Monitoring and Measuring Performance
Measuring, monitoring and evaluating are the activities that allow an organization to determine whether or not it’s making progress towards achieving its environmental objectives and targets. Organizations make policy commitments to compliance, prevention of pollution and continual improvement, so getting feedback on how well their planned activities are working and what modifications are needed is an important part of the EMS process.
- A process to aid with performance evaluation
- Focuses on the key characteristics of your operations and activities as they relate to significant aspects
- Operational controls
- Track performance
- Progress toward meeting objectives & target
- Assess your current efforts
- What’s required through your legal obligations?
- How well does it meet your EMS needs?
- What else might you evaluate?
- Performance Indicators – have they been specified?
- Environment
- Management System
A documented procedure is needed to
- monitor and measure on a regular basis
- identify key characteristics of operations that can have significant environmental impact
- track performance
- track relevant operational controls
- track objectives and targets
Check list
Have we:
- Identified what must be monitored and measured
- Decided what indicators/metrics are appropriate
- Established a schedule for monitoring and measuring
- Ensured information generated is managed according to your records procedure
- Documented the procedure
- Communicated the information
Top management needs data and information as part of the management review process to determine if the organization is achieving its environmental goals. Information collected through monitoring and measure can help make this determination and answer the following questions: Was the EMS being carried out as planned? Was the organization achieving its policy commitments and its objectives and targets?