In A Smaller Organisation, Periodic Audits Can Be Particularly Valuable As

In a smaller organisation, periodic audits can be particularly valuable as managers close to the work may not often see the problems or insufficient procedures that have been developed.
Management review is the key to continual improvement and for ensuring that the EMS will continue to meet the organisation's needs over time. They also offer a great opportunity to keep the EMS efficient and cost effective. Smaller organisations often favour employee experience over written procedures and documented systems. However, personnel turnover without documented systems can stall progress. On establishment of an EMS, it is essential to evaluate how useful it is to relate to the company's policy towards sustainable development.
For any company, economic growth has been considered as a major indicator of a healthy society, but lately, the environmental cost has been recognised by the society. So there is a need to develop sustainable development a means of satisfying present needs without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet theirs. The implementation of sustainable management initiatives has been mainly a reaction to environmental pressures, legal obligations, risk management, customer demands and competition. This has lead to a change in the stakeholders interpretation of sustainable development through constraints of politics, economics, science, culture and religion.
The intent of an EMS is to facilitate a voluntary implementation of an effective management system for both sound environmental performance and also participation in environmental schemes. The design principle of an EMS is not to be a regulatory device as such, but as a regulatory device with the objective of sustainable development. To evaluate their role in sustainable development, in their current form, EMS only functions for continual improvement on environmental objectives and targets after considering regulations, effects of the products on the environment, organisational goals and views of concerned parties.Implementing an EMS does not alter the basic obligation to comply with applicable requirements or the requirements themselves. Through compliance, they provide ways to make achievement of that end more sustainable and predictable. So EMS has emerged as a important tool in improving performance above legal minimums and widely accepted.
References.
Cascio, J., Woodside, G and Mitchell, P. (1996) ISO 14000: A guide to the New International Environmental Standards. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Hillary (1994) The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme: A Practical Guide. UK: Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd.
IAS (1991) International Accounting Standards (2nd Edition). Vol I & II. IAS No 1-31. Copenhagen: FSRs Forlag.