Implementation of an environmental management system at the Mafikeng Campus of the North-West University
Abstract
The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard is a wide-spread
administrative tool in the field of corporate responses to sustainability. Knowledge about
implementation of EMS based on ISO 14001 in South African universities is rather limited.
The objectives of this study were to determine whether management believe the
implementation of the EMS should take place at the Mafikeng campus of the North-West
University; if so what the nature of the EMS should be; and what the barriers that may
deter EMS introduction and/or implementation are.
A brief overview of the concept of sustainable development and dynamics involved in
implementing Environmental Management Systems is presented.
The research approach was qualitative whereby semi-structured interviews and field notes
were used to collect the data. The findings revealed that there is a need to implement an
EMS at the Mafikeng campus. A number of recommendations are thus provided.