About Plan-Do-Check-Act Management Systems

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) use a 'Plan-Do-Check-Act' framework for understanding an organization's "environmental footprint," complying with environmental regulations and implementing proactive pollution prevention and sustainability strategies.

It may be helpful to think of an EMS as a set of problem identification tools that can be implemented in many different ways, depending on an institution’s activities and needs.  A successful Plan-Do-Check-Act Management System:

• Integrates environmental consideration into everyday business operations;
• Helps organizations address their regulatory demands in a proactive, systematic and cost-effective manner;
• Includes environmental stewardship in the daily responsibility for employees, faculty, students, vendors, and administrative staff;
• Involves everyone and makes them responsible for the institution’s compliance and sustainability efforts, not just the safety, health and environmental (SHE) professionals or sustainability offices;and
• Serves as a framework and disciplined approach to achieve sustainability.