Environmental Management System

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is being developed for Planning Services, which aims to assist the council in:

• continually improving its environmental performance
• iImproving its operational performance
• generating cost savings by reducing waste and saving energy
• demonstrating the council's commitment to the environment
  
  

The EMS that the council is working towards, called ISO14001, is accredited by the British Standards Institute and is also used by many organisations and businesses. It will ensure that Islington identifies, manages and monitors the environmental impacts of its service. In working towards EMS accreditation, the council is demonstrating its environmental commitment to developers and applicants.

The EMS encourages the identification of major environmental impacts and then helps develop actions for addressing them.

Progress has already been made in Islington. For example:

• staff travel - several officers are now using cycles from the new staff cycle pool to visit sites, etc.
• green procurement - the council has signed up to London ReMaDe/ GLA's Green Procurement Code, committed to working towards green purchasing. Departments are looking at how they can purchase goods that have less environmental impact.
  
  

The development of the EMS is a pilot project, trialled in specific sections of Islington Council. On completion it will be evaluated and if it has proved successful, it may be rolled out across the whole organisation.