Another limitation for construction firms to establish EMSs is
their size. Without the upper management support and decision to
mandate a company-wide EMS, environmental personnel may not
have the resources to establish and maintain an ISO 14001 EMS.
Industry groups such as the United Kingdom’s Construction Industry
Research and Information Association ~CIRIA! provide
guidance documents ~Uren and Griffiths 2000! and workshops on
implementing an ISO 14001 EMS within the construction industry
~CIRIA Conferences EMS 2002!. The average cost of project
could be used to determine if a firm should implement an ISO
14001 EMS. In New South Wales, Australia, all construction
projects must contain a basic EMS to identify and manage aspects
and involve subcontractors. Major projects, ones having an estimated
cost of over $5.5 million ~U.S! must have a more elaborate
EMS which would also include assigned responsibilities, monitoring
requirements, emergency plans, and auditing procedures
~New South Wales Government 1998!. A measure of a construction
firm’s environmental impact whether it is based on number of
jobsites, number of employees, total profits, or number of environmental
requirements per jobsite should help a construction
firm to determine how to implement an EMS and if pursuing ISO
14001 certification is worthwhile.