Today June 05 is World Environment Day (WED), a day that is celebrated globally to create awareness of environmental issues and encourage action from all levels of society. This year’s theme is “Only One Earth”.
First observed in 1973, World Environment Day is described as “a global platform for inspiring positive change” by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Today, it is recognised as the largest global environmental event, with millions of people in more than 150 countries participating. The idea is to engage “governments, businesses, civil society, schools, celebrities, cities, and communities in raising awareness and celebrating environmental action”.
“Only One Earth” advocates for transformative environmental change on a global scale. This year, the campaign shines a spotlight on climate action, nature action and pollution action while encouraging everyone, everywhere to live sustainably.
Standards continue to be crucial in guiding human actions toward the preservation of our global environment. International Standard Bodies such as the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) continue to develop standards for use by a wide range of industries, regulators, and other environmentalists to maintain sustainable limits.
At the national level, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has over the years developed useful standards for implementation, which directly or indirectly impact environment-related activities. These standards relate to environmental sampling and testing, greenhouse gas emission, effluent and noise emissions and the labelling of refrigerants. Many of these standards are particularly beneficial to companies and laboratories offering environmental testing and regulators.
The GNBS Technical Team also has the capacity to aid companies desirous of meeting the requirements of the ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System (EMS) standard. In addition to this step-by-step guidance, training on the standard can also be facilitated.
Implementation of ISO 14001 standard contributes significantly to reducing environmental impact even as it enlightens users on the effect the environment has on businesses. Implementing the requirements of this international standard is an important step toward preservation since it covers all environmental challenges related to water, air, soil, waste, biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate challenges. The standard helps organizations to manage all aspects of the environment in a holistic manner.
Today, as we celebrate WED, many societies continue to struggle with issues such as natural disasters, deforestation, wildlife extinction, climate mitigation and adaptation. The GNBS supports all efforts taken by individuals, organisations, and Governments to address these challenges.
Meanwhile, the Bureau will continue to adopt and implement best practices in its operations to ensure it has minimal impact on the environment, even as it develops new and relevant standards to care the environment for current and future generations.
For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0069, 219-0065, 219-0062.
