Glossary

Accreditation - Procedure by which an authoritative body formally recognizes that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks.  (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Activities - Key operational (industrial) operations conducted to meet mission. Examples include vehicle maintenance, heating-ventilation-air conditioning, and facilities operation and maintenance. Activities and operations generally include multiple "practices." (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide)

Aspect - A characteristic of a practice that can cause, in normal operation or upset mode, an impact to an environmental or other resource. Each practice may have several aspects. Typical aspects of practices operated on Navy installations include:

• spill/release
• air release
• hazardous material use
• hazardous waste generation
• solid waste generation
• medical waste generation
• noise
• electricity use
• fuel use
• physical presence
• particulate matter generation (dust, smoke)
• fire
• excavation
• detonation (range)
• soil disturbance  (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Asset (or Vulnerable Asset) - A resource on which the installation depends or over which it has some responsibility, and which may be impacted (adversely or beneficially) by the conduct of practices, such as environmental, historical, and cultural areas on and off the installation; personnel health and safety; mission effectiveness; military training lands; real property; financial resources; and public relations status. (Source: Navy Environmental Quality Assessment (EQA) Guide)

Audit - A planned, independent and documented assessment to determine whether agreed upon requirements are being met. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Audit Cycle - The period of time in which all the activities in a given site are audited. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Audit Team - Group of auditors, or a single auditor, designated to perform a given audit; the audit team may also include technical experts and auditors-in-training. Note-One of the auditors on the audit team performs the function of lead auditor. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Certification - The EMS of a company, location, or plant is certified for conformance with ISO 14001 after it has demonstrated such conformance through the audit process. When used to indicate EMS certification, it means the same thing as registration. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Certification Body - A third party that assesses and certifies/registers the EMS of Organizations with respect to published EMS standards and any supplementary documentation required under the system. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Checklists - Checklists are series of questions, in either paper or automated format, for use in evaluating compliance and/or EMS effectiveness. Checklists occur in several forms for use by varying levels of personnel:

• Point-of-Use Checklists contain general questions, in non-technical language, derived from regulatory or policy requirements for use by practice owners in conducting compliance inspections.
• Point-of-Use-Plus Checklists include the requirements-based questions of point-of-use checklists but append a set of management-related questions. They are intended for use by Media Manager in conducting oversight evaluations.
• Media Management Checklists (Navy EQA Software (NES) checklists) include comprehensive requirements-based questions for use by media managers in assessing the overall compliance of media programs in their semi-annual program evaluations.
• Program Management Checklists contain questions, designed to assess the overall effectiveness of environmental media programs, support Program Managers' semi-annual performance evaluation or media managers and media programs. (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide)

Compliance - An affirmative indication or judgment that the supplier of a product or service has met the requirements of the relevant specifications, contract, or regulation; also, the state of meeting the requirements. In ISO terms, compliance to regulations. Compare with Conformance. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Compliance Evaluation - Identification, characterization, and documentation of compliance deficiencies related to either practices or environmental programs conducted by environmental management office personnel or other environmental professionals designated by the installation. Includes oversight of any inspections that have been performed by practice owners. (Source: Navy EQA Guide)

Conformance / Conformity - Action in accordance with customs, rules, prevailing opinion. In terms of ISO, conformance to ISO 14001. Compare with compliance. An affirmative indication or judgment that a product or service has met the requirements of the relevant specifications, contract, or regulation; also the state of meeting the requirements. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Continual improvement - Enshrined in the published Standards for EMS is the principle of continual improvement, which is intended to ensure that an organization does not simply adopt an EMS for cosmetic purposes and thereby remain static, without commitment to reduce its impact on the environment. Continual improvement is the process of enhancing the environmental management system to achieve improvement in overall environmental performance in line with the organizations environmental policy. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Controls - Means used to ensure that the impacts on resources are effectively prevented or minimized. Three types of controls are defined as follows:

• Management controls define and affect the administrative environmental behaviors associated with practices, and are applied by environmental staff as well as by practice owners. Management controls are described by the elements of the EMS Implementation component (e.g., programs, responsibilities, training, communication, etc.) and are evaluated through the EMS Corrective Action component.
• Operational Controls define behaviors and actions of practice owners applied in the course of operating or maintaining the practice (and associated physical controls) to eliminate or reduce their negative impacts on environmental or other resources.
• Operational controls are often required by regulations or may be adopted as best management practices. Common examples include labeling drums, maintaining equipment operating logs, opening/closing discharge valves on a containment berm, etc.
• Physical controls are not behaviors or actions; but physical devices or equipment (e.g., containment structures, process control equipment, etc.) designed to physically minimize or prevent impacts to the environment or other resources. Physical controls are similar to practices in that they may be subject to operational or management controls to ensure their environmentally-sound operation and maintenance. Some physical controls may be managed as part of their associated practices (e.g., oil water separators with washrack, berm/valve with aboveground storage tank).  (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Effectiveness - Meeting military mission while fully meeting executive, Federal, state, local, environmental regulations and DoD, Navy, and local environmental policy. (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Efficiency - Achieving effectiveness at the lowest possible cost (considering time, personnel resources, and money). A risk-based prioritization of practices and their impacts is the basis for efficiency enhancements under the EMS. (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

EMAS - Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, a voluntary European management standard similar to ISO 14001. However participating companies must not only conform to the environmental management system but also produce a public statement on performance verified by an external assessor. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Emergency Response Plan - A detailed plan that describes the logistics and reporting requirements in the event of either fire, erosion or spills. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environment - Surroundings in which an organization operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their interrelation. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Aspect - The elements of an organization's activities, products, or services that can interact with the environment. (Source: Executive Order 13148)

Environmental Cost Accounting - The modification of cost attribution systems and financial analysis practices specifically to directly track environmental costs that are traditionally hidden in overhead accounts to the responsible products, processes, facilities or activities. (Source: Executive Order 13148)

Environmental Impact - Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization’s activities, products or services. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Management Representative: - The clearly identified EMS team leader who has responsibility for the EMS from start to finish and has the designated authority of senior manager to get the job done. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Management System (EMS) - A management approach which enables an organization to identify, monitor and control its environmental aspects. An EMS is part of the overall management system that includes organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy. The EMS emphasizes pollution prevention, environmental compliance, and continual improvement. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Management System Audit - A systematic documented verification process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether an organization’s environmental management system conforms to the environmental management system audit criteria set by the organization, and for communication of the results of this process to management. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Objective - Overall environmental goal, arising from the environmental policy, that an organization sets itself to achieve, and which is quantified where practicable. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Performance - Measurable results of the environmental management system related to an organization’s control of its environmental aspects, based on its environmental policy, objectives and targets. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Policy - Statement by the organization of its intentions and principles in relation to its overall environmental performance which provides a framework for action and for the setting of its environmental objectives and targets. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmental Target - Detailed performance requirement, quantified where practicable, that arises from the environmental objectives and that needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Environmentally Benign Pressure Sensitive Adhesives - Adhesives for stamps, labels, and other paper products that can be easily treated and removed during the paper recycling process. (Source: Executive Order 13148)

Facility - Any building, installation, structure, land, and other property owned or operated by, or constructed or manufactured and leased to, the Federal Government, where the Federal Government is formally accountable for compliance under environmental regulation (e.g., permits, reports/ records and/or planning requirements) with requirements pertaining to discharge, emission, release, spill, or management of any waste, contaminant, hazardous chemical, or pollutant. This term includes a group of facilities at a single location managed as an integrated operation, as well as government owned contractor operated facilities. (Source: Executive Order 13148)

Fenceline - The area in which an organization chooses to implement its EMS – a department, division or specific operation. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Greening the Government Executive Orders - Executive Order 13148 and the series of orders on greening the government including Executive Order 13101 of September 14, 1998, Executive Order 13123 of June 3, 1999, Executive Order 13134 of August 12, 1999, and other future orders as appropriate. (Source: Executive Order 13148)

Hazard - A source of potential harm or damage, or a situation with potential for harm or damage. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Impact - An effect of operating a practice on an environmental resource. Each practice may have several impacts. Typical impacts associated with practices operated on Navy installations include:

• personnel exposure
• indoor air quality degradation
• outdoor air quality degradation
• surface water degradation
• groundwater degradation
• soil quality degradation
• species (endangered) population/habitat disturbance
• water consumption
• electricity consumption
• other resource (e.g., landfill space) consumption
• cost to mitigate risk
• adverse regulatory exposure
• negative public perception
• real property damage
• historic/cultural resource damage
• natural resource disturbance
• soil erosion
• human health effects (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Interested Party - Individual or group concerned with or affected by the environmental performance of an organization. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Inspection - On-site examination of practices and related environmental control measures by or on behalf of practice owners to determine whether environmental compliance requirements are being satisfied. Includes documentation and reporting of deficiencies as arranged with the installation’s environmental management office and any sampling, analysis, or other monitoring activities that the practice owners perform in order to maintain compliance. (Source: Navy EQA Guide)

ISO - The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 140 countries, one from each country. ISO is responsible for the development of ISO 14001. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

ISO 14001 - A international voluntary standard for environmental management systems. This is one standard in the ISO 14000 series of International Standards on environmental management. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) - Systematic set of procedures for compiling and examining the inputs and outputs of materials and energy and the associated environmental impacts directly attributable to the functioning of a product or service system throughout its life cycle. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Life Cycle - Consecutive and inter-linked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or generation of natural resources until disposal. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Lead Auditor - Person qualified to manage and perform EMS audits. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Non-conformity - The non-fulfillment of a specified requirement. Any or all of the following: a) one or more EMS requirements have not been addressed; or b) one or more EMS requirements have not been implemented; or c) several nonconformities exist that, taken together, lead a reasonable auditor to conclude that one or more EMS requirements have not been addressed or implemented. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Objectives - Qualitative goals that a facility sets to reduce significant impacts leading to improved environmental performance ( i.e. reduced wastewater discharges) (Source: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality)

Observation - A practice, while not in strict violation of EMS requirements, may constitute a poor practice that can lead to a nonconformance. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Ozone-Depleting Substance - Any substance designated as a Class I or Class II substance by EPA in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 82. (Source: Executive Order 13148)

Pollution Prevention - Pollution prevention means "source reduction," as defined in the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), and other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through: (a) increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water, or other resources; or (b) protection of natural resources by conservation. (Source: Executive Order 13148)  Note:  See "Prevention of Pollution" which encompasses a broader based scope and is the approach usually incorporated into EMSs.

Practice - Any activity conducted by an installation or its tenants in performing their missions that has an actual or potential impact on the installation’s assets. The term includes the processes, equipment, and facilities used in conducting the activities. Practices may be further distinguished as business practices and management practices: 

• Business Practice - Work-related activities including operation and maintenance of industrial processes, pollution control equipment, and mission-critical equipment and facilities; weapons systems training operations; etc. 
• Management Practice - Activities conducted to manage, coordinate, or support business practices, such as provision of environmental training for personnel, documentation of EMS elements, development and implementation of plans and standard procedures, etc. (Source: Navy EQA Guide)

Practice Owner - The person, unit, or organization that operates, conducts, controls, or is otherwise responsible for a “practice”. (Source: Navy EQA Guide)

Prevention of Pollution - Use of processes, practices, materials or products that avoid, reduce or control pollution, which may include recycling, treatment, process changes, control mechanisms, efficient use of resources and material substitution. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)  Note:  See "Pollution Prevention" which, as defined in Executive Order 13148, is a narrower, more restrictive definition that specifically references "source reduction".

Problem solving - The sequence of steps taken to define a compliance problem, analyze its causes, and then select, implement, monitor, and modify corrective actions to achieve specified results. (Source: Navy EQA Guide)

Procedure - A documented set of instructions, with clearly assigned roles and responsibilities, directing proper operation of a practice or conduct of an EMS element. The EMS defines two types of procedures:

• Environmental Management Procedures (EMPs) instruct the use or application of an EMS element (e.g., training, communication or EMS Review). EMPs define how management controls (see definition of "Controls" above) are to be effectively applied.
• Environmental Standard Operating Procedures (ESOP) instructing the environmentally sound operation of practices; as such they should be integrated into existing technical procedures for operation of practices.  (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Registrar - Third-party which audits and registers the environmental management system of an organization with respect to the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Resources (Environmental) - Sensitive environmental receptors (e.g., air, water, natural resources, etc.) or cultural or historic assets on an installation or regional complex, in the surrounding community, within the ecosystem or beyond, that can be impacted by the operation of practices. (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Resources (Other Resources) - Other assets that may be impacted by conduct of practices, such as personnel health and safety, real property, financial resources, public relations status, and, mission capability. (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Senior Management - Senior management is defined by the organization. It consists of the Installation Commanding Officer or Regional Commander and key members of his/her organization. (Source: Draft Navy EMS Guide) 

Stakeholders - Those groups and organizations having an interest or stake in a organization’s EMS program (e.g., regulators, shareholders, customers, suppliers, special interest groups, residents, competitors, investors, bankers, media, lawyers, geologists, insurance companies, trade groups, unions, ecosystems and cultural heritage). (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Target - Measurable, quantitative goals with set schedules to meet an objective (i.e. reduce wastewater discharges by 10 percent within one year. (Source: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality)

Verification - The act of reviewing, inspecting, testing, checking, auditing, or otherwise establishing and documenting whether items, processes, services, or documents conform to specified requirements. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)

Waste Minimization - Simple strategic reduction of waste at source, through improved manufacturing methodologies, more careful work procedures, revised, usually improved product specifications, is capable of releasing massive cash returns, either for use in the business, returning to stakeholders or rewarding workers, thus upgrading their ability to become consumers of the goods being produced. (Source: The PEER Center Glossary of Terms)