FAQ
What is ISO 14000?
Who is developing the ISO 14000 standards?
What is covered by ISO 14000?
When did the UNU start working on ISO14001?
What are the key points of the UNU Environmental Policy Statement?
Who is responsible for the UNU Environmental Management System?
How is the UNU Environmental Management System structured?
What are significant environmental aspects and how did UNU decide on them?
What are the objectives and targets for the UNU's environmental management
system and how were they developed?
How do we implement this system?
How often does UNU monitor its environmental performance?
Are there training sessions for UNU personnel on ISO14001?
What kinds of specific activities have UNU personnel been doing in order
to protect the environment?
What kinds of procedures are part of in the UNU's environmental management
system?What kind of changes/improvement have there been after the initiation
of ISO14001 activities in UNU?
Where can I get more information?
What is ISO 14000?
A series of standards on environmental management tools and systems. ISO
14001 will deal with an organization's system for managing its day-to-day
operations as they have an impact on the environment.
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Who is developing the ISO 14000 standards?
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee
(TC) 207. The scope of TC 207 is standardization in the field of environmental
management tools and systems.
The standards apply to environmental management tools and systems; they are not product standards, nor do they specify performance or pollutant/effluent levels.
Specifically excluded are:
- Test methods for pollutants.
- Setting limit values regarding pollutants or effluents.
- Setting environmental performance levels.
- Standardization of products.
TC 207 cooperates closely with ISO TC 176 on Quality Management (developers of ISO 9000) in the field of environmental management systems and audits.
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What is covered by ISO 14000?
ISO14001 Environmental Management System and ISO14004 Environmental Auditing
address a wide range of issues, including:
1. Top management commitment to continuous improvement, compliance, and
pollution prevention.
2. Creating and implementing environmental policies, including setting and
meeting appropriate targets.
3. Integrating environmental considerations in operating procedures.
4. Training employees in regard to their environmental obligations.
5. Conducting audits of the environmental management system.
For more infromation on ISO14001 please visit the ISO website at:
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/management_standards/iso_9000_iso_14000.htm
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When did the UNU start working on ISO14001?
The UNU began working on ISO14001 in May 1999. The base year for all our
targets is 1998 (when complete data was available) and performance. The
first date to measure all results was December 2001.
An initial environmental review was published in September 1999 and updated in February 2002.
We are following the standard UNU biennium programme and a new set of targets will be determined for 2002.
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What are the key points of the UNU Environmental Policy Statement?
The UNU environmental policy statement has four main goals.
1. to bring about environmental improvements in our work practices (i.e., promoting green procurement, comply with environmental laws, reducing waste and energy consumption, etc.).
2. to improve the quality of the working environment (i.e., internal air quality, water quality, light, health and safety).
3. to contribute to the global community through our research projects and capacity building.
4. to contribute to the local community through activities and events.
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Who is responsible for the UNU Environmental Management System?
The Rector has overall responsibility for the system.
Professor Motoyuki Suzuki is the official UNU Environmental Coordinator. He is supported by Gerard Brady who is the ISO14001 Implementation Officer, and the ISO14001 Steering Group (with representatives from all units) who coordinate the operation, activities and mointoring of the EMS.
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How is the UNU Environmental Management System structured?
The UNU complex in Tokyo has been divided into five units (see figure below).
These are Unit 1 - UNU/IAS, Unit 2 - UNU Centre, Unit 3 - UNU Services,
Unit 4 - UNU Administration, Unit 5 - UNU Building Tenants. There are designated
ISO14001 units leaders and also sets of target and objectives for each unit.
All UNU staff are responsible for implementing the system.
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What are significant environmental aspects and how did UNU decide on them?
Significant environmental aspects (SEA) are defined as "elements of
an organization's activities, products or services which can interact with
the environment and that can have a significant impact (positive or negative)."
The following steps were followed to decide the SEAs for the UNU:
1. we prepared the initial environmental review of our environmental impacts and surveyed staff opinions;
2. we drew up some initial SEAs and asked for comments; and
3. we developed a system to determine the significance of the aspects.
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What are the objectives and targets for the UNU's environmental management
system and how were they developed?
The objectives and targets are based on the SEAs and relate closely to the
goals presented in the environmental policy statement. Each unit has its
own set of targets and objectives. Units are free to adopt additional targets.
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How do we implement this system?
There is an Implementation Plan available for all staff to review via this
Website. Essentially, the environmental information system is fully integrated
into our normal reporting procedures.
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How often does UNU monitor its environmental performance?
Monitoring of some environmental indicators take places regularly (for air
quality, waste, water and so on).
The Draft Environemntal Review 2002 was released in Febuary 2002 and reports on the implementation of the objectives and targets of the environemntal management system and the environemntal performance of the UNU.
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Are there training sessions for UNU personnel on ISO14001?
Yes. Training sessions have been organized by the ISO14001 Steering Group
in November 1999, August 2000, December 2000 and November 2001. Records
can be found on the UNU ISO14001 Online Forum. The training materials are
also available on the UNU ISO14001 Online Forum.
At the last ISO14001 Steering Group meeting, held July 2002 it was decided that further training sessions and updates for new and existing staff respectively are to be organised later this year.
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What kinds of specific activities have UNU personnel been doing in order
to protect the environment? What kinds of procedures are part of in the
UNU's environmental management system?
While procedures related to the certification process such as auditing,
information management and preparation of EMS related documents are the
responsibility of the ISO14001 Steering Committee, individual staff members
can make efforts as follows:
1. Participate in the ISO 14001 training sessions organized by the USU ISO 14001 Steering Committee, and also contribute to the Online Forum set up by the Committee.
2. Work on environment related projects that contribute to raising awareness around the world on pressing environmental problems.
3. Be involved in capacity building activities in support of the environment.
4. Take steps to implement the Waste Recycling and Resource & Energy Conservation measures.
5. Act in an environmentally friendly way everyday by recycling paper, reducing and separating waste, turning-off electronic equipment when not in use and so on.
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What kind of changes/improvement have there been after the initiation of
ISO14001 activities in UNU?
UNU personnel are all thinking more seriously about the environment and
we have seen some improvements in recent months with a new waste separation
system and energy saving.
Energy consumption has fallen at both UNU and UNU/IAS resulting in some financial savings although we still need to ensure that this is a long-term trend (see Environmental Review 2006).
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Where can I get more information?
Speak to any member of the ISO14001 Steering Group or send an email to any
ISO Working Group members.
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