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.