Applicability Of ISO 14001 In Inmarsat: A Report

Learning outcomes

1.Demonstrate a wide knowledge of quality and environmental practices and their application in the workplace.

2.Plan, design, measure and propose amendments where required to quality and environmental management systems and processes.

3.Apply the relevant Acts, Regulations and best-practice to design and implementation phases, with regard to the duties and responsibilities the legislation places on respective parties.

4.Analyse working situations, develop and apply strategies which ensure effective management of international codes of practice and legislation.

Prepare a report answering all of the following questions.

1.Advise the company on the implementation of an appropriate Total Quality Management (TQM) approach.

2.Provide an analysis and recommendation of the main quality improvement tools that the company may use to improve quality.

3.Considering the range of activities undertaken by the company, provide an analysis of what you expect their significant environmental aspects may be, including detail on how and where these aspects come about and the nature of their effects on the local and global environment.

4.Based on these significant aspects in Question 3, define some suitable objectives, targets and environmental management programmes that would be relevant to the client.

ISO 14001 is the international standard which defines the requirements related to environmental management system, and it also states the framework which organizations can follow, rather than establishing the requirements related to environmental performances. This standard is the part of the 14000 family of standards on environmental management, and ISO 14001 is the voluntary standard for which organizations can certify to and also integrate with it other management system standards. The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) defines an EMS as part of the management system which used to manage the aspects of environment such as compliance obligations and risk and opportunities.

ISO 14001:2015 can be used by any organization which wants to set up, improve, and maintain EMS for the purpose of conforming its environmental policy and requirements. The requirements related to this standard can be incorporated into any system related to environment management, and it is determined by carious factors such as industry in which organization operates, policy related to environment, products and services offerings, and location. This section is relevant to all organizations no matter of size, location, sector, and industry (ASQ, 2015).

This essay determines the applicability of provisions of related to ISO 14001 in the system of Inmarsat plc., and it also state the range of activities undertaken by Inmarsat for the purpose of analyzing the significant environmental aspects. Subsequently this essay is concluded with brief conclusion.

This company was set up in 1979 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the purpose of enabling the ships to stay in constant touch with shore, and they can seek help in emergency without thinking about the distance in sea. Currently, there are customers are found in different sectors but usually there customers are those business and organizations who continuously wants to communicate but they cannot rely and simply cannot reach to terrestrial telecom networks.

From the period of 1999, there business has grown strongly and they become the first intergovernmental organization which transform into a private company, and later this company was also floating on London Stock Exchange (LSE: ISAT.L) in 2005. It must be noted that today this organization is the market leader in the provision of mobile satellite services, with the largest portfolio of global satellite communications solutions and also value added services on the market (Inmarsat, 2017; Inmarsat, 2017).

An EMS helps the organization in organizations to identify, manage, monitor, and control their issues related to environment in such manner which is holistic in nature. There are some other ISO standards which look at different types of management system and they use high level of structure, but ISO 14001 is able to integrate in any existing EMS. As stated above, this international standard is suitable for all type of organizations either public or private, not for profit, and governmental.

About the company

It stated that it is necessary that organization consider all those environmental issues which are related to their operations such as air pollution, water pollution, sewage issues, waste management, soil contamination, climate change mitigation, use of resources in efficient manner. This standard also stated the need for continual improvement of organization system and approach to environmental concerns. Recently, this standard has been revised and some key improvements are shown there such as the increased prominence of environmental management in the strategic planning processes of organization, great improvement related to leadership, and also stronger commitment related to proactive initiatives which helps in boost the performance of organization related too environment. Numbers of reasons are stated by this international standard related to strategic approach of organization for improving its environmental performance. Those organizations who use this standard reports that this standard helps:

• Demonstrating the compliance with both current and future statutory regulatory requirements, and also it helps in increasing the leadership involvement and engagement of employees.
• It helps in improving the reputation of the company and also increases shareholder’s confidence through strategic communication.
• It helps in achieving the aims related to strategic business by incorporating environmental issues into business management.
• It also helps in providing competitive and financial advantage by improving the efficiencies and reducing costs, and it also encourages better environmental performance related to suppliers by integrating the suppliers into the business system of organization (ISO, 2015).  

Immarsat Plc. Is the leading provider of mobile communications services at global level, creating fast and reliable connectivity on land, sea, and air. This company operates in telecom sector and system is set up by the company for dealing with the issues related to environment. Their mission is power connectivity at global level by enabling the advanced digital technologies in industries and regions especially where development is holding back because of lack of terrestrial infrastructure. Numbers of concerns are introduced related to environment while achieving this mission, and 15 years partnership with emergency communications agency Télécoms Sans Frontières not only shows the power of satellite connectivity and this partnership also supports the long term sustainable redevelopment of remote communities. This company also has various other means which support the fulfillment of other environmental and sustainability goals.

The United Nations has set 17 goals which are designed for the purpose of addressing issues related to climate change by 2030, and in this Summit Inmarsat decided to deliver the satellite connectivity for the purpose of giving people access to the modern digital world and also those tools which help them in making brighter and sustainable future.  

Therefore, for the purpose of meeting the provision stated under ISO 14001 system was set up by the company and also at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015, company adopted 17sustainable development goals which includes end of poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and most important how to tackle changes occurred in climate by 2030. However, through these goals it is presumed by company that they are able to help the communities and also able to address the issues related to climate change and environment. These goals also help the company in meeting the sustainable economic growth. Company also discuss in this summit how to connect the world by 2020, how information and communication present the opportunities which are unprecedented in nature for purpose of advancing inclusive growth.

Applicability of ISO 14001

In February 2015, Second Inmarsat developer conference was held for the purpose of bringing together such software’s and hardware’s developers and also applications for discussing multiple opportunities including sustainable fishing, digital transformation, and also issues related to environment such as management and issues related to water, sea, and air. Still time is left for the development gateway platform related to environment of the company, but company took various steps for the purpose of achieving the provisions stated in ISO 14001 (Inmarsat, 2016).

Connectivity of Inmarsat help various organizations to achieve the critical criteria related to climate change, and their BGAN high speed data service was used by the Earth Observatory Singapore for the purpose of conducting research related to earthquakes, tsunamis, and climate change in Southeast Asia. This research was also collect, analyze, and process the data related to tectonic plate movements in the particular region for the purpose of improving forecasting and early warning mechanism for those communities which are in danger because of the natural disasters. These tools also help the organization to take urgent actions for the purpose of combat climate change and its impacts, use the oceans, seas, ad marine resources in conserve and sustainable manner for the purpose of sustainable development, and also protect and promote sustainable use of territorial ecosystems (Inmarsat, 2013).

There is one more tool used by organization that is satellite connectivity which helps in promoting food production in more effective and efficient way such as in temperate climates greenhouses are used to grow staple crops year round and in harsher environment  and in harsher environment hydroponics are used for the purpose of increasing food production.

Detail analysis was conducted by Inmarsat for the purpose of climate change, and it results in achievement of 95 score related to carbon disclosure from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). As per the annual survey of 2015, their ratings are highest and place the company at the same level of other telecommunication companies such as BT and Vodafone.

Inmarsat acknowledges that their activities leave great impact on local and global environment and their main aim is to minimize this impact. They have almost 1700 working staff in over 50 locations around the world. They reduced the number of sites from which they operate, and they also try to consolidate their operations on continuous basis for the purpose of reducing their CO2 emissions and energy consumption at global level (Inmarsat, 2014).

Mitigating space debris: organization conducted its activities of satellite operator, and for this purpose they adopt highest standards related to industry for the purpose of mitigating space debris and also including plans related to end-of-life graveyard for the purpose of disposing the satellites when there commercial life is going to be end. In 2014, their final Inmarsat satellite-2 was disposed as per the standards stated by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standards, and they also deorbited the satellite they operated for Asian partner in Early 2015. They also operate their satellite in geosynchronous orbit, which is almost 36000 Km above the earth. This orbit has less debris as compared to low earth orbit, and it is almost 700km above the earth where several MSS operators have their satellite constellations. This company also worked as founding member of the Space Data Association (SDA), along with operators of satellite such as Intelsat, SES and Eutelsat. By sharing critical data to the integrity of space environment they try to make operations related to space more reliable and safer (Inmarsat, 2017).

In the year 2015, organization achieved compliance with the department of energy and a scheme related to climate change opportunity by following the reviews related to London and Hague offices. They include following principles in their mission and try to achieve these principles:

• Organization provides energy related to First-class and also practices related to environmental management.
• Organization ensures that they complied with all the regulatory control and regulations related to environment.
• Organization identified significant environment and social impacts of their activities, and also establishes objectives and targets for improvement.
• Inmarsat mainly in their site located at UK recycled minimum of 90% generated waste and on continuous basis review the opportunity related to use recycled products.
• For the purpose of actively encourage the energy, water, and Natural Resources Conservation Company introduce new and modern technology.
• Organization encourages their employees for the purpose of being proactive in their daily activities by recycling the waste.
• Organization ensures that heir printer cartages are recycled on regular basis.
• Switching off the computers, phone chargers, lights, and also other electrical when they are not in use.
• Reducing travels related to business and also other site based technology such as video and audio conferencing.
• Organization replaced the inefficient lighting of building with LED technology (Inmarsat, 2015).

Conclusion:

After analyzing all the above facts it is clear that Inmarsat is on its way to meeting the standards stated in ISO 14001 but still company needs other tools which help them in mitigating the risks related to environment. As stated above, various actions are taken by the company for the purpose of mitigating the impacts of their activities on local and global environment. In the United Nations Summit 2015, company adopts various principles related to climate change by 2030, and also adopted 17sustainable development goals which includes end of poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and most important how to tackle changes occurred in climate by 2030.

Therefore, it is clear that company conducted various changes in their EMS during the period of 2015 for the purpose of achieving the standards stated in ISO 14001.

References:

Inmarsat, (2013). Sustainable Development. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Inmarsat_Sustainable_Development_CSR_June_2016.pdf. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

Inmarsat, (2015). Annual Financial Information Disclosure For The Year Ended 31 December 2015. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2015-Inmarsat-Group-Limited-Bank-Reporting-document-FINAL-2.pdf. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

 Inmarsat, (2017). Protecting the planet. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/about-us/responsibility/protecting-the-planet/. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

Inmarsat, (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06_Corporate_Social_Responsibility.pdf. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

Inmarsat, (2017). About us. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/about-us/. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

Inmarsat, (2017). Our business. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/about-us/our-business/.  Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

ASQ. What Is ISO 14001:2015?—Environmental Management Systems Standard. Available at: https://asq.org/learn-about-quality/learn-about-standards/iso-14001/. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

ISO, (2015). ISO 14000 family - Environmental management. Available at: https://www.iso.org/iso-14001-environmental-management.html. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.

Inmarsat, (2016). Inmarsat Plc Annual Report and Accounts 2015. Available at: https://www.inmarsat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Inmarsat_AR15_Bookmarked.pdf. Accessed on 11^th June 2017.