Evaluating the contribution of ISO 14001:2015 towards enhancement of environmental performance: A mining case study

Abstract

Mining is one of the most important primary industries in many countries, providing raw materials for the construction, electricity, and manufacturing industries. However, mining and its associated anthropogenic activities, can have a significant environmental impact, due to its extractive nature. Mining processes causes pollution with adverse impacts, which include the destruction of habitats, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and contamination, water and air pollution, the generation of hazardous waste, as well as impacts on air. Traditionally, command- and control approaches are used to mitigate the impacts of mining on the environment. However, voluntary instruments, such as management systems may also prove useful to mitigate or prevent the adverse impacts of mining. The ISO 14001:2015 standard EMS is regarded as a voluntary environmental governance approach and provides requirements for the management of activities, products and services, to ultimately avoid, minimise and mitigate adverse environmental impacts. One of the intended outcomes of this standard is to “enhance environmental performance”. In this context, the aim of this research is to evaluate the contribution of performance evaluation (as part of an ISO 14001:2015 EMS) towards the enhancement of environmental performance using the mining sector as a case study. Performance evaluation, within the framework of the ISO 14001:2015 standard, evaluates the effectiveness of implementation and the extent of requirements being fulfilled. It also facilitates managerial decision-making by determining indicators, collecting and analysing data, assessing it against environmental performance criteria, and reporting and communicating the results through regular review and improvement. A qualitative research approach was employed where the EMS documentation and related documented information from three diamond mines in South Africa were evaluated. Eight key performance areas (KPAs) with associated key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed to evaluate the contribution of ISO 14001:2015 performance evaluation towards enhancement of environmental performance. The best performing KPAs were KPA2 (provision for environmental compliance obligations) and KPA6 (provision for internal audits), while KPA 3 (provision for the setting of objectives) and KPA5 (provision for environmental compliance) were the poorest performing KPAs. Recommendations for improvement are recommended, which include - considering and addressing the results of analysis from environmental performance evaluation; consistently evaluating the extent to which environmental objectives have been achieved from the results of evaluation; and applying resources towards the fulfilment of compliance obligations and addressing non-compliances from the results from the evaluation of compliance.