The NEPA/Natural Resources Conservation
Authority and Ministry of Land and Environment wish to thank the Environmental
Management Systems (EMS) Policy & Strategy Working Group and its team
of Consultants and Administrative Support for designing and coordinating
the consultation process and preparing the document. Thanks must also be extended to the many organisations and individuals that
have participated in the
Members of the EMS Policy & Strategy Working Group
Miss Leonie Barnaby – Ministry of Land & Environment
Dr. Mearle Barrett – NRCA
Mr. Stewart Forbes – ENACT
Miss Denise Forrest – CWIP
Mrs. Elaine Gordon – Bureau of Standards
Mrs. Pauline Gray – JEA
Miss Althea Johnson – Ministry of Tourism
Mrs. Margaret Mais – JAMPRO – National Industrial Policy
Mr. Hopeton Peterson – PIOJ
Mrs. Velma Sharpe – JMA
Mrs. Winsome Townsend – NRCA [Chairperson of Working Group]
Mr. Richard Wright – Ministry of Finance & Planning
Administrative Support and Recording Secretary - Mr. Dean Bennett
Consultants
Dr. Ira Feldman – Major Countries and Benchmark Countries
Mr. Robert Wynter and Ms. Margaret Orane – Target Sectors
Dr. Michael Witter – Economic Considerations
Mr. Hugh Hyman – Legislative Instruments and related mechanisms.
CIDA - Canadian International Development Agency
CWIP – Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project
EAST – Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism
EEPI – Environmental Economic Policy Instruments
ENACT – Environmental Action Programme
GOJ – Government
of
HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points
IDB – Inter-American Development Bank
ISER –
ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation
JAMPRO – Jamaica Promotions Limited
JaNEAP –
JBS –
JMA –
JTURDC – Joint Trade Union Research & Development Council
PIOJ – Planning
PSOJ – Private
Sector Organisation of
TTBS –
MIF – Multilateral Investment Fund
MIND – Management Institute for National Development
MIOB – Mona Institute of Business
NEEAPSD – National Environmental Education Action for Sustainable Development
NEEC – National Environmental Education Committee
NIP – National Industrial Policy
NRCA – Natural Resources Conservation Authority
NEPA – National Environmental & Planning Agency
NWC – National Water Commission
OUR – Office of Utilities Regulation
SDC-J – Sustainable
Development Council of
SIRI – Sugar Industry Research Institute
SMEs – Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
SRC – Scientific Research Council
UNDP – United Nations Development Programme
USAID – United States Agency for International Development
UWICED – University
of the
WG – Working Group
WRA – Water Resources Authority
1.0 Introduction
1.1
Sustainable
Development is about how we live on this earth. Sustainable Development
means that we must seek to balance the growing of economic capital with
the protection of our natural resources for the purpose of improving our
quality of life.
The challenge to policy makers is the integration of economic, environmental and social considerations and furthermore to see that policy is supported by effective management.
The long-term policy objective of the Government of Jamaica is Sustainable Development. In this regard, the Government has taken several initiatives relating to long-term planning and sustainable development viz.:
¨ Development of the three-year Jamaica National Environmental Action Plan (JaNEAP) in 1995 with the publication of JaNEAP Status Reports annually and a complete update in 1999.
¨ In 1998, the National Environmental Education Action Plan for Sustainable Development 1998-2010 was completed.
¨ The Sustainable Development Council of Jamaica (SDC-J) was formed under the UNDP Regional Capacity 21 project, as an advisory body to promote discussion on sustainable development.
However, despite these initiatives there still are gaps between planning and implementation. Closing the implementation gap means paying close attention to the management side of the Sustainable Development equation.
There are a number of emerging models, which can help
to close the implementation gap while placing
1.2 Environmental
Management System (
An Environmental Management System is a management tool which enables an organisation (business, government department or municipality) to address the impacts of its products, services and processes on the environment.
International
standardisation covering environmental management have been developed
to provide organisations with the elements of an effective management
system which, can be integrated into the decision-making process to achieve
environmental, protection, efficiency and economic objectives. The International
Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has developed the ISO 14000 series
of
There are
other models of
1.3 Benefits, Opportunities and Challenges
In the business
sector, an environmental management system is seen as a tool to improve
internal efficiencies, increase competitiveness and profits. In the financial
sector, banks and insurance companies are requiring assessments of environment
risks before funding projects and an
The challenges
for effective application of the EMS Policy and Strategy framework are as
real as the opportunities. One of the difficulties lies in removing the
levels of ignorance surrounding the use of the tool. Often, an
1.4 The
The development process of the policy and strategy is outlined below:
Steps 1 - 7 consisted of several meetings with stakeholders to discuss development of the policy as well as a presentation to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Land & Environment. After the research was completed (step 2) and a draft green paper prepared, meetings were held with select interests groups to discuss elements of the draft policy. These steps have culminated with the submission of this green paper to Cabinet.
Steps 8 – 10 are to be carried out upon approval of this Green Paper by Cabinet.
In October, 1999 the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) convened a multi-sectoral Working Group to devlop a draft EMS Policy and Strategy. The Working Group, drawn from a wide cross-section of stakeholders, extended its reach by consultations with a number of organizations both locally and internationnaly. To support its work the EMS Policy & Strategy Working Group reviewed the status of EMS and EMS implementation in major countries (UK, Japan, Europe, USA, and Canada), in benchmark countries (Cuba, Costa Rica, Columbia, Malaysia, Israel, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana) and in economic sectors (bauxite, tourism, coffee, rum and agro-industry). The legislative and economic scenario was also reviewed.
***This Research resulted in the preparation of the following reports which informed the EMS Policy & Strategy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
These reports are available at the http://www.nepa.gov.jm and at the documentation centres/libraries of the following institutions: NEPA/NRCA, Ministry of Land & Environment, JBS, PIOJ, JEA, JAMPRO, JMA, PSOJ, UWICED, MIOB, SDN, ISER and Parish Libraries.
2.0 The Policy
The
q Natural resources are a part of the nation’s capital and need to be managed for sustainable growth. Exploitation of the island’s natural resources in pursuit of economic development should therefore be carried out in a sustainable manner that protects the environment and shall constitute an integral part of the development process of the nation.
q An Environmental Management System is a management tool to achieve sustainable development concepts, policies, plans, and projects. Keeping to the path of sustainable development is an essential reason for the EMS Policy and Strategy. The Government of Jamaica will provide leadership by “greening” its own operation as a first step towards responsible environmental stewardship.
q The Polluter Pays Principle and the Users Pay Principle require that there is the establishment of a set of sanctions, and charges for the use of natural resources and other environmental facilities, and the degradation of the environment, while granting incentives to encourage more environmentally responsible behaviour.
q
All citizens of
The following are the policy statements:
1. A Policy & Strategy based
on the Premise that the Benefits of
The
implementation of an effective and quality
One
of the primary strategies of Government in promoting the use of
2. Economic Considerations
Economic considerations are critical in
promoting the use of
A firm with a functioning
The Government, while maintaining and even strengthening the efficacy of its ‘stick’ sanctions and enforcement capabilities will also
provide ‘carrots’ such as special non-financial incentives schemes. The financial incentives schemes
under the NIP will be examined and adjusted, where necessary, to encourage
Enterprises could be required to participate
in cleaning up the environment as a sanction for excessive pollution. One
sanction for an institution that pollutes could be to require the implementation
of a verifiable and effective
The Government will put in place sanctions and fines that will be sufficiently severe to serve as deterrents to polluters. However, sanctions must be enforceable and fines will be sufficiently low as to be affordable and collectible.
3.
An organisation can approach its responsibility to the rule of law, whether primary or secondary legislation, in two different ways viz.:
i. A reactive attitude with environmental legislation being seen as almost intrusive as well as essentially contributing to increased costs.
ii. A pro-active approach which goes beyond compliance to legal requirements and towards environmental excellence. In this scenario, the organisation not only integrates legal, production and market objectives towards ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, but establishes programmes to deal effectively with its waste, reduce its environmental liability and enhances the company’s image while reducing costs, improving communication, product acceptance and its competitive advantage.
The concept of ‘Due Diligence’
for instance, where the polluter accepts responsibility for waste generation
‘from cradle to grave’, is an example of the proactive approach. The implementation
of an
A company’s environmental performance is assessed at a minimum by the use of established standards and targets that are based in law. An important environmental responsibility is therefore to work towards achieving the relevant standards as required by the various laws and regulations but not necessarily to be limited by these standards in setting targets within an organisation. Mechanisms that can be used to encourage compliance to legislation, as well as promoting environmental excellence are agreements between the regulator and the regulated, and guidelines.
The Government will not legislate the use of an environmental management system within organisations. Instead it will promote the voluntary application of a verifiable EMS to be incorporated in agreements and/or guidelines with the regulator. This framework will help to encourage organisations to move beyond compliance towards environmental excellence. Agreements will not replace the existing legislative arrangements but create an alternative regulatory pathway.
4. Regulatory Flexibility
The NEPA/NRCA already has in
place targets such as air, water and wastewater standards that are used
in evaluating an organisation’s environmental performance. However, performance
metrics, which incorporate and go beyond the current standards need to be
established. Use of an EMS to verify compliance of companies to environmental
regulations, albeit within a voluntary framework agreed between the regulator
and the company, offers an alternative regulatory pathway as one form of
regulatory flexibility. In this scenario an
The Government will, in addition
to its existing regulatory mechanism, introduce the use of regulatory flexibility
as an alternative regulatory pathway, through the use of an
innovative mix of legislation, agreements and guidelines, using
5. Environmental Reporting
The general public is a key stakeholder in the conservation
and sustainable use of
An approach to public environmental reporting will be introduced by the Government in consultation with the range of relevant stakeholders and in keeping with ISO 14000 requirements and international trends.
6. An Informed Citizenry
The general public has an important
responsibility in the protection of the environment. However, citizens can
only fulfil this role if they are informed and educated in a way that not
only sensitises them to the issues but also influences a change in behaviour.
To achieve this will require a consistent, targeted education
programme on the benefits of environmental protection. Information on the
link between a good quality environment and the quality of life of the average
citizen must be widely disseminated. The use of an
The Government will place emphasis on increasing the environmental awareness of civil society and influencing attitudinal changes by engaging in an aggressive and sustained public education programme.
7. Institutional Strengthening
The main institutions that will be responsible for implementing the EMS Policy and Strategy will be the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Jamaica Bureau of Standards (JBS). Other agencies such as the National Solid Waste Management Authority, The National Water Commission’s Waste Management Division and the Parish Councils will also play a key role in providing the infrastructure base to implement and support sound environmental management programmes.
These institutions will reallocate their
existing resources and will be strengthened with new resources, allowing
them to be better able to increase their own internal efficiencies as well
as to adequately service the rest of the public sector, the private sector
and communities. Where applicable the agencies will be encouraged to implement
an
The EMS Policy and Strategy aims to achieve the following goals:
GOAL 1: To establish the framework within which Environmental Management Systems will be adopted across all sectors of society.
GOAL 2: To strengthen the legal and economic framework to facilitate the promotion and implementation of Environmental Management Systems.
GOAL 3: To ensure an informed public who will support and advocate for responsible environmental stewardship.
The strategies to support the policy goals
are outlined below. These strategies will build on on-going programmes, tackle
the weaknesses/challenges that have been identified in the policy development
process as well as introduce new initiatives. The EMS Policy & Strategy,
is a long- term process and will require on-going monitoring given the dynamics
of global issues and their impact on the country’s strategic directions. The
strategies contemplate a five-year timeframe* during which the programmes and
actions will be evaluated and reported on. At the end of this initial five years
there will be a complete review, impact analysis and update. This approach is
deliberate in order to adopt the
*Shaded areas indicate period of activity.
GOAL 1: To establish the framework within which Environmental Management Systems will be adopted across all sectors of society.
Strategy 1.1: Build capacity to plan,
implement, monitor and evaluate
The Government through
the GOJ/CIDA ENACT Programme has already begun to build capacity of public
sector institutions to incorporate environmental considerations into corporate
plans. In addition, through this programme the Government is implementing
an environmental stewardship programme in the Ministry of Finance &
Planning and the Ministry of Land & Environment. A “Lessons Learnt”
approach will be used to bring the other public sector institutions on board.
The
Roles / Responsibilities:
NEPA/NRCA will assume direct responsibility for actions 1.1.1 to 1.1.3 and 1.1.8 and will collaborate with the relevant entities in implementing the other actions.
Desired Policy/Strategy Outcomes:
All public sector institutions implementing
Outcome Indicators:
The
number of public sector institutions using
The level of environmental performance of public sector agencies.
ACTIONS:
1.1.1 Identify specific ministries, department and agencies to receive priority attention for capacity building.
1.1.2 Train staff in priority ministries, department and agencies.
1.1.3
Continue to sensitize
the public sector on
1.1.4
Incorporate
1.1.5 Greening of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Land and Environment as strategic lead public entities.
1.1.6 Greening of the other Government agencies.
1.1.7 Modify the Procurement Policy to include green procurement guidelines. [See action 2.2.3]
1.1.8
Incorporate
1.1.9 Implement a Pilot Project at the Local Government level, in three Parish Councils.
1.1.10
Integrate
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Strategy 1.2: Build the capacity of
The Government will build the capacity
of the National Environmental and Planning Agency (NEPA), which administers
the NRCA Act, so that this institution can adequately serve all sectors
of society in the area of
Roles / Responsibilities:
NEPA will be responsible for implementing Actions 1.2.1 to 1.2.9.
Desired Policy/Strategy Outcomes:
NEPA operating a flexible regulatory approach with a voluntary reporting scheme encouraged by incentives for continual improvement combined with strong enforcement.
Outcome Indicators:
The
number of institutions that have entered into Compliance Agreements with
NEPA using
The extent to which Compliance Agreements are adhered to.
ACTIONS:
1.2.1 Development of NEPA’s Environment Policy.
1.2.2
Implementation of
1.2.3 Implementation of a quality management system such as ISO 9000 within NEPA (including training of internal auditors)
1.2.4 Institutional strengthening support to the Pollution & Waste Management Division of NEPA.
1.2.5 Strengthening and ISO 9000 and 14001 certification of NEPA’s Laboratory.
1.2.6 Make relevant changes to the NRCA Act.
1.2.7 Put in place an EMS Resource Centre and designate two officers as EMS Technical Information Officers. [See Action 1.3.1]
1.2.8 Identify courses and programmes for management and policy makers in all sectors.
1.2.9
Conduct five study tours on
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Strategy 1.3: Build
the capacity of
The Jamaica Bureau of Standards (JBS) has
established an Environmental Management Systems Unit within the Standards
Department to: ensure
Twelve (12) standards in the ISO 14000 series have been published by ISO, of these six (6) have been made readily available at affordable prices through their adoption as Jamaican as Jamaican National Standards. Among these are ISO 14001, the standard used for certification and its accompanying implementation guide ISO 14004; as well as three (3) standards (ISO 14010 – 14012) covering environmental auditing and one guide on environmental labelling. Five standards are also at different stages of adoption.
Roles / Responsibilities:
The Bureau of Standards will be responsible for Actions 1.3.1 to 1.3.7.
Desired Policy/Strategy Outcomes:
There is a cadre of local certified auditors to adequately service the private sector and the Bureau of Standards, being fully accredited as a certifying body, has a large clientele of businesses being certified by it to various standards.
Outcome Indicators:
The extent to which the private sector is serviced by local certified auditors.
The number of businesses certified to the various standards by the Bureau of Standards.
ACTIONS:
1.3.1 Establish and maintain an EMS Technical Clearing House at the Bureau of Standards. [See Action 1.2.7]
1.3.2 Train and certify of auditors from JBS and the private sector to conduct 3rd party ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certification audits.
1.3.3 Implement ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 at the JBS.
1.3.4 Training internal auditors from JBS and the private sector.
1.3.5 Establish and accredit a Registration/Certification Body at JBS.
1.3.6 Practically train and certify JBS personnel in HACCP.
1.3.7 Accredit JBS Laboratories.
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Strategy 1.4: Build capacity to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate
The Government will encourage companies to implement
environmental safeguards, to maintain the standards and environmental performance
to which they are committed, and to share their experiences with other local
businesses. Some private sector companies have already begun to implement
Roles / Responsibilities:
NEPA will have overall responsibility for implementing all these actions except for Action 1.4.7 for which JBS will be responsible. NEPA and JBS will collaborate in implementing Action 1.4.3.
Desired Policy/Strategy Outcomes:
Most Jamaican businesses
Implementing some form of
Outcome Indicators:
The number of businesses implementing
The extent to which companies have improved their environmental performance.
The extent to which companies have improved their international competitiveness.
ACTIONS:
1.4.1 Develop Local EMS case studies
1.4.2
Assist local environmental consulting firms to acquire the skills
to facilitate
1.4.3 Develop and implement pilot projects in small & medium sized businesses (SMEs) including the use of a mentorship programme in private sector.
1.4.4 Develop and implement a Corporate Leadership Programme including environmental reporting concepts.
1.4.5
Implement
1.4.6
The training of auditors from the private sector to carry out 3rd
party certification audits of
1.4.7 Develop waste management strategies and cleaner technology approaches to move practices towards prevention of pollution and reduction in the use of natural resources.
1.4.8 Develop a Waste Exchange Network with UWICED.
1.4.9 Develop codes of practice with key private sector groups.
1.4.10 Develop and implement an EMS Information Network.
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