Projects

For some clients, E2M conducts background research and consults on projects that are of a confidential, sensitive nature, helping to develop a unique, competitive position.

E2M has an established reputation for helping organizations build robust, credible and reliable environmental management systems, and addressing issues related to resilience and sustainability.

E2M has been a pioneer in promoting
collaborative projects, beginning in the 1980s.

E2M also has a history of acting as a catalyst for innovative products and services. Some of these have evolved to have a life of their own; a glimpse of some are provided for your convenience.

Working together in system matters.

The Collaboration is a stakeholder engagement process created and led by E2M’s President, Lynn Johannson. Members of The Collaboration are focused on leveraging the value proposition that investigates opportunities based on two questions:

What is your EMS doing for you?
What are you doing with your EMS?

If you think that taking a checklist approach and getting certified to a standard is the path to success, then you are taking a road well-travelled to a dead end.

The Collaboration evolved from an earlier process involving companies from 16 different business sectors. This initiative was undertaken so that Canadian organizations with an investment in ISO 14001 could offer their insight during the revision of the standard in a cost-effective manner.

Their collective wisdom brought forward practical recommendations by the user community, which were taken into account in the development of the Canadian positions and used to negotiate the standard.

Once the standard was published in 2015, the group evolved to become The Collaboration, with a mandate to assist members with their transition to ISO 14001:2015.

The team supporting The Collaboration expanded to include Canadian and US negotiators of the international standard. By September 2018, Collaboration members had completed their transition. Interest turned towards opportunities to improve their EMS and address issues such as the financial consequences of climate risk. This prompted the development of “Are You Climate Ready?”

The Collaboration continues to monitor issues affecting ISO 14001. This has led to research and projects to address outcomes related to opportunities to improve environmental performance, based on changes to their systems.

The position that any company, government or government agency is exempt from climate-related risk, whether it is physical, transitional or financial, is one that will undermine relationships and erode trust.

There is no silver bullet.

Do you know what the right thing is to do first? Do you know what other right things need to occur next?

To survive and thrive, organizations needs to take decisive action supported by excellent management control. Organizations that have a robust, credible, and reliable environmental management system are better positioned to provide internal and external stakeholders with greater confidence based on objective evidence.

The Collaboration reviewed the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) shortly after its publication. Members supported the development of systems approach.

“ Are You Climate Ready? ” is available now.

Without question, more nations will follow the lead set by New Zealand and the UK to make climate-related disclosures compulsory, and not just a ‘comply or explain’ or voluntary activity. The writing is on the wall now.

“Increasing transparency makes markets more efficient, and economies more stable and resilient.”
Michael R. Bloomberg, Chair

“There will be industries, sectors and firms that do very well during this process because they will be part of the solution,” he said.
“But there will also be ones that lag behind and they will be punished.” … “Companies that don’t adapt will go bankrupt without question.”
Mark Carney, as former Governor of the Bank of England, in an interview with the Guardian.

“Are You Climate Ready? offers a management systems approach to address transitional and physical risks associated with climate change. It enables Subscribers to identify and choose opportunities in innovative solutions aligned to their business and environmental objectives. It was designed to help Subscribers leverage objective evidence, build confidence, and enhance trust in the marketplace.

EcoMarker is an initiative that grew out of research undertaken for The Collaboration.

EcoMarker has evolved to become a Software as a Service (SaaS) to help users map, analyze and visualize better environmental performance supporting a systems approach. EcoMarker is more than just an app. It includes access to learning opportunities and a community where insights can be shared on actions needed to enable better environmental performance from a systems perspective.

The purpose of EcoMarker is to help organizations discern where their environmental challenges exist, as experts note that about 80% of environmental impacts are location-based. EcoMarker was designed to help the smallest company as well as the largest.

E2M is very grateful to our financial sponsors for supporting the app development: Hudbay, Anonymous (we know who you are); E2M invested too. More to come!

E2M would also like to acknowledge the work of students from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the 5th Year Computer Science Programme. . Thank you to the students who were involved in the early-stage development of the EcoMarker.

"CFIB is a strong supporter of Going for the Green."

“It is a guide truly written from the perspective of business owners with a clear understanding of how small and mid-sized firms operate. It gives owners clear and manageable steps toward improving both business process efficiency and environmental stewardship, while allowing them to demonstrate best practices to customers. We highly recommend this approach.”

Ted Mallett

The primary motivation for small business owners to do better is their belief that they can preserve the environment and grow the economy at the same time. But they need tools and guidance designed for them. Going for the Green was a publication written expressly for small business. It was well received in Canada and other countries. Going for the Green is growing into EcoMarker. This collaboration will become one voice to do just that.

Join the conversation.

E2M is collaborating with small business experts, the accounting profession, and experts in sustainability from around the world to create a systems approach that will help small business to Re-Map, Re-Think, Re-Seed and Re-Generate a new green economy.

If you are a big business, a business association or a government that values small business as part of your customer base, your supply chain or your community and want to help, E2M invites you to participate.

The Registry started as a market exchange between small- and medium-sized enterprises, their peers, and larger organizations. Businesses sharing an ‘apples to apples’ approach based on standards enhances the value of a supply chain.

Organizations can exchange introductory business information based on having a common thread — the use of environmental management systems (such as ISO 14001), and other standardized approaches. In essence, the initial purpose of the Registry was to accelerate the potential for greening supply chains.

The Registry’s marketing board does not require an organization to be registered or certified to ISO 14001:2015. The Registry reflects the impartiality of the standard on what is termed ‘conformity assessment’, equally supporting the four recognized options. The Registry enables any organization that implements ISO 14001:2015 to post on the marketing board.

None are better than the other; they are just different. The market decides which one is appropriate.

The Registry is also a portal to the EnviroReady Report. Professional accountants wishing to qualify and be recognized to conduct the Report can access the learning process through the Registry. It is the exclusive provider of the learning and recognition process.

The EnviroReady Report is a verification option originally designed for ISO 14001. It applies agreed-upon procedures to verify the elements of management control that underpin the presence of a robust, credible and reliable environmental management system. The EnviroReady Report represents a confluence of management system and accounting (auditing) standards.

The Report was designed to reduce one of the barriers to adoption of the international standard for small- and medium-sized enterprises, without undermining the value of a systems approach. Larger companies also saw its value for their lower risk divisions and small business suppliers.

Research conducted over the years has shown that small business and ISO standards are separated by structure and culture. Yet there are benefits to smaller organizations that formalize their business process and address the opportunity for better environmental performance.

Are You Climate Ready?

Join the Conversation