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RESEARCH ARTICLE: Integrating Sustainable Development with a Consolidated NEPA/ISO 14001 EMS, Redux

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2010

Charles Eccleston
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Abstract

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) environmental management system (EMS), and the goal of sustainable development provide three separate and independent approaches for protecting the environmental. NEPA provides a scientifically based process for rigorously and objectively evaluating alternatives to a proposal or plan. In contrast, an EMS provides an ideal system for implementing and monitoring a federal agency's NEPA plan and final decision. A detail assessment of these two processes demonstrates that both systems share many common features and that the weaknesses of one process frequently tend to be counterbalanced by the strengths of the other. Properly combined, an integrated NEPA/EMS provides an efficient mechanism for evaluating and implementing federal agency actions. The goal of sustainable development is gaining international attention, yet it lacks a general-purpose system for identifying, evaluating, and implementing a sustainable development plan. This article further expands upon an earlier concept of an integrated NEPA/EMS. Specifically, this article describes a fourth-generation system that uses an integrated NEPA/EMS procedure to develop and implement a sustainable plan or program. The advantage of this consolidated process is that it draws from the synergistic strengths of an integrated NEPA/EMS to identify, plan, evaluate, and implement sustainable measures for proposed plans, projects, or programs. The following section explains the role that the NAEP has played in developing an integrated NEPA/EMS.

Environmental Practice 12:18–34 (2010)

Type
Features
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 18 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © National Association of Environmental Professionals 2010

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References

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