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Glossary |
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Agenda 21
is the UN agreement signed by most countries at the Rio
Conference in 1992. Agenda 21 addresses the pressing problems
of today and also aims at preparing the world for the challenges
of the next century. It reflects a global consensus and political
commitment at the highest level on development and environment
co-operation.
Assessment is an
all-inclusive term used to denote the act of determining,
through a review of objective evidence and witnessing the
performance of activities, whether items, processes, or services
meet specified requirements. Assessments are conducted through
implementation of the following actions: audits, performance
evaluations, management system reviews, peer reviews, or surveillances,
which are planned and documented by trained and qualified
personnel.
Audit: A
planned and documented activity performed to determine by
investigation, examination, or evaluation of objective evidence
the adequacy of and compliance with established procedures,
instructions, drawings, and other applicable documents and
the effectiveness of implementation. Audit should not be confused
with surveillances or inspection activities performed for
the sole purpose of process control or product acceptance
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| Benchmarking
is the measure of an organisation's products or services against
the best existing products or services of the same type. The
process of comparing and measuring an organisation's own performance
on a particular process against the performance of organisations
judged to be the best of a comparable industry. |
Capacity
building is the development of the skills and activities
of individuals in an organisation to their full capacity. It
means investment made with the purpose of enhancing the ability
of individuals to achieve their development goals.
Cleaner Production is the continuous use of industrial
processes and products to increase efficiency, to prevent pollution
of the air, water and land, to reduce wastes at source and to
minimise risks to the human population and the environment.
UNEP definition 1994.
Community: A specific group of people, often living in
a defined geographical area, who share a common culture, values
and norms, are arranged in a social structure according to relationships
which the community has developed over a period of time. Members
of a community gain their personal and social identity by sharing
common beliefs, values and norms which have been developed by
the community in the past and may be modified in the future.
They exhibit some awareness of their identity as a group, and
share common needs and a commitment to meeting them.
Consultation is the process of telling an employee representative
about new proposals, allowing them the chance to respond, and
taking note of any response. It does not require agreement as
with negotiation.
Continual improvement is the process of enhancing the
(HES) management system to achieve improvements in overall (HES)
performance in line with the organisation's
HES policy. It does not need not take place in all areas of
activity simultaneously. (Definition
adapted from ISO Definitions from ISO 14001 and OHS 18001) |
| Duty of Care.
A duty of care applies to anybody who carries, keeps, treats,
or disposes of waste, or who acts as a third party and arranges
matters such as imports or disposal. They must ensure that nobody
in the chain commits an offence regarding waste. More about
common usage. |
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Eco-efficiency
is the efficiency with which environmental resources are used
to meet human needs and can help achieve the aim of maximising
benefits while minimising risks.
Employee Participation in environmental protection
means the involvement and empowerment of employees in helping
management to improve their company's impact on the environment.
The United Nations recommended to "educate staff on the
ways in which sustainable development affects their firm and
how they can utilise these criteria in their specific tasks'
Enabling means taking action in partnership with individuals
or groups to empower them, through the mobilization of human
and material resources.
Economic Instruments are the variety of different methods
of using money to persuade, encourage and direct enterprises
to go in particular direction. The idea fits with market economics
rather than restrictive legislation.
End of pipe technologies refer to those bits added
to the end of the manufacturing process in order to reduce
emissions and discharges to air or water.
Environment is the "surroundings in which an organisation
operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora,
fauna, humans and their interrelation. Surroundings in this
context extend from within the organisation to the global
system. (ISO 14001: 1996 definition 3.2)
Environmental Health refers to the health consequences
of exposure to factors present in the environment outside
the enterprise premises.
Environmental Impact is the change to the environment,
whether adverse or beneficial, which wholly or partly result
from the organisation's activities. (ISO 14001: 1996 definition
3.4)
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are those systems
introduced by management, similar to those for quality production.
It is the part of the overall management system that includes
organisational structure, planning, activities, responsibilities,
practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing,
implementing, achieving, reviewing, and maintaining the environmental
policy. (ISO 14001: 1996 definition 3.5). There are a number
of recognised systems, including the European EMAS and the
ISO 14001.EMAS
Environmental Policy is a statement by the organisation
of its intentions and principles in relation to its overall
environmental performance which provides a framework for action
and for the setting of its environmental objectives and targets.
(ISO 14001: 1996 definition 3.9)
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants
of health-states in specified populations, and the application
of this study to the control of health problems.
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| Fossil Fuel
is a general term for combustible geologic deposits of carbon
in reduced (organic) form and of biological origin, including
coal, oil, natural gas, oil shales, and tar sands. A major concern
is that they emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burnt,
thereby contributing to the greenhouse effect. |
| Guideline
is suggested practice that is not mandatory in programs intended
to comply with a standard. The word "should" or "may"
denotes a guideline; the word "shall" or "must"
denotes a requirement. |
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Hazard is anything, biological,
chemical or physical that can cause harm to people
Health and Safety means the aspects of work which give
cause accidents or ill health of workers.
Health Capital is the total interrelated environmental,
economic, social, and relationship factors that determine
overall health and operate across age and gender, throughout
the life cycle and subject to accumulate or decline according
to time and through chance, circumstance and choice.
Health indicator is a characteristic of an individual,
population, or environment which is subject to measurement
(directly or indirectly) and can be used to describe one or
more aspects of the health of an individual or population
(quality, quantity and time).
Health policy: A formal statement or procedure within
institutions (notably government) which defines priorities
and the parameters for action in response to health needs,
available resources and other political pressures.
Health promotion is the process of enabling people
to increase control over, and to improve their health (Ottawa
Charter for Health Promotion. WHO, Geneva,1986) Health,
Environment & Safety Systems aim to bring together
the best practices in health promotion, environmental management
and accident prevention at work and introduce them into new
business methods, based on continual improvement, for the
benefit of all.
Holistic approach looks at the whole picture. The totality
of something is much greater than the sum of its component
parts and they cannot be understood by the isolated examination
of their parts.
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Industrial Hygiene aims
to reduce workplace contaminants at source using a hierarchy
of methods - substitution, suppression, enclosure and ventilation.
ISO standards is a set
of standards drawn up by the International Organisation for
Standardisation . This is a world wide federation of national
standards bodies or ISO member bodies. They drew up the ISO
9000 series on quality and the 14000 series on environment
management. The most famous of these is ISO 14001 on environmental
management, but is followed by standards on audits, performance
indicators and life cycle analysis. The standards are voluntary,
consensus, private-sector standards. IOS has no power to impose
standards on any country or organisation.
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| Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) is a systematic tool for assessing the environmental
impacts of a work process in order to build an inventory and
make an evaluation of inputs and outputs and to identify the
most significant aspects of the process. |
| NGOs are non-government
organisations. They are what their name says - organisations
that are not governmental!. These include the main environmental
organisation such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, but
also include womens' groups, Hazards groups and local pressure
groups, Trade unions are sometimes included although they prefer
to be seen as social partners. Companies, while not governmental,
prefer not to be seen as NGOs. |
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Objective is the overall
goal that an organisation sets itself to achieve.
Occupational Health refers
to the ill health arising from work processes. The Joint ILO/WHO
1995 definition widens the scope and focuses on three objectives:
1. The maintenance and promotion of workers' health and working
capacity;
2. The improvement of working environment and work to become
conducive to safety and health; and
3. The development of work organisation and working cultures
in a direction which supports health and safety at work and
in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth
operation and may enhance productivity of the undertaking.
The concept of working culture is intended, in this context,
to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted
by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected
in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policies,
principles for participation, training policies and quality
management of the undertaking.`
Occupational Exposure Standard (OES) is the concentration
of an airborne substance, averaged over a reference period,
for which, according to current knowledge, there is no evidence
that is likely to be injurious to employees if they are exposed
by inhalation, day after day, and which is specified in a
list , document EH 40, approved by the Health and Safety Commission
(HSC). List International Standards
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Performance Indicator(s)
A parameter useful for determining the degree to which an
organisation has achieved its goals. ISO 14031 sets standards
for Environmental Performance Indicators, Management and Operational
Indicators.
Performance Measure(s) are the quantitative basis by
which objectives are established and performance is assessed
and gauged. Includes performance objectives and criteria performance
indicators, and any other means that evaluate the success
in achieving a specified goal.
Pollution is the adverse alteration of land, air or
water by a substance. When any alteration is considered adverse,
a substance becomes a pollutant. Contamination is the unwanted
presence of one substance in another, but is not necessarily
adverse or harmful.
Polluter-pays Principle used to mean that public money
should not be used to subsidise pollution reduction systems
for private industry. If you pollute the river you may pay
a fine, but you also pay clean up costs.
Precautionary principle is part of the Rio Declaration.
It says: "In order to protect the environment, the precautionary
approach shall be widely applied by States according to their
capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible
damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used
as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation" (Principle 15).
Proximity principle sets out to dealing with waste as locally
as possible to where it is produced. This makes sense, but
it is not always practical, or desirable.
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Quality Actions that provide confidence that quality
is achieved.
Quality Management is the management of a process
to maximize customer satisfaction at the lowest cost
Quality Systems were developed
in the 1980s to control quality by achieving more accurate
production, thereby cutting down waste. This leads to the
idea of Total Quality Management (TQM) that encourages the
consumer to drive all development.
Quality of life is defined as individual's perceptions
of their position in life in the context of the culture and
value system where they live, and in relation to their goals,
expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad ranging
concept, incorporating in a complex way a person's physical
health, psychological state, level of independence, social
relationships, personal beliefs and relationship to salient
features of the environment.
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Responsible Care
is the scheme established by the Chemical Industries Association
that builds on quality management and health and safety systems
to include environmental concerns.
Risk is a combination of the probability or the frequency
of assurance of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences
of the occurrence.
Risk Assessment is the process of estimating the risk
to health or environment of a product or work process by determining
the possible extent of damage and the likelihood of that damage
occurring. The goal is to produce "objective" data
as a basis for making managerial or regulatory decisions.
Risk factor Social, economic or biological status, behaviours
or environments which are associated with or cause increased
susceptibility to a specific disease, ill health, or injury. |
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Social capital is an element
of national wealt and can be measured or assessed by the quality
of life and quality of living and working conditions. People
acting collectively in society create social capital.
Social Partners are the employers and employees and
their representatives working together forthe
benefit of all.
Stakeholder:Any group or individual who is affected
by or who can affect the future of an organisation-customers,
employees, suppliers, owners, other agencies, local authorities,
government, and critics
Statistical Process Control (SPC) was developed by
W.E Deming as a tool to examine the deviation from the mean
of what was required. He proposed that more attention is paid
to why things are not at the mean and in so doing demonstrated
that the cause for most faults were not individuals' as much
as the organisation of the management system. Environmentally
it is the ultimate way to reduce waste.
Strategic Planning is the process for helping an organisation
envision what it hopes to accomplish in the future, identify
and understand obstacles and opportunities that affect the
organisation's ability to achieve that vision, and set forth
the plan of activities and resource use that will best enable
the achievement of the goals and objectives.
Supply Chains integrate the procuring, producing, and
delivering of products and services to customers, including
sub-suppliers, suppliers, internal operations, trade customers,
retail customers, and end users and manage the material, information,
and funds flows.
Sustainable Development is development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. It first came to prominence
with the Bruntland Report of 1987 and is the basis of Agenda
21.
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Target is the quantified
performance requirement, applicable to the organisation, that
arises from the HES objectives and that needs to be set and
met in order to achieve those objectives.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
is a philosophy that involves everyone in an organisation
in controlling and continuously improving how work is done
in order to meet customer expectations of quality. The management
of continual improvement in quality relies on active participation
of both management and employees using analytical tools and
teamwork.
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Work force
changes
in Europe include ageing of the working population, increasing
part-time employment, more outsourcing, more intensification
and repetitive work, unpredictable working hours and violence,
stress and harassment at the workplace.
Workplace Health Promotion
(WHP) is the combined efforts of employers, employees and society
to improve the health and well-being of people at work.
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