Jump to main content.

Jefferson County Success Story

Jefferson County, Alabama was the first county in the nation to become registered to the ISO-14001 standard. During the successful ISO-14001 audit, the county's EMS was declared a "model program" and an example for other public sector entities.

Introduction
Planning and Implementation
Benefits
Lessons Learned
Conclusions

Introduction

Jefferson County received an EPA grant which offered assistance in developing an EMS. Only 14 communities nationwide received these grants. The first participants from Jefferson County included four divisions of General Services (Crafts, Grounds, Maintenance, and the Print Shop) and Fleet Management. Since then, it has grown to include Human Resources, the Central Laundry, Information Technology, and the remaining areas in the General Services Department. Collectively, the "fenceline" of participating EMS departments involves about 500 employees.

The General Services Department manages the public buildings of the county, including custodial services, air conditioning and heating, waste disposal, recycling, and similar tasks. Fleet Management manages the County's rolling stock, including cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Environmental impacts include energy consumption, resource recycling, air emissions, biodegradable materials disposal, pest control, and purchase and disposal of hazardous materials. The two departments produce such wastes as refrigerants, batteries, motor oil, and medical waste.

The Central Laundry provides laundering services for linens, clothing and other washable materials for County and municipal jail facilities; Cooper Green Hospital, which is Jefferson County's indigent health care facility; and the Jefferson County Health and Rehabilitation Center, which provides nursing home care. Environmental impacts here include threats to the environment from chemical spills and contact with blood borne pathogens in soiled laundry.

As the name suggests, Information Technology addresses all the electronic data management, business applications, and other technical services. Some of their environmental impacts include soil and water contamination, as well as negative impacts on landfill space from disposal of paper, batteries, and printer/toner cartridges.

The Human Resources Department handles County insurance claims, occupational health matters, and a growing number of personnel activities. Environmental impacts include contamination from mercury disposal and contact with blood borne pathogens.

The Environmental Protection Division, which is under the Human Resources umbrella, acts as the coordinator of the County's EMS program and has outreach, education, and a small enforcement role in the issues of ground level ozone, illegal dumping, mosquito abatement, and scrap tires. These impacts include contamination for the soil, water, and air, as well as public and employee environmental health and safety.

Top of Page

Planning and Implementation

Some key drivers for EMS implementation in Jefferson County were the widening enthusiasm for the EMS concept among environmental professionals, the high availability of government assistance programs to aid in EMS development, and the ability to partner environmental management with existing health and safety programs.

General Services and Fleet Management were selected over other County departments because of the variety of potential environmental impacts of the divisions and because of the enthusiastic support for EMS implementation from the Department of General Services Director, the leadership at Fleet Management, and the County Commission. Expectations of EMS implementation included:

The labor costs associated with the development of the County's EMS program totaled $92,734. A total of 3,877 personnel hours were used. The program underwent an independent review from external auditors and became registered to the ISO-14001 standard in February, 2002.

Top of Page

Benefits

EMS implementation efforts have resulted in:

It is estimated that these improvements will yield an 8% reduction in water use and an 8-12% annual reduction in electricity. The EMS has also led the County to adopt other sustainable approaches to the delivery of government services.

"Many people hear 'environmental management' and immediately think two things: bureaucracy and expense. But the EMS effort for us yielded dozens of real world, longterm cost savings in areas like reduced power and water use. Perhaps even more significant is the possible impact on our bond ratings. Rating agencies recognized that, in taking time to examine how we did our-day-to-day business, Jefferson County had created a workplace that was less likely to generate injuries or serious environmental accidents. Less risk means greater opportunity for return on an investment. We're told the potential impact of our EMS, taken with other factors, is a 1/16th to 1/8th of a point improvement, which could mean millions of dollars of taxpayer money saved each time we borrow money for capital projects. Now, that's the kind of documented savings that makes elected leaders and the public both very happy."

--Billy Morace, Director of General Services, Jefferson County, Alabama

Top of Page

Lessons Learned

Jefferson County achieved early success by intentionally starting small and including only enthusiastic participants. In the long term, the County is working diligently towards its goal to include other departments, who will be attracted by the financial and resource savings, the improved morale, and the safer work environments an EMS has to offer.

Top of Page

Conclusions

Through implementation of the EMS, the County has plainly demonstrated its commitment to obeying all laws and applicable guidelines relative to environmental matters. In addition, the EMS has been an opportunity for the County to hold itself to a higher standard, and to set the example for the broader local community.

The County will maintain ongoing self-evaluations and goal setting to assure a steady movement towards their commitment to continual improvement.

For more information, contact Jefferson County Exit EPA

Top of Page

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.