790 Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

Step 24: Determine the Status of Objectives

When focusing on improvement, it is important for an organization to periodically examine the status of its environmental objectives to determine which ones have been met and what remains to be done to achieve those that have not. If an objective has not yet been met, the organization will need to ask itself:

• Should we continue to pursue the objective?
• Why hasn't it been completed? Is it behind schedule? Did something get in the way (e.g., time, resources, shifting operations)?
• What do we need to change to achieve future success?

Let's suppose an organization set a goal to reduce energy use by 15% in two years but only achieved a 5% reduction. It might find that older equipment is less efficient than expected, or that staffing shortages prevented proper implementation of energy-saving practices. Based on this review, the organization might decide to invest in better equipment or adjust the timeline.

Your objectives and targets should be specific and measurable. They should reflect your environmental policy and be consistent with it. They should be geared toward the prevention of pollution whenever possible. For instance:

• A specific and measurable objective might be to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from painting operations by 10% in one year. This supports the environmental policy by reducing air pollution and helps prevent the release of harmful chemicals.

The views of interested parties, your legal and other requirements, and your environmental aspects and impacts should all be considered when determining the status of objectives and targets. Interested parties include any individual or group concerned with or affected by the environmental performance of the organization. For example:

• If a nearby community is concerned about water quality, an organization might set an objective to reduce discharge of contaminants into local water bodies. If new regulations require a specific reporting standard, the organization might need to revise its objectives to meet that legal requirement.

Likewise, consider any applicable technology that can help you achieve your objectives. You must be able to achieve the objectives within the financial requirements of your organization. Specific technologies may be useful to help you achieve your objectives but they may not be affordable. Likewise, financial techniques such as total cost accounting may be very useful but not practical for your organization. For example:

• For example, using a high-efficiency filtration system could help reduce wastewater pollution, but if the cost is too high, the organization might look for a lower-cost option such as improving operational practices to reduce waste at the source.

Consider your environmental program and operations when setting objectives and targets. Set goals that are flexible and simple. You must communicate your objectives and targets and your progress toward achieving them. Set them with input from the people that will be impacted by them and keep them realistic. For example:

• An example of a flexible goal could be to phase in new recycling bins across departments over six months, starting with areas that produce the most waste. Communicating this goal with employees and encouraging feedback helps ensure the program works in practice.

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