Environmental Self-Assessment Program (ESAP)
The Environmental Self-Assessment Program (ESAP) is intended to serve as a tool for improving environmental management systems through business organizations. By carefully measuring and analyzing performance using this program, business can pinpoint ways to increase the quality of environmental policy, planning, implementation and monitoring. More importantly, the ESAP allows organizations of all types to prioritize environmental improvement opportunities.
The ESAP is designed to measure and improve corporate environmental management performance over time, with a focus on corporate-level policy, systems, and performance measurement programs. This program can assist a company, regardless of its size, business sector, or geographic scope of operations, in evaluating its environmental management performance relative to the 16 Principles of the ICC Business Charter (found on pages 3-5 of the ESAP for your reference). Executing the program will enable management to pinpoint opportunities for improvement in the company’s environmental performance.
Each of the 16 ICC Principles are divided into a set of elements – t hese elements describe the activities necessary to implement the principle. Each element contains four successively comprehensive performance level descriptions – respondents determine which performance level description best describes the overall performance of the company or division. Respondents then score their company against each element. (The company’s score is indicated on a scale from 0 to 4.)Respondents then rate the importance of each element – respondents assign an “importance weighting” to each element based on its relative importance of the principle within the company.
Respondents should use the Basis for Assessment column to make note of the comments and materials that substantiate their assessment for each element. This will allow others in the organization to understand the assessors’ reasoning, and provide a basis for future assessments that measure progress. Explicit references to verifiable documents and programs will improve the consistency of year-to-year assessments.
The ESAP can be used to assess individual divisions or the entire company. Best results emerge when multi-function teams discuss and refine perfections. Annual execution of the ESAP demonstrates change in company performance over time. Scale scoring enables the company to gauge its performance relative to a total quality approach. Rating company performance for reach element pinpoints areas of weakness and strength.
