16513356
Adytia
16513086 Luminto
16513362 Fauzan Naufal R
16513050 Bagas
16513350 Kevin Ekaputra Yohar
Jefferson County, Alabama was the first county in the nation to become
registered to the ISO-14001 standard. During the successful ISO-14001
audit, the county's EMS was declared a "model program" and an example
for other public sector entities.
ISO 14001 is an environmental management standard. It specifies a set of
environmental management requirements for environmental management
systems. The purpose of this standard is to help all types of
organizations to protect the environment, to prevent poluution, and to
improve their environmental performance.
Introduction
Planning and Implementation
Benefits
Lessons Learned
Conclusions
Introduction
Jefferson County received an EPA grant which offered assistance in
developing an EMS. Only 14 communities nationwide received these grants.
The first participants from Jefferson County included four divisions of
General Services (Crafts, Grounds, Maintenance, and the Print Shop) and
Fleet Management. Since then, it has grown to include Human Resources,
the Central Laundry, Information Technology, and the remaining areas in
the General Services Department. Collectively, the "fenceline" of
participating EMS departments involves about 500 employees.
The General Services Department manages the public buildings of the
county, including custodial services, air conditioning and heating,
waste disposal, recycling, and similar tasks. Fleet Management manages
the County's rolling stock, including cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
Environmental impacts include energy consumption, resource recycling,
air emissions, biodegradable materials disposal, pest control, and
purchase and disposal of hazardous materials. The two departments
produce such wastes as refrigerants, batteries, motor oil, and medical
waste.
The Central Laundry provides laundering services for linens, clothing
and other washable materials for County and municipal jail facilities;
Cooper Green Hospital, which is Jefferson County's indigent health care
facility; and the Jefferson County Health and Rehabilitation Center,
which provides nursing home care. Environmental impacts here include
threats to the environment from chemical spills and contact with blood
borne pathogens in soiled laundry.
As the name suggests, Information Technology addresses all the
electronic data management, business applications, and other technical
services. Some of their environmental impacts include soil and water
contamination, as well as negative impacts on landfill space from
disposal of paper, batteries, and printer/toner cartridges.
The Human Resources Department handles County insurance claims,
occupational health matters, and a growing number of personnel
activities. Environmental impacts include contamination from mercury
disposal and contact with blood borne pathogens.
The Environmental Protection Division, which is under the Human
Resources umbrella, acts as the coordinator of the County's EMS program
and has outreach, education, and a small enforcement role in the issues
of ground level ozone, illegal dumping, mosquito abatement, and scrap
tires. These impacts include contamination for the soil, water, and air,
as well as public and employee environmental health and safety.
Planning and Implementation
Some key drivers for EMS implementation in Jefferson County were the
widening enthusiasm for the EMS concept among environmental
professionals, the high availability of government assistance programs
to aid in EMS development, and the ability to partner environmental
management with existing health and safety programs.
General Services and Fleet Management were selected over other County
departments because of the variety of potential environmental impacts of
the divisions and because of the enthusiastic support for EMS
implementation from the Department of General Services Director, the
leadership at Fleet Management, and the County Commission. Expectations
of EMS implementation included:
Financial benefits, as insurers and bonding agencies could reward the adoption of an EMS with better rates;
Use of the EMS as a marketing and public relations tool;
Increased compliance with environmental regulations; and
Regulatory benefits.
The labor costs associated with the development of the County's EMS
program totaled $92,734. A total of 3,877 personnel hours were used. The
program underwent an independent review from external auditors and
became registered to the ISO-14001 standard in February, 2002.
Benefits
EMS implementation efforts have resulted in:
A voluntary reduction in waste cardboard generation;
A shift to soy-based inks at the Print Shop;
Other improvements in conservation technologies.
A reduction in garbage disposal costs resulting from a mixed paper
recycling program in several County facilities that captures about
20,000-30,000 lbs. each month;
A recycling/reuse program that captures other materials including
antifreeze, oil, fluorescent lamps and ballasts, paints and solvents,
lead acid and other batteries, and scrap metal;
Reduction of approximately 28,000 lbs. in total solid waste production due to a composting program being instituted in 2003;
Elimination of the use of organophosphate pesticides; and
Spill prevention and containment programs in various facilities.
It is estimated that these improvements will yield an 8% reduction in
water use and an 8-12% annual reduction in electricity. The EMS has also
led the County to adopt other sustainable approaches to the delivery of
government services.
"Many people hear 'environmental management' and immediately think two
things: bureaucracy and expense. But the EMS effort for us yielded
dozens of real world, longterm cost savings in areas like reduced power
and water use. Perhaps even more significant is the possible impact on
our bond ratings. Rating agencies recognized that, in taking time to
examine how we did our-day-to-day business, Jefferson County had created
a workplace that was less likely to generate injuries or serious
environmental accidents. Less risk means greater opportunity for return
on an investment. We're told the potential impact of our EMS, taken with
other factors, is a 1/16th to 1/8th of a point improvement, which could
mean millions of dollars of taxpayer money saved each time we borrow
money for capital projects. Now, that's the kind of documented savings
that makes elected leaders and the public both very happy."
--Billy Morace, Director of General Services, Jefferson County, Alabama
Lessons Learned
Jefferson County achieved early success by intentionally starting small
and including only enthusiastic participants. In the long term, the
County is working diligently towards its goal to include other
departments, who will be attracted by the financial and resource
savings, the improved morale, and the safer work environments an EMS has
to offer.
Conclusions
Through implementation of the EMS, the County has plainly demonstrated
its commitment to obeying all laws and applicable guidelines relative to
environmental matters. In addition, the EMS has been an opportunity for
the County to hold itself to a higher standard, and to set the example
for the broader local community.
The County will maintain ongoing self-evaluations and goal setting to
assure a steady movement towards their commitment to continual
improvement.
(biography from : http://www.epa.gov/waste/inforesources/ems/success/jeff-cty.htm)
