| Green Building
Environmental Management Systems for Contractors and CM's
By Charlie Popeck
Having an effective Environmental Management System
can help your firm comply with environmental regulations,
reduce fines and penalties and give you plenty of project-specific
environmental documentation. It can also help establish and
promote your firm as a premiere environmental contractor.
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As the construction industry continues to evolve, market-leading
contractors should be looking for ways to differentiate their
companies from other "top contractors" in the marketplace.
These proactive companies will be poised to take advantage
of opportunities and projects they really want to land. I
can't tell you how many times I've been told by contractor
clients that they were unsuccessful in a project interview
because they didn't have a stern company-wide commitment to
sustainable construction or the LEED system, or did not have
a quantifiable and documented record of environmental compliance
and performance.
Excessive violations and fines will not only negatively impact
a contractors financial bottom line, but could adversely affect
the company's reputation in the marketplace-especially if
trying to pursue future LEED projects. Rest assured that green
building, compliance with environmental regulations, and environmental
stewardship is where our industry is headed so you should
be prepared-especially if you work on municipal or university
or privately funded projects.
Over the last few years the AGC of America has actively promoted
and encouraged their members to develop a comprehensive Environmental
Management System (EMS) but relatively few have actually developed
an EMS, or an effective alternative way to manage their regulatory
responsibilities. Many have not done so because the task seems
lengthy and cumbersome, they have nobody on staff to spearhead
development of the EMS program, or they simply don't see the
benefit…yet.
In its basic form, an effective EMS for a contractor or construction
manager would include the following elements:
Incorporate appropriate measurements for various site practices
Establish a template for EMS reporting (measurement and
accounting) on all projects
Provide employees on all projects with access to federal,
state and local standards and regulations pertaining to each
project
Incorporate the desired green building or LEED standard
credits into each project (i.e.; air quality, construction
waste management, energy use, etc.)
Provide the necessary tools to efficiently supply clients
with a comprehensive list of project-specific environmental
accomplishments and EMS performance data
Provide data for use in the company's Corporate Social Responsibility
Report
Of course, every Environmental Management System will be
different as business, marketing, financial and environmental
goals vary from company to company, but the end result of
the EMS for all firms should be the reduction of fines and
penalties, compliance with environmental regulations, establishment
of the contractor or construction manager as a premiere environmental
contractor and to have the capability to populate reports
with project-specific environmental documentation.
An effective EMS program should also be accompanied by a communications
program in order to demonstrate the company's commitment to
the EMS program and corresponding results to the business
community. From an external perspective, marketing the company's
core competencies is integral to securing future work, so
the communications program should differentiate the firm from
competitors, show example CSR Reports and communicate competence
to deliver LEED projects. Internally, the communications program
should engage the company's leadership team in development
of sustainability initiatives and develop a business model
to effectively communicate your competence to deliver LEED
projects.
Continuing education is a third critical part of any EMS program,
as the system will only be as useful as the people who implement
it on a daily basis.
The internal training program should teach the employees how
to use the EMS system in order to produce the desired results.
From a LEED perspective, many contractors have directed employees
to become LEED-accredited professionals over the years, but
very few have actually worked on a LEED project. This once
valuable business advantage will wane if these employees are
not kept up to date with current green building practices,
and they will eventually loose their LEED-accredited status,
as the U.S. Green Building Council will be implementing CEU
requirements in the future. Firms should conduct quarterly
"High-Performance Building Forums" in order to keep
the EMS on track and to continue employee development so that
clients will receive the benefits of the company's sustainable
development components.
These quarterly forums should:
Focus on ways to develop future business; and
Develop and refine sustainable best practices; and
Increase green building competence while refining competitive
skills
Finally, since you've developed and implemented a detailed
EMS program, be sure to get the most bang for your buck by
creating an annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report
for the company. This substantive report should be capable
of withstanding rigorous reviews from peers in the industry,
critics and competitors. The Corporate Social Responsibility
Report is broader than the EMS as it includes all elements
of a company's operations as it relates to the environment
but is heavily reliant on the EMS for data. A typical CSR
Report may contain the following elements:
Compliance
Releases to the Environment
Materials Purchasing Policy
Waste Stream Management
Use of Energy
Water use reduction
Stormwater and Species Protection
Workplace Health and Safety
An experienced sustainability partner may be useful to work
with your firm to ensure that the data needed for client reports
and the CSR is available in appropriate form and substance
for use at the end of the year.
Charlie Popeck is the president
of Green Ideas Environmental Building Consultants. Green Ideas
specializes in helping design, construction and facility management
teams to understand and implement the LEED System into their
businesses. He can be reached at 602-512-0557 or Charlie@Egreenideas.com
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