Environmental Management Systems (EMSs): A Key to Financial Viability, Environmental Excellence - and Worthy of Regulatory Incentives

A management framework for continuous improvement (CI), such as an EMS, based on results described by this paper, should be enthusiastically implemented by water industry organizations and incentivized by the regulatory community. This paper describes financial and environmental benefits of a department-wide implementation of an ISO 14001:2004i EMS Standard: a management system titled “GreenWay.” GreenWay implementation by the Palm Bay Utilities Department (PBUD) has effectively increased the financial viability of the department, and simultaneously compelled and sustained a higher level of environmental and operational performance.Based on the benefits and advantages related to the implementation of an EMS, government entities should hasten to collaborate in the design of regulatory programs that encourage and reward the establishment of CI management frameworks such as an EMS.