IEMA and global consultancy AECOM have published a guide to help businesses use the ISO 14001: 2015, the international standard for environment management systems, to turn waste into resources.
The document is intended to assist businesses to tap into savings by adopting circular economy practices, reducing waste throughout their supply chain and accessing new markets. It notes that opportunities to make savings are already available, but that many organisations are failing to capitalise.
Driving Sustainable Resource Management through ISO 14001 has been devised and developed by IEMA and AECOM to support members to maximise available material and cost savings through effective sustainable resource management (SRM) approaches.
The briefing says the management framework set out in the revised 14001 standard, published in 2015, provides the ideal opportunity and approach to stimulate efficient and effective use of resources. With more than 300,000 organisations worldwide certificated to 14001, this presents a significant opportunity to increase the global uptake of SRM approaches, it says.
The briefing outlines the principles and business benefits of SRM and circular economy thinking, as well as the opportunities available through environmental management systems. The document also signposts readers to further IEMA learning information and free access to the Resource Action Maturity Planner (RAMP) tool.
Josh Fothergill, IEMA’s policy lead on sustainable resource management and co-author of the briefing, described it as much more than a reference document. ‘This is about enabling environment and sustainability professionals to move beyond waste management to managing resources,’ he said. ‘The circular economy approach will help every business to reduce their environmental impact, achieve savings and create new revenue streams. We’ve broken down the process into manageable, achievable steps to help practitioners get to grips with what is possible and how to get going.’
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 guide is available free to IEMA members and is £15 for non-members - view it here.
