In today’s environmentally conscious landscape, a robust Environmental Management System (EMS) is paramount for any company striving for true eco-friendly operations. At The Bernard Group, a proud carbon neutral business, we don’t just claim environmental responsibility- we actively pursue ambitious sustainability goals. Understanding the high expectations of our clients, we’re providing an inside look at our 2025 EMS successes and outlining our key priorities for 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- By aligning with ISO 14001 standards, we successfully hit critical benchmarks in water conservation, increased our distribution center recycling to over 72 tons, and expanded our carbon tracking to include complex Scope 3 value chain emissions.
- Moving forward, we are prioritizing organizational resilience by safeguarding our recycling streams against regulatory shifts and adopting the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework to ensure world-class transparency in our ESG reporting.
- Our team emphasizes that industry leadership requires a “top-down” commitment to accountability, where every employee understands that daily actions contribute to our collective impact on the planet.
What is an EMS?
An Environmental Management System helps The Bernard Group (and Smartpress, our online division) systematically minimize our environmental impact and enhance operational efficiency. Our dedicated EMS team leads this effort by developing policies and procedures that ensure proactive environmental performance across our entire organization.
These experts conduct vital research, create documentation and provide training on all things environmental sustainability. In short, they pave the way for The Bernard Group to be as eco-friendly as possible in all aspects of our business.
We often say we believe in working toward something bigger than ourselves, and we believe it should be stunning. In this case, the “bigger” begins with EMS.
2025 EMS Goals
Our environmental goals are guided by our International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Certification. We establish objectives that directly align with our overarching environmental policy. The progress towards these goals are meticulously tracked by our EMS team and transparently communicated to employees across all our facilities through various channels. Accountability is central to our approach. Here’s a look at our 2025 Environmental Management System objectives and achievements:
Objective #1: Water Conservation Program
Implement effective water stewardship practices across operations with the goal of reducing overall water consumption by 3% within the next year. This will be achieved through a combination of resource efficiency measures, employee engagement, and ensuring sustainable water management while maintaining operational performance.
Objective #2: Distribution Center (DC) Recycling Program
Enhance the recycling program at the Distribution Center with initiatives with the goal of hitting our 2023 numbers of 72.03 tons since it dropped in 2024 to 58.61 tons. This will be achieved through improved waste segregation, investment in recycling infrastructure and employee education.
Objective #3: Scope 3 Methodology & Measurement
Establish a comprehensive measurement and tracking system to identify 8 out of the 15 Scope 3 emissions categories. This initiative will help the organization better understand its value chain emissions, identify key reduction opportunities, align with global sustainability and carbon reduction goals, and ensure that our Scope 3 emissions are being reported properly to the CDP, EPA, and key clients’ emission disclosure platforms, having already offset Scopes 1 and 2.
Hint: Our EMS goals affect not only our services, but also our approach to corporate social responsibility as a whole. See why we’re rated Platinum by EcoVadis.
Our 2026 EMS Priorities for a Sustainable Future
Building on our progress, our 2025 environmental goals are focused on deepening our commitment to being a truly carbon neutral company and a leader in sustainable business practices. Aligning our Environmental Management System initiatives with our core environmental policy, we’ve identified three key opportunities for advancement:
Objective #1: Resilience Planning- Recycling
Goal: Develop a comprehensive business continuity plan to prepare for and mitigate potential disruptions to our recycling streams resulting from environmental regulations or resource scarcity.
Objective #2: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting
Goal: The GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used framework for sustainability reporting. This alignment is important for communicating our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance effectively, as it significantly enhances both transparency and the quality of our data.
“Our environmental policy states that we commit to leading the industry, and that takes involvement from everyone, every day.”
Q&A with Our Environmental Management System Team
Our dedication to being an eco-friendly organization is driven by our robust Environmental Management System and the expertise of our dedicated team. We spoke with Clay McCarty, Industrial Engineer, and Emily Keith, Environment Program Manager, about the challenges of meeting sustainability goals, essential elements of an effective EMS, and more.
Why is a dedicated EMS team crucial for our company?
Clay McCarty: “Different areas have their own challenges with environmental success, but having an EMS team allows us to ensure that The Bernard Group and Smartpress are united in these efforts as a whole.”
How do you determine the annual objectives for our EMS?
Emily Keith: “We determine annual objectives by looking at the needs of our company, as well as client interest within the last year. We also make sure the objectives we set are measurable. Each year brings different challenges and new goals, and we want to make sure our EMS objectives reflect those well.”
How do The Bernard Group and Smartpress employees contribute to achieving these environmental goals?
Keith: “Many employees will be directly involved in helping us achieve our objectives for the year, but the big picture is always very important. Our environmental policy states that we commit to leading the industry, and that takes involvement from everyone, every day. Every project we plan, every bin of waste, every chemical drum is an opportunity for us to lead.”
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Keith: “One of the biggest initiatives we’re most proud of is our Calculated Energy Savings Project. This project really started from the ground up as we participated in a third-party energy audit to analyze where we have energy savings opportunities. It gave us great direction and helped us organize priorities and impacts of certain improvements.
“The energy savings goal of 100,000 kWh was almost quadrupled at 375,884 kWh. The amount of energy we were able to save is incredible! We’re really proud of this one.”
What advice would you offer to companies looking to implement their own EMS?
McCarty: “Make sure your program is supported from the top down. If your leaders aren’t committed to setting standards and sustaining them, your program will encounter obstacles at every level. The bare minimum is not enough, and it starts with having committed leadership.
“Also, be ready to have documented policies and manage them. ISO programs are all about doing what you say and saying what you do. Workplaces are a moving target in a lot of industries, and your policies have to be agile enough to stay relevant in a fast paced environment like that.”
Why is it crucial for companies to monitor their environmental impact?
McCarty: “Humanity as a whole is experiencing an awakening of sorts. We’re more aware each day of our impact on the planet. It’s crucial that industry and commerce understand their part in the bigger picture and take responsibility for it.”
“It’s crucial that industry and commerce understand their part in the bigger picture and take responsibility for it.”
Partner with The Bernard Group for Sustainable Solutions
The Bernard Group is a proud carbon neutral business that doesn’t does claim environmental responsibility. We actively pursue ambitious sustainability goals year after year. To learn more about our Environmental Management System and how it can benefit you, contact us.