Environmental & Sustainability Management System: Cost Cutting Tools

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The County of Henrico recognizes that a healthy and sustainable environment is important to its citizens and wants to ensure that it is not only compliant with regulations, but also demonstrates stewardship by going above and beyond regulatory requirements where practical and identifies cost saving measures wherever possible. Six County facilities from 4 different departments have implemented Environmental and Sustainability Management Systems (ESMS). These facilities followed core Countywide procedures based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 criteria and also implemented facility unique procedures and documents to guide their environmental and sustainability management efforts. The goals and achievements of Henrico’s ESMS are directly tied to the core values of the County's Environmental Policy Statement: Environmental Compliance, Pollution Prevention, and Continual Improvement. Henrico County’s ESMS facilities have reduced energy usage, reduced or eliminated hazardous waste, reduced potable water usage, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, increased recycling efforts, and replaced existing products with ones that are less harmful. Through implementation of this program, the County and its employees have gained a better understanding of regulatory requirements, minimized risk for environmental liabilities, and minimized expenditures by conserving resources. In turn, the County’s resiliency has improved due to the positive outcomes of this program.