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ISO 14001 implementation in Jamaica

Driving forces and actions needed

by Ianthe Smith

ISO 14001 implementation is growing steadily in Jamaica, mainly among large exporting companies seeking to speed access to international markets by demonstrating good environmental management, but SMEs, the main engines of economic growth, lag behind. The author examines the reasons, and makes recommendations for government action.

More and more organizations in Jamaica are implementing environmental management systems (EMS) based on ISO 14001:2004. But is the real aim to enhance their trade in goods and services, or simply to meet the requirements of funding agencies? In other words, are they truly committed to reducing the environmental impacts of their operations?

This article examines the key reasons for ISO 14001 implementation among Jamaican organizations, based on my experience and perspective. I will look at some of the barriers, the benefits to the environment and the organization’s bottom line, and discuss the benefits of EMS integration with other ISO management systems.

Local EMS trends

To date, 19 Jamaican organizations have achieved ISO 14001 certification (see Table 1), while 28 hold ISO 9001 certification. In most cases these are manufacturing companies that export their products.

	Name of certified company	Date first certified
1.	West Indies Alumina Company (WINDALCO) - formerly Alcan	August 2000
2.	St. Mary Banana Estates Ltd. Farms – Jamaica Producers Group Ltd.	2001
3.	Eastern Banana Estates Ltd. – Jamaica Producers Group Ltd.	2001
4.	JAMALCO	November 2002
5.	Berger Paints Ltd.	April 2006
6.	Red Stripe (Diageo)	September 2006
7.	Central Food Packers Ltd.	January 2007
8.	CANCO Food Processors Ltd.	January 2007
9.	Jamaica Broilers Best Dressed Chicken Processing Plant	January 2007
10.	Tijule Company Ltd.	January 2007
11.	Southern Fruits and Food Processors Ltd.	January 2007
12.	Maroon Pride Ltd.	January 2007
13.	Walkerswood Caribbean Foods Ltd.	January 2007
14.	Caribbean Cement Company Ltd.	February  2007
15.	Trinjam Food Processors	March 2007
16.	Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART)	October 2008
17.	Federated Pharmaceutical	December 2008
18.	Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF)	January 2009
19.	J. Wray & Nephew Ltd.	January 2009

Table 1 — ISO 14001-certified Jamaican companies
List compiled by the National Certification Body of Jamaica and Ianthe Smith.

Seven companies — Berger Paints, Trinjam Food Processors, Eastern Banana Estates, St. Mary Banana Estates, Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART), the Caribbean Cement Company and the West Indies Alumina Company (WINDALCO) — are certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

EMS implementation in Jamaica started in 2000 with Alcan Jamaica, now the West Indies Alumina Company, being the first company to achieve ISO 14001 certification. The two banana estates, part of the Jamaica Producers Group, achieved the distinction in 2001.

Large companies with international owners and operators, such as WINDALCO, Red Stripe, Berger Paints, JAMALCO and ALPART, were influenced in EMS implementation by their parent companies.

Encouraging SMEs

In Jamaica, as in many other countries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) far outnumber large conglomerates and corporations. The Small Business Association (www.sbaj.org.jm) defines SMEs as:

• Micro enterprises – annual turnover less than USD 100 000
• Small enterprises – annual turnover of USD 100 000 to USD 5 000 000, and 1-50 employees
• Medium-sized enterprises – annual turnover of USD 5 000 000 to USD 25 000 000 and 50-500 employees.

It is generally recognised that SMEs are the main engines of economic growth because they employ more people, are more innovative, and provide more competition in the marketplace. However, in spite of their importance to the economy and the well-being of some three million Jamaicans, local SMEs often find it difficult to access funding for start-ups, upgrades or capital expansion, according to the Development Bank of Jamaica (www.dbankjm.com).

It is therefore understandable that SMEs have been much slower to implement an EMS and achieve certification than larger organizations. The challenge has been to find ways to assist small businesses that do not have the resources for EMS implementation, but are nevertheless a significant part of Jamaica’s trade and business.  

Recently, two notable projects have focused on assisting local SMEs with EMS implementation:

• The SMART project (Sustainable Management, Action, Research and Training) of the Center of Development Enterprise (CDE), in collaboration with the Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP)
• Promoting Environmental Business Management in the Private Sector and Environmental Management in the Private Sector…Creating Sustainable Businesses, two projects offered by the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA)/Environmental Action Programme (ENACT). (ENACT is a Government of Jamaica and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded project).

In January 2007, under the SMART programme, seven Jamaican agro-food companies – Jamaica Broilers, Central Food Packers, CANCO, Maroon Pride, Tijule, Southern Fruits and Food, and Walkerswood – were certified to ISO 14001.

Federated Pharmaceutical and J. Wray and Nephew achieved ISO 14001 certification in 2008 and 2009 respectively under the JMA/ENACT project, and Lasco, Jamaica Citrus Growers and Turbolife were assisted in EMS development. The project was particularly geared towards SMEs, and built on the momentum and investment of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism (EAST) Project, linked also with the Government of Jamaica Environmental Stewardship of Government Operations Project.  

These ISO 14001-certified SME exporters may not have achieved the milestones without receiving such technical assistance.

Significant cost savings

Commenting on the value of ISO 14001 implementation, Stephen Salmon, Management Representative for J. Wray and Nephew, said, "The EMS has heightened the awareness of staff about the impact of waste on the environment, and they are now committed to its reduction realising that this can result in significant cost savings for the organization."

In developing its EMS, Federated Pharmaceutical stated that “the detailed and meticulous exercise in the preparation of work instructions helped us in identifying the different kinds of waste we produce and dispose of on a daily basis, and the impact on the environment. The implementation of the Environmental Management System has been an arduous but enlightening project.

"It has afforded us the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with various aspects of our environmental responsibilities, legal and otherwise. It has given us a greater appreciation of the lack of awareness which exists as it relates to environmental systems and the preservation of our natural resources."

Drivers for EMS implementation

Among key reasons why those 19 Jamaican companies implemented an ISO 14001-based EMS were to:

• Meet customer requirements
• Demonstrate a strong environmental ethic
• Assist in meeting legislative requirements
• Generate possibilities for financial savings
• Meet loan requirements.

Conformity with environmental legislation alone has not been enough to encourage companies to implement an EMS. Enforcement of environmental legislation has been generally weak and there is complacency among some companies. While National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) requirements are generally seen as just one of the many bureaucratic obligations of doing business in Jamaica, there are currently no policy or regulatory drivers encouraging companies to implement an EMS.  

So the main reasons for EMS implementation are either because of directives from international parent companies, or to facilitate access to, and viability in, the international marketplace.

Lack of EMS policy

Since 1999, the Ministry of Environment and NEPA have worked on the development of an EMS Policy with funding and technical assistance from the USAID Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project (CWIP), and the guidance of an EMS Policy and Strategy Working Group.

A White Paper, Towards a National Policy and Strategy on Environmental Management Systems, tabled in the Jamaican Houses of Parliament in June 2001, has been the subject of extensive consultation with industry, Ministries and Government Agencies. The paper is currently in the final stages of development without a fixed date for completion. Consequently, the Government has been unable to influence companies in EMS implementation to any extent, and the absence of a Government policy may have dampened investment by donor agencies in providing assistance to SMEs.

Driven from HQ

In contrast, directives from multinational owners of local manufacturing companies have been significant in driving EMS implementation in Jamaica. Alcan was driven from the head office in Canada, which incorporated environmental management in its highest level of decision-making as early as 1992.

Plants worldwide, including those in Jamaica, were required to have specific plans to deal with their impact on the local environment, and the implementation of this plan was to be “directly linked to the personal performance objectives of managers and employees”. This led to ISO 14001 implementation in many Alcan companies worldwide.

Similarly, Alcoa and Kaiser committed themselves to achieving ISO 14001 certification in their worldwide operations, JAMALCO was certified in 2002 and ALPART in 2008. Caribbean Cement, a major manufacturer and exporter, was also influenced by its parent company TCL Group, to follow its sister company in Trinidad.

Competitive influences

Jamaican manufacturing companies that export their products have traditionally been quick to recognise the benefits of EMS implementation. Being unable to demonstrate to international trading partners that you are committed to pollution prevention and continual environmental improvement, or that you comply with legal requirements, can act as a non-tariff trade barrier. This is another driver compelling Jamaican companies to implement an EMS.

Many of these companies have operations with environmental aspects – solid waste, effluent, emissions, energy and water use – that are governed by Jamaican legislation, but surprisingly this has not driven EMS implementation despite recognition of this system by NEPA, and the benefits it can bring in meeting national requirements.

Jamaica Producers Group, a major exporter of bananas to the United Kingdom and Europe, faced stiff competition from other producers in Latin America, and realised the benefits to be gained by having its farms certified to ISO 14001.

Transnational fruit producers such as Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte implemented environmental management programmes at their banana farms in response to pressure from NGOs concerning the expansion of banana production, and the associated deforestation. In the early 1990s, Chiquita implemented the Better Banana Project, the world’s largest eco-labelling programme for banana farms.

(The largest banana marketing companies produce or source bananas in at least four different countries, own vessels and facilities in harbours, and have storage, ripening and distribution facilities in various importing countries. For these reasons, they are usually called "multinational companies" or "transnational companies").

By 2002, Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte had certified most of their Latin American plantations to ISO 14001. So, in order to remain competitive, the Jamaica Producers Group followed suit and achieved ISO 14001 certification of their Eastern Banana and St. Mary Banana Estates.

Some companies also embark on EMS implementation as a pre-requisite to obtaining a loan to expand their operations. Organizations that implement an EMS for this reason alone, without full commitment to the system, tend to find the implementation process arduous and certification difficult to maintain.

Training activities

There are two key barriers to EMS implementation in Jamaican companies — poorly coordinated awareness and training programmes, and lack of technical and/or financial assistance.

While there is no shortage of EMS awareness and training programmes, their effectiveness may be compromised because they are driven primarily by donor funded projects, have many players that do not necessarily coordinate with each other, and are not properly institutionalized.  

Significant EMS training has been carried out under the donor funded JMA/ USAID and JMA/ENACT projects, and is covered in the Environmental Management For Business Managers course now offered as part of the ENACT project. The Quality Jamaica Project (QJP), funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and implemented by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, provided ISO management systems training until late 2009, while NCBJ continues to offer similar training.

Between 1999 and 2004, USAID’s EAST Project worked with JMA members to improve their environmental management practices and performance. As a result, the EAST project conducted 22 environmental audits for manufacturing companies.

NEPA also encourages EMS implementation, especially where companies must respond to complaints about their activities. The Bureau of Standards Jamaica plans to establish an ISO management systems training centre later this year, evolving from the QJP, to address some of the issues raised.

Costs . . .

Numerous Jamaican companies are interested in implementing an EMS, but many are SMEs without sufficient resources to fund the process. It is also seen as too expensive to use loans for this purpose. Some of the principal costs associated with EMS implementation include:

• Technical/consultancy assistance  the implementation process can take on average 12 to 24 months, and consultancy fees can be substantial
• Training key employees who will have overall responsibility for the system, and managing internal auditors
• Certification costs, if certification is the eventual objective (ISO 14001 can be implemented without certification).

Some organizations believe that significant sums of money must be spent in order to create the perfect EMS and achieve full compliance with regulatory requirements, even though this is not the case. Since ISO 14001 implementation is voluntary, users can establish their own timetable for improving their environmental management.

However, since they are making a commitment to pollution prevention and continual improvement, some associated capital expenditure is to be expected before the benefits of reduced costs from implemented measures kick in. It is up to the company to decide the magnitude (cost) of the projects they undertake, and the timetable (cash flow) for implementation.  

Lack of top management commitment is another major barrier to EMS implementation, although one that is self-imposed. It may seem strange that any company could decide to implement an EMS without top management commitment, but there are some that do not really believe in the process yet feel compelled to do so by external forces.

They embark on implementation but achieve little, if any, success. Top management must be fully committed and provide financial and human resources to ensure that the EMS has value.  

. . . and benefits

An EMS can help users develop a proactive rather than reactive approach to environmental goal-setting. The system facilitates internal checks and balances through audits, to assess conformity to ISO 14001 requirements and compliance with environmental legislation and codes of practice. It can also help identify and capitalise on environmental opportunities that go beyond compliance. EMS implementation can lead to:

• Improved environmental performance
• Fewer accidents and reduced liability
• Competitive advantage
• Enhanced image with public, neighbouring communities, regulators, lenders and investors
• New customer and market opportunities
• Prevention of pollution and conservation of resources
• Increased efficiency and reduced costs
• Happier customers
• Enhanced employee morale
• Improvements in health and safety at the location
• Greater employee awareness of environmental issues and responsibilities
• Reduced penalties
• Reduced oversight by regulatory agencies
• Improved public relations
• Better identification of areas where operational cost savings can be achieved.

While these aspects can indirectly result in financial benefits, there are direct financial benefits to be gained from the EMS focus on reducing the use of finite resources. In Jamaica, water and electricity are the primary resources targeted for reductions in consumption.

Electricity is one of the highest operating costs for Jamaican organizations. Water is also expensive and can be scarce at certain times of the year, so reduced consumption can net significant financial benefits to local businesses. Direct financial benefits can also come from:

• Replacing end-of-pipe solutions with pollution prevention strategies
• Reducing raw material and resource usage e.g. fuel and paper
• Improving process efficiency
• Reducing, reusing and recycling waste where possible to minimise waste handling and disposal costs
• Using non-hazardous raw materials, or reducing their toxicity where practicable, to minimise handling, treatment and disposal costs.

Value of system integration

More companies in Jamaica operate an ISO 9001-based quality management system (QMS) than an EMS. But some have already integrated the two highly compatible standards. Integration eliminates duplication in documentation and document control measures, and streamlines the audit process.

More recently some food processing establishments have found it useful to integrate the ISO 22000 food safety management system standard with ISO 9001 and 14001, as demonstrated by Jamaican rum, wine and spirits manufacturer J. Wray and Nephew.

Recommendations

There is significant value to be gained from EMS implementation and certification by local organizations and the country as a whole, so every effort should be made to encourage this endeavour.

Firstly, in my view, the Jamaican Government’s EMS Policy should be placed on a fast track for finalisation. This means that the draft must be completed and circulated widely to all stakeholders within the shortest possible time, then formalised and approved as a national policy.  

The value of EMS implementation should be promoted more consistently to target audiences to raise awareness of the benefits of doing, so along with the availability of management systems training programmes.

I also believe that the Office of the Prime Minister – Environment Department, NEPA, NCBJ and the BSJ should identify opportunities for collaboration, particularly in EMS matters. Printed and electronic material should be up to date and readily available, and the business world should know where to obtain management system information.

The Jamaican Government should actively encourage donor agencies to assist SMEs in ISO 14001 EMS implementation and certification.

Umbrella organisations such as the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) and the JMA must continue to lobby Government and donor agencies to urge their members to seek EMS implementation assistance. Additionally, low interest loans should be made available to local organizations wishing to implement ISO 14001 and gain certification.