Chesterfield County Fleet Management Division Now ISO 14001:2004 Certified
Chesterfield County Fleet Management Division, Chesterfield, VA, announced via NAFA Member Jeffrey Jeter that they are now ISO 14001:2004 recertified.
ISO 14001 is a voluntary standard that is certified by an independent third party certification agency. Yearly, this third party performs a rigorous review of Environmental Management Systems which consists of 17 elements that, when linked together, assist in achieving goals of managing environmental responsibility.
The ISO 14001 standard addresses the environmental impacts of Fleet Management Division's products, services, and activities. "The standard requires that we put in place and implement a system of practices and procedures that, when taken together, result in an environmental management system. The ISO audit is designed to either prove or disprove that these practices and procedures are being implemented, monitored, and managed," Jeter said.
In November 2012, Chesterfield's Fleet Management Division received their ISO re-certification from Auditor Joyce McCormack of NSF - AQA, a public health and safety risk management company. The following excerpt, written by Joyce McCormack was taken from the November 2012 audit:
"The processes of implementation and operation associated with Fleet Management are effective. Operational control is effective and is a particular strength of the Fleet Division and the EMS. Interviews with several employees in fleet give evidence that operational control in regards to hazardous waste, universal and hazardous waste storage, including disposal of batteries, switches containing mercury, aerosol cans and paint, SPCC (disposal of oily rags, oil filled filters, clean up & use of spill kits, and containment of oily water). As part of pollution prevention, a fleet analysis is performed in order to assure the most effective use of vehicles. This procedure is carried out, in part, by studying driving patterns including number of passengers being carried, miles traveled. Vehicles are re-distributed to best serve these needs in ways that increase life of vehicle and minimizes fuel use. Imitative has been implemented to include hybrid vehicles in the fleet. Strengths - Operational control, some employees overall knowledge of the EMS and compliance to environmental legal and other requirements."
Chesterfield's Fleet Management Division is also the proud recipient of the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP). Recipients are awarded and acknowledged by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) with the support of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is awarded to those organizations who have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship. Fleet Management Division has achieved the highest level of Extraordinary Environmental Enterprise raising it to an E4 level.
"This level is awarded to those who demonstrate 'a mature EMS, aggressive environmental performance goals, a process of engaging the local community, and continued progress towards performance goals'," Jeter said.
"Yearly reporting of our pollution prevention projects and the acceptance of our application on the behalf of the DEQ demonstrates our commitment to environmental stewardship. This continued partnership with the DEQ and the EPA strengthens Chesterfield County's commitment to improving the state of Virginia's overall environmental and sustainability performance," he concluded.
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A conversation with Jeffrey Jeter regarding ISO 14001 and Chesterfield County's environmental practices and goals will be available in NAFA publications' Fleet Solutions newsletter soon.