Environmentally Sustainable Management System

The Natural Step (TNS) framework and consideration of the three overlapping circles model, however, offer the compass to better direct the activities of the traditional EMS. Through a combination of ideas and tools, a new methodology is proposed, an Environmentally Sustainable Management System (ESMS), designed after the ideas of the EMS. The ESMS then becomes a process for managing the impacts of an organization's activities on the environment by integrating elements of sustainability through the use of a variety of new tools. Once the vision and direction are set, an ESMS becomes a valuable methodology for guiding decisions, operationalizing the vision, and documenting the progress. It provides a structured approach to planning and implementing environmental protection measures that will enhance sustainability.

One of the guiding elements of the ESMS is Ecological Footprint analysis. The ecological footprint is an area of land and water required to support a defined economy or population at a specified standard of living. Also known as "appropriated carrying capacity" this concept incorporates the distributional aspects of sustainable production and consumption. Ecological footprinting is an integrated, comprehensive measuring tool to get a tangible overview of our performance with regard to sustainability, and is unique in its capacity to communicate very directly how life style and technical competence relates to such a perspective.

An ESMS is not prescriptive, that is, it does not specify how environmental targets should be met. Rather, it requires organizations to take a proactive role in examining their practices, making both the impacts and costs visible (economic, social and health-related, and environmental), and then determining themselves how their impacts should best be managed. This approach encourages creative and relevant solutions from the organization itself, offering innovative opportunities for the proactive and comprehensive integration of economy, environment, and social needs, improving both a company's profitability and its environmental performance.