BUSINESS STANDARDS
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Bell: calling on environmental management

23 Sep 2009
Topics: Environment, ISO 14001, Canada

Bell, Canada's largest communications company, has been certified to ISO 14001 for its environmental management system.

The company provides consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs through Bell Mobility, Bell Internet, Bell TV and Bell Home phone local and long distance services. Among other things, it currently services 7.2 million phone lines, as well as 6.6 million wireless customers and 1.9 million satellite television subscribers.

Like all organizations, Bell is under growing pressure from knowledgeable shareholders to demonstrate that it is adhering to best practice on environmental issues. Companies that fail to adapt to this new reality are likely to be penalized by clients and an increasingly environmentally conscious media.

More than that, an organization's effectiveness at managing its environmental impact has also become an established business driver. In Canada as in many other countries, governments and large businesses are increasingly adopting sustainability criteria for companies that aspire to be in their supply chain. Given all that, Bell recognized the critical need to pursue certification to ISO 14001.

The standard itself is based around the implementation and measurement of a sound environmental plan. ISO 14001 does not mandate specific environmental criteria. Rather, it governs how firms go about implementing an effective environmental management system.

The standard offers guidance to any organization seeking to:

>>implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system, complete with explicit policy commitments;

assure and demonstrate conformance with its own stated environmental policy;

>>ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations;

>>obtain certification of its environmental management system by an external third-party organization; and

>>make a self determination of conformance.

ISO 14001 requires an organization to record its environmental impact, set benchmarks and educate its staff, partners and suppliers to adopt sustainable practices. The standard aims to drive a clear and practical environmental management system from the executive level down throughout the organization.

Bell didn't have far to go to achieve certification to ISO 14001, given that for over a decade it has been at the forefront of environmental awareness in Canada, and that during that time it has been building its environmental system in line with the standard.

Bell has also been conscious of the leadership role it can play in helping others minimize their environmental impact.

For example, since 2003, it has recovered 625,000 mobile phones and diverted more than 90 metric tons of batteries and accessories from landfill under the Bell Blue Box programme. It has also pioneered online billing and payment systems, saving countless trees in the process.

Another of Bell's innovations has been its development of technology that enables far greater use of teleconferencing. Thanks to Bell's technical solutions and communications infrastructure, employees and customers held 3.3 million teleconferences in 2008. That's an increase of 13 per cent over the previous year and directly led to the elimination of carbon emissions equal to taking 180,000 mid-sized cars off the road for a year.

"Bell's ISO 14001 certification proves we are committed to meeting our customers' expectations," says Stéphane Boisvert, president of Bell Business Markets. "We also see the certification as a business differentiator, positioning us as the industry leader."

"It was important for Bell to receive this certification from a well-recognized organization such as BSI," says Daniel Gagné, director - Corporate Responsibility and Environment. "Their collaborative and cost-efficient approach, which was adapted to our operational reality, was also a key reason we chose BSI.

"In the end," adds Gagné, "this certification certainly adds credibility to our commitment to - and our achievements in - protecting the environment while meeting our customers' expectations."

It's clear that Bell is well structured to address environmental issues and will continue to reduce its footprint across all its operations and supply chain, in line with the requirements of ISO 14001.

For more information on ISO 14001, visit: www.bsigroup.com/ems

Business Standards © 2009. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with the British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.

Question: Why is ISO 9001 still relevant?

This question has been raised before and at BSI, we make certain to ask the question as a matter of course. The forthcoming update to the standard - ISO 9001:2008 Quality management systems. Requirements - is the result of just such questioning.

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