An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of tools and processes a company uses to achieve its environmental goals. A good EMS lets a company identify its environmental impacts, set goals to manage them, put in place plans to meet those goals, evaluate how well they do and continually improve the system. An EMS allows a company to better manage environmental aspects of its business and improve performance.
Nova Scotia Power has separate Environmental Management Systems for the Integrated Customer Service and Power Production divisions of the company. Both of these systems conform with the requirements of the internationally-recognized ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standards.
The EMS for the Integrated Customer Service division of Nova Scotia Power addresses:
- Air Emissions
- Liquid Substances
- Solid Wastes
- Controlled Substances/wastes (such as PCBs)
- Lands Management
- Environmental Releases (such as oil spills)
The EMS for this division of Nova Scotia Power focuses on:
- Air Quality Management
- Dangerous Goods Management
- Fish Passage
- Fuel Management
- Solid Waste
- Special Projects
- Water Management
Some recent benefits of our Environmental Management Systems, which ensure we are in compliance with government regulations, include:
- Lower emissions of sulphur dioxides, nitrogen oxides and mercury from our thermal generating stations, in compliance with regulated limits.
- Better measurement and management of environmental incidents to reduce how often they take place.
- More focus on waste management and waste reduction.
- An EMS raises employee awareness of the environment, allowing them to clearly understand their roles and take ownership.