Inking the Blueprints to Formulate an Environment Management System
1/9/2019
As an organization who believes in promoting sustainable work practices, SriLankan Airlines is continuously seeking ways to improve its environmental performance and live up to its promise of being a ‘Planet Friendly Airline’. The ISO 14001:2015 standards is an Environmental Management System (EMS) which specifies the requirements for an organization to enhance its environmental performance. Knowing the importance of formulating an EMS, SriLankan Environment Unit organized an awareness session on ISO 14001:2015 Environment Standards for the airline’s staff on 9th January 2019.
The awareness session focused on offering a comprehensive understanding of the Environmental Management System (EMS). The programme gave an introduction to the EMS, its latest developments and responsibilities that each employee needs to comply with in order to conform to the system. The International Organization for Standardization, specifies the intended outcomes of an environmental management system as, the enhancement of environmental performance, fulfilment of compliance obligations and achievement of environmental objectives of an organization.
The awareness session was conducted by Mr. Rashitha Niroshan, ISO Consultant, from Holcyon (Pvt) Ltd, who has worked with the Airline previously on numerous ISO projects (ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management System (QMS), ISO 29990:2011 for Non Formal Education). Staff members from various divisions who are set to be involved in the implementation of EMS took part in the awareness session which was carried out in an interactive manner.
It was a productive session that fully engaged the staff, as they came up with few strategies of their own which they thought would help the airline achieve the ISO standards. The Environment Unit welcomed these ideas and strategies with the view of using them during the implementation process. As the session came to its conclusion, the staff expressed their enthusiasm and interest to the project as they recognized its importance.