Environmental management systems: appraising implementation in the mining industry

Abstract

Environmental awareness has encouraged the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS) in many companies, including the mining industry. Although the general consensus is that “it must be good for the environment”, many companies are unsure whether it is worthwhile the effort to implement a creditworthy EMS. This holds true, especially for mining operations, under much pressure from green lobbyists and increasing strict legislation. Rather than to blindly integrate an EMS into an existing management system or to implement a new one, this project offers an academic insight into the problem, clarity regarding some obstacles to implementation and available solutions for evaluating an EMS. A practical model is proposed which Exxaro’s Matla coal mine can use to justify their recent ISO 14001 integration, or to provide a decision framework for considering such integration into the existing quality management systems (QMS) of Exxaro’s remaining operations.