There are three pillars of sustainability that can be seen as: (i) Economic, (ii) Environmental, and (iii) Social. Some authors suggest three pillars as: (i) Ecology, (ii) Economy, and (iii) Equity, and they also expand these three pillars by including the fourth pillar as culture, institution or governance. These pillars needs to be balanced in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development. Achieving the balance between these pillars is considered necessary to meet present needs without compromising the needs of future generations.
There are growing pressure on environment from the following:
- Pollution,
- Inefficient use of resources,
- Improper waste management,
- Climate change,
- Degradation of ecosystem,
- Loss of biodiversity
More stringent rules and regulations (legal framework) are required as a societal expectations for transparency, accountability and sustainable development. All these factors have led us to adopt a systematic approach to environmental management by implementing environmental management system so that we may contribute to the environmental pillars of sustainability.
ISO 14001:2015 EMS is a standard that specifies requirements for an environmental management system. An organization can use ISO 14001:2015 EMS standard to enhance organization's environmental performance.
Best wishes,
Keshav Ram Singhal
