors, to make it compatible with the other policies of
the company and make it accessible to the general public. In connection with
the sustainable managed timber, the objective was to get the commitment from
the suppliers in this sense and collect all the possible information about
this subject.
On the other hand, Molduras del Noroeste is studying the participation in a timber certification system. Currently there are two certification standards: the FSC and the Paneuropean Forests Certificate, which are in cooperation with AENOR and some European certification organizations, as well as timber associations. Thus, it was created the technical council AEN/CTN 162 of sustainable forests management that counts with the collaboration of AENOR, numerous timber and forestry organizations, apart of official engineers’ associations, technology centres and so on.
In a second
place, identify and evaluate the environmental aspects derived from the activity,
products and services, in order to determine the significant environmental
impacts. Environmental aspect is any element of the activities, products and
services, that relates with the environment. Some examples of these aspects
are: gas emissions and boiler emissions, particles from the silos or volatile
organic compounds to the air from the varnishing process, noise emissions,
the generation of containers with remains of lacquers or solvents, wasted
waters from septic tanks, timber and energy consumption, etc. They must be
identified and evaluated in normal and emergency situations, and at the same
time clarify those which may lead to significant impacts in the environment.
Impact is any modification in the environment, may it be adverse or beneficial,
resulting from the activities, products and services of an organization. It
is the effect of an environmental aspect.
Some examples of impacts are the air pollution, soil and water pollution,
deforestation, the greenhouse effect, the exhausting of resources, etc
On the
other hand it is useful to identify the legal and regulated requirements that
are to be applied and create a system that guarantees that those requirements
are still in force. They must be identified according to four subjects: air,
water, noises and wastes. Although these requirements are very numerous, we
can mention the most important ones:
- In the air: the duty to respect the emission levels, to make annually two auto-controls on the emissions and take note of the results in the annual registration book, to adapt the smokestack in four orifices, platforms and accesses to gather samples, and to make the declaration of registration in the registry of emission sources.
- In water: to apply for the proper administrative license, necessary to dump water and any waste able to contaminate the drinking water.
- Noises: to observe the limits fixed by the law 7/1997 of protection against noise pollution, and prepare an acoustic research for the working projects that may cause noises and vibrations.- At last, waste products: to get the authorization by the competent organism of the Autonomous Region that allows for the generation of waste products, to comply with the production duties (packing, labelling and storing waste, fulfil the registration book with the generated waste and deliver it to the appropriate manager, to apply for the admission of management, fill the documentation about previous notification and control and monitoring, to send them to the Autonomous Administration in the specified schedule and deliver the waste products to the specialized hauler), codify conveniently the waste, lead the used oil to a correct management and deliver the dangerous waste to an authorized manager.
Moreover, the management system must: design the most convenient objectives and environmental goals, and create the structure and program to execute and reach the defined goals. The environmental goals to be fixed annually should be consequent with the environmental policy and consistent with the significant environmental aspects analyzed by the organization. The responsibilities will be assigned in the actions schedule in order to reach the proposed goals, including an execution calendar and the means to get it.
At last,
it is necessary to: facilitate the planning, control, monitoring, correcting
actions, auditing actions, a checking to confirm that the environmental policy
is observed and the environmental management system is suitable. The ejecting
of these activities is essential as measure of the effectiveness and the adaptation
of the system. The internal auditing tends to evaluate along the time that
the environmental management system achieves the established planning and
is up to date. The review by the board of directors is done to check the constant
improvement and the effectiveness and adaptation of the implemented system.
It represents the support of the management system. It includes the Quality and Environmental Management Integrated Manual, which collects the general philosophy of the company with regard to the requirements of the ISO 9002 (ISO 9001:2000) and ISO 14001 regulations, the same way as every procedures, applicable instructions and associated registries.
It is
a key question, both in a quality system and an environmental management system,
the implementation and participation of the board of directors and the complete
staff, the same way as the evidence that all the necessities of formation
are heard and satisfied. It is necessary to identify the emergency situations
that may occur and that the staff knows clearly how to behave in these kind
of situations. The staff must at the same time have a knowledge of the environmental
questions.
