Dimension Data has been awarded ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) certification for its Australian head office in Sydney.
Dimension Data’s Sydney head office operations, located in the heritage-listed Bushells Building in the inner-city suburb The Rocks, have been certified to the ISO 14001:2004 management systems standard, which specifies requirements for organisations wanting an EMS and provides guidance for those committing to environmentally-friendly business operations. It covers compliance, impact of business activities, products and services.
“The audit process is very rigorous,” explained Dimension Data’s NSW state manager, Pete Murray. “The auditor examines how well we are actually applying the EMS in our business operations, and the tangible results from the program.”
“Green has become an incredibly important part of our business in terms of licence to operate,” said Mr Murray. “Our EMS provides us with measurements and frameworks for our environmental initiatives, and certification gives us external validation for our approach to sustainable business practices.”
Dimension Data has spent the past 12 months completing preparations for certification, ensuring that its EMS integrated with the company’s quality management systems and information security management systems, which are certified to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 respectively.
BSI Group performed documentation and on-site auditing for the ISO 14001 certification.
The audit first assessed Dimension Data’s policies and documentation, then examined how well the program had been implemented across all areas of the business, including HR practices, training, internal and external communication, compliance, facilities management and IT operations.
“We were able to demonstrate tangible results from our environmental programs and also high levels of staff awareness and engagement in our green initiatives,” said Mr Murray. ‘We are also finding that our green programs are attracting significant interest from our client base.”
Based on an eWaste program developed as part of its EMS, Dimension Data recently launched an eWaste Management Service (see further http://www.prwire.com.au/pr/19767/dimension-data-launches-ewaste-management-service), in response to demand from its clients.
“We have had strong interest from clients in our eWaste service, but also in the way we have saved paper and consumables through the implementation of PIN printing for our printer fleet, our use of unified communications and collaboration technologies to reduce travel, and our server virtualisation program to cut power consumption and rack space in the data centre. The fact that these initiatives are seen as tangible results for the purposes of EMS certification is a powerful endorsement,” concluded Mr Murray.
-ENDS-
About Dimension Data
Dimension Data plc (LSE:DDT), a specialist IT services and solution provider, helps clients plan, build, support and manage their IT infrastructures. Dimension Data applies its expertise in networking, converged communications, security, data centre and storage, Microsoft and contact centre technologies, and its unique skills in consulting, integration and managed services to create customised client solutions.
About ISO 14001
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is a non-government organisation with established institutes across 162 countries and an aim to form a bridge between private and public sectors to define a consistent approach to the delivery of organisational processes. ISO standards cover a vast variety of operating procedures including energy management, manufacturing, security, quality management, medical devices and food safety. Specifically, the ISO14001:2004 standard refers to Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and dictates that a company develops a management system which takes into account environmental aspects and legal compliance, and where possible, commits to improve on environmental aspects which are within its control and influence. For information on ISO, please visit: http://www.iso.org.
About BSI Group
BSI Group is a global leader offering innovative standards based solutions. Originating as the world’s first national standards body, the Group has over 2,300 staff operating in over 120 countries through more than 50 global offices. The Group’s key offerings are:
- The development and sale of private, national and international standards and supporting information
- Second and third-party management systems assessment and certification
- Product testing and certification of services and products