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City of Kitchener gets to grips with the environment
19 Aug 2008
Topics: Environment, ISO 14001, Canada, Americas
When the city of Kitchener, in the Canadian province of Ontario, decided to act on its air quality, it knew what to do. In its environmental committee's 2006 report Air Quality in Kitchener, it recognized that local governments can play a significant role in addressing air quality, with some regulatory authority over many direct and indirect sources of air pollution. Examples include defining land use, zoning and transportation policy, and in Kitchener's case, providing services for acquisition, maintenance, repair and disposal of specialized small, medium and heavy duty trucks and equipment used in municipal operations.
Notwithstanding, the report identified that registration to ISO 14001 was the number one priority in its "Five Best Bets for Air Quality Improvement."
Consequently in August 2007, Kitchener city council directed staff to proceed with the implementation and third-party certification of the environmental management systems standard. After a review of management practices and processes regarding fleet operations and corporate strategic environmental planning, ISO 14001 certification was awarded to the city council by BSI Management Systems Canada earlier this year.
Scope
The ISO 14001 certification covers all of the city's fleet operations, including their repair, maintenance and procurement. This comprises 1,130 vehicles and equipment utilized in regular city operations - fire equipment, pumping station equipment and equipment used at the city's two golf courses - which will be repaired and maintained to a higher environmental standard under the new system. As a result, Kitchener, with its population of just under 200,000, is now on the leading edge of municipalities in Ontario in terms of environmental due diligence.
The city is not resting on its laurels and has taken the decision to push on further with adoption of ISO 14001. The council has decided to investigate other operating areas within the corporation that could also benefit from the standard and its environmental management system principles and practices.
Comments Councillor Berry Vrbanovic: "I am really pleased that staff and our consultant were able to work so quickly to enable us to attain the ISO 14001 certification. But air quality continues to remain one of the most pressing environmental issues for modern cities and so it is important that we don't just stop there. Looking at which of our other operating areas would work well under the ISO 14001 system will give us even more bang for our environmental buck. I'm hoping that we can find a number of other areas where this environment management system is applicable."
ISO 14001
ISO 14001 is the world's first internationally recognized environmental management systems standard, which, since it was first published in 1996, has gained an impressive global following. The ISO organization reported in its most recent survey that no fewer than 130,000 organizations in 140 countries had adopted the standard.
The standard can be applied to any organization or enterprise and in the case of Kitchener the benefits of the ISO 14001 programme are clear. The standard puts in place a management philosophy to ensure that environmental considerations are part of every operational decision in the city. Moreover the standard is recognized as international best practice, and has enabled the city to become a leader in environmental practice. Usefully, ISO 14001 also sets the standard for the city to maintain compliance with environmental legislation.
Finally, certification allows Kitchener to demonstrate leadership through sustainable initiatives, to remain accountable for environmental performance, and to practice stewardship by reducing environmental impacts. The city's next annual surveillance audit is scheduled for April 2009.
For more on ISO/IEC 14001 see: www.bsigroup.com/en/Assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/Standards-and-Schemes/ISO-14001/
For more on BSI Management Systems Canada see: www.bsigroup.ca
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License.
Business Standards © 2010. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with The British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.
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