An environmental policy is top management's declaration of its environmental commitment.
It is a set of basic principles which guide the organisation when defining objectives and targets for improving environmental performance.
It is also a key tool for telling employees, customers, environmental interest groups, etc. what the organisation's environmental priorities are.
The organisation must act according to its principles. For example, a organisation cannot be committed to energy efficiency on paper, while using obsolete energy-intensive production processes in practice! If the organisation has decided that energy is a key issue, it must act accordingly and back this up with resources, in so far as this is economically and financially reasonable, of course.
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Keys to a good environmental policy
- It is written clearly and concisely.
- It is credible and realistic and doesn't make promises the organisation cannot keep.
- It motivates - the employees are pleased, not surprised.
- It addresses top priorities for being an efficient environmental performer, avoiding 'activism'.
- It gives a clear direction and can be achieved through objectives and targets.
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