A briefing launched today by IEMA and consultants at AECOM provides advice to businesses on using the revised ISO 14001 standard to improve resource management.
Many firms are failing to capitalise on the opportunities to adopt circular economy practices and tap into a trillion dollars’ worth of savings, IEMA said. The new management framework of the revised international standard for environment management systems, which was published in 2015, provides the ideal opportunity and approach to stimulate efficient and effective use of resources, it said.
IEMA said 14001 could help drive global uptake of sustainable resource management since there are more than 300,000 organisations worldwide certified to the standard.
Josh Fothergill, co-author of the briefing and IEMA’s policy lead on sustainable resource management, said: ‘This briefing is about enabling environment and sustainability professionals to move beyond waste management to managing resources – how and why they are purchased, through to their ultimate reuse or recycling.’
The briefing breaks the resource management process down into steps to help practitioners get to grips with what is possible and how to reduce waste, he said.
David Smith, technical director at AECOM, said: ‘Greater awareness and understanding of the risks and opportunities related to resource management, and the impact that failing to adopt sustainable methods could have on the bottom line, can only be a positive thing for businesses.’
The briefing is free for IEMA members and is available here. For non-members, the briefing costs from £15 and is available here.
