A Technical Information Centre (TIC) at the Jamaica Bureau of Standards (JBS), established to address the needs of Jamaicans for Standards information, will act as an important source of information for Jamaican businesses and organisations that have adopted or intend to adopt Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

The centre contains scientific and technical information comprising over 74,000 national and international standards, local and foreign regulations and a variety of technical journals and books. However, a special section within the TIC has been organised to make a comprehensive collection of information on EMS readily available to Jamaican industries and organisations. Some of this information can ale be accessed from the JBS website at www.jbs.jm/ems/sponsors/cwip/ documents.html.

The Government of Jamaica, through an EMS Policy and Strategy, is seeking to promote the use of the EMS tool in private and public sector organisations as a means of improving environmental performance and efficiency within these sectors. EMS, based on the ISO 14,000 series, are being increasingly accepted and successfully implemented in industries, services sectors, utilities, and governmental and commercial enterprises across the world.

Organisations adopting EMS can benefit from a reduction of waste, improved processes for service delivery, increased internal efficiencies and increased business competitiveness. EMS can also help to minimise risks in organisations and verify environmental performance for banks and insurance companies who now require this information before funding projects.