EMS as a tool for better regulation
Lord Jamie Lindsay 29th November 2007
Better Regulation Commission
To advise the Government on action to:
Reduce unnecessary regulatory and administrative
burdens
Ensure that regulation and its enforcement are
• Proportionate
• Accountable
• Consistent
• Transparent
• Targeted
Avoid unintended consequences
Better Regulation Commission
‘Risk Report’ Recommendations included:
• Change our approach to risk
• Re-target the responsibility for managing risk
• Reduce the high cost of risk management
• Review the stock of regulation
• “leave the responsibility for managing risk with
those best placed to manage it”
• “embark on state regulation only where it
represents the optimum solution for
managing risk”
• “re-examine areas where the state has
assumed more responsibility for
people’s lives than is healthy or desired”
Objectives of better regulation
• Less administrative burden
• Greater focus on the ‘free-loaders’
• Legislation and regulatory activity only where
necessary
• Focus on the results rather than the process
IN SHORT ‘MORE FOR LESS’
Objectives of better regulation
Legal activities
PRAGMATIC
ANGELS
aware
unaware
NEUTRAL
ROGUES
Illegal activities
What is Accreditation?
“ Formal recognition that an organisation is competent to carry out
specific tasks or types of tasks”
“ Impartial, independent assessment of competence against
international standards”
UKAS ACCREDITATION ENSURES THAT STANDARDS ARE APPLIED





IMPARTIALLY
CONSISTENTLY
RIGOROUSLY
BY COMPETENT PERSONNEL
USING, WHERE APPROPRIATE, CALIBRATED
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
Accreditation: Principal Drivers
 Better regulation, efficient government, public
sector procurement
 Confidence, trust, credibility, reliability, assurance
 Zero Risk, Zero Liability;
 Good & Best practice;
 Quality & Well-Being
 Sustainability, Risk management, corporate
governance & responsibility
 Tradability, specification, competitiveness,
innovation
 Multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary applications
 International recognition
UKAS - where do we fit?
Government
recognition
UKAS
Accreditation
International standards
CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
(testing & calibration labs,
certification & inspection bodies,
or any independent evaluation)
Standards/regulatory
requirements/scheme
criteria
BUSINESS, ORGANISATIONS
(people, management systems, equipment,
organisations, products etc.)
CONFIDENCE
GOVERNMENT
TRUST
CONSUMERS
ASSURANCE
PURCHASERS
UKAS underpins…..
…..the credibility and robustness of a wide spectrum
of standards and services, ranging across:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Environmental Management Systems
Health Protection Agency
Food Safety & Labelling
Emissions Trading Scheme
High Speed Rail Interoperability
Medical Devices
CORGI gas installers
Building Regulations
Asbestos testing & surveying
Evolving EMS rigours
Illust. Vilhelm Pedersen
from “The emperor’s new clothes”
Evolving EMS rigours
UKAS – increased oversight of 3rd party EMS certification
COMPLIANCE
 Guidance: compliance/compliance management & EA07/04
 All accredited certification bodies to abide by this
TRANSPARANCY
 2007: IEMA requesting info for register of EMS certificates
 UKAS follow-up to IEMA using ISO/IEC17021
CONSISTENCY and ROBUSTNESS
 New UKAS requirements
 UKAS suspensions (information is available on the website)
 UKAS can accept, and will investigate, complaints from the public,
regulators, industry or NGO’s regarding the performance of CBs
Linking EMS and regulation
0.4
0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.4
EMAS
ISO 14001
Plus
ISO 14001
(base)
Informal
None
Linking EMS and regulation
Staff
Raw materials
Utilities
Product
Manufacture or
Service provision
Waste
materials
Regulatory
Effort
More efficient regulation
Direct
Application
Registrations
Standard
permits
RISK
Permits
More effective regulation
Source: European Space Agency, 2004-2005
Where are EMS today ? - Defra
HMG statement on how EMSs can help business & the
public sector reduce their environmental impacts
1. Organisations should use a robust and credible EMS that is
appropriate for improving their environmental and financial
performance
2. Organisations implementing an EMS should use a national or
international standard or scheme
3. An EMS should be audited by an independent certifier
accredited by the UKAS
4. An EMS should help improve environmental and financial
performance through the supply chain.
5. An EMS that demonstrates good management of legislative
compliance should be used to help achieve regulatory benefits
such as reduced fees and charges
Where are EMS today ? - UK
• Recognition in the Environment Agency’s OPRA
scheme – more for EMS that is certified by an
accredited body
• Sector-specific recognition: e.g. OSPAR guidance
for offshore oil platforms
• Licenses, Permits, Permissions, Grants
• Customers, Corporate Governance, Risk, PR
• Financial Sector – insurers, lenders, investors
Where are we today ? – EU/Global
AU
CR
DK
D
E
EST
FIN
F
IRL
Permit
procedure
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*
[*]
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Permit
content
*
*
*
*
Permit
periods
*
Monitoring
*
*
Reporting
*
*
[*]
[*]
Inspection
charges
Enforcement
Mandatory
NL
NO
*
*
P
S
UK
Other
*
*
Permit
charges
Inspections
IT
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
[*]
*
*
*
*
*
*
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(*)
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USA
EMS: Future Opportunities
• Harmonisation of competence
• Definitions of expectation
• Demonstrating value
• Routine communication between parties
• Public domain information
EMS: Future Opportunities
• Mutually supportive
• Comparative growth
• Alternative means of demonstration
• Barriers
• Defined types of EMS
Delivering the Future
• Fit-for-purpose EMS
• Case Studies
• Solution-led approach
• Collaborative ownership
• Multiple Benefits
• Convincing Government