MEMORIAS 2007 21-10-07 .indd - Observatorio Ambiental de ...

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS) IN THE UNU
to the waste management company. Each agency in the building will receive bills according to the
weights of their wastes later.
Fig. 10 Recycled paper boxes, kitchen sink, and waste boxed at a coffee table (from the left to right
Air conditioners of the building are also controlled by the contractor. The Japanese government
recommends to set the work office temperature at 28 degrees Celsius in summer, and the UNU
also tries to set the temperature as close to the regulated temperature as possible. The south west
side of the building receives the sunshine more than the other sides, and the temperature needs to
be set lower to keep the temperature of the hottest area of each floor over the regulated maximum
temperature which is 28 °C. During the summer season, the UNU adopts the “Cool Biz” that has
been promoted by the Japanese government since 2005 to encourage office workers to wear short
sleeved shirts without jackets. Ties are not necessary, but now some cool biz ties are sold on the
market. This campaign resulted in increased sales of the cool biz attire. The Japanese government
claims that the Cool Biz campaign reduced 1.14 million tones of CO2 in 2006 and of course the
electricity bills of those offices that set the temperature at 28 °C.
Significant Environmental Aspects
UNU•EMS 4.3.1 states the Procedure for Identifying Environmental Aspects and Impacts. This include
not only negative impacts such as utility consumptions but also positive impacts associated
with environment related training courses, capacity building, post-graduate education, research
outputs (books, reports, web pages). In establishing this UNU - EMS for the first time, intensive
efforts have been made following the steps below.
• All activities at the UNU were reviewed and all environmental aspects were identified.
This includes consideration of the actions of contractors.
• All potential and actual environmental impacts from these aspects: positive impacts,
negative impacts and potential impacts were identified and associated with an aspect.
• The aspects judged to be significant were identified.
Based on this assessment it can be concluded that main significant environmental aspects are
as follows.
UNIVERSIDAD DE CIENCIAS APLICADAS Y AMBIENTALES, U.D.C.A 21