At the core of EMPs is the reduction of waste within an organization. These plans provide an organization with a framework of how to run sustainable business operations. Example of aspects that EMPs promote include: lowering energy consumption, reducing the use of office paper, recycling and mitigating pollution. EMPs also help organizations assess the impact and feasibility of these activities and how they can be improved on.
EMPs assist businesses to identify environmental hazards and thus alleviate them beforehand. In this way, these plans encourage compliance with existing national, state and local environmental laws. They also reduce the hazards that employees may encounter in the workplace, such as coming into contact with toxins and pollutants. Liability is also reduced, when dealing with customers, as a business is able to produce and distribute environmentally-safe products.
There is a growing interest among customers, shareholders, suppliers, businesses and governments in environmental preservation and sustainability. Businesses that have EMPs in place are able to engage in sustainable business activities, such as lowering energy consumption or recycling. Customers and other shareholders are becoming more interested in dealing with businesses that are sustainable and reducing pollution than those which are not.
The cost of implementing EMPs is a primary disadvantage. Although not always the case, EMPs may require the purchase of new environmentally-friendly and sustainable equipment, such as energy saving machines. Design and implementation of the system may require hiring a consultant. Other costs may include employee training, as well as auditing of the system by a third party, environmental body. Organizations that opt to register for international recognition, such as with the International Organization For Standardization (ISO) 14001 certificate, could incur fees as high as $10,000 annually.
Admittedly, EMPs can often be complex cycles of planning, implementation, assessment and evaluation. There are various national and international standards, such as the ISO 14001, that organizations may be required to sign up to and comply with. Due to this complexity, organizations and their employees may not be able to fully comply with every aspect of the system.