The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) offers low-cost assistance to Maryland manufacturers in implementing environmental management systems (EMSs) based on the ISO 14001 global standard. Sixty Maryland manufacturers have taken advantage of the program.  The program works with groups of three to six businesses at a time and enrollment is on a first come-first served basis. See contact information below to learn more. 

Environmental Management Systems

EMSs help organizations systematically identify and manage their regulated as well as unregulated environmental impacts. Over 129,000 organizations worldwide have registered their conformance to ISO 14001 (including these companies in Maryland), but many more facilities have realized the benefits of implementing an EMS without taking the formal step of registering their company.

Organizations that have implemented EMSs find that it has helped to:

• improve their environmental regulatory compliance;
• resolve and prioritize organizational issues;
• improve efficiency, reduce environmental costs and liability;
• increase environmental awareness, involvement, and competency throughout the organization;
• increase top management’s participation and involvement in environmental management; and
• improve communication both inside and outside the organization. 

How the Program Works

This six-month program assists manufacturing organizations in implementing an EMS during four one-day workshops, spaced six weeks apart, followed by specific work assignments and supported by field implementation assistance. Program participants will also be offered technical assistance on implementation of cost-saving pollution prevention technologies.  There is a $1,000 cost share per company for participation. 

What Our Participants Say

The MDE/MEP EMS Implementation Program was selected by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable as the recipient of a Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) Award.  This national award is designed to recognize outstanding and innovative pollution prevention projects and programs that exemplify innovation, measurable results, transferability, commitment, and optimization of available project resources.  Here's what our participants say:

“This is a very well-run program.  The knowledge, experience and willingness of the team to help have been exceptional.”

Kaye Cleghorn, General Dynamics Robotics Systems

"As an electronics recycler and secure document destruction company, certification to ISO 14001 was critical to our continued growth.  We are a much stronger, safer, and more environmentally friendly company as a result of all our efforts over the last year.  It has also served as our baseline management system for certification to Responsible Recycling/Recycling Industry Operating Standard certification." 

Julie Keough, E-Structors, Inc.

"This program has been a tremendous help for us.  We're now in a position to prepare a template for our other hospitals and healthcare facilities in 2010 and we couldn't have done it without this program."
Jerry Adams, MedStar Health

"As an ISO 9001 registered company, we easily integrated the requirements of ISO 14001 into our existing management system. The use of procedural and record templates made the task quick and efficient."

Mark McFerren, Mitchell Machine Shop Division of Duvinage LLC.

“This program is extremely worthwhile.  It pushed us to look at things we might not have done and in the process we not only improved our environmental performance but reduced our operating expenses as well.”

Jim Robellard, Plymouth Tube

“The ISO 14000 implementation program is a natural fit with our existing ISO 9001 Management System.  Additionally, its focus on environmental planning has changed our mode of operations away from reacting to changes in environmental regulations to one of advanced planning allowing us to move significantly beyond regulatory compliance.”  

George Lauder, Erachem Comilog 

Contact Information

For more information and to learn how to enroll in the program, please contact Laura Armstrong at 410-537-4119, laura.armstrong@maryland.gov  or Paul Gietka at 410-916-4061, pgietka@mdmep.org

 

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