Rooted in responsibility

Great River Energy’s environmental management system dates back to the cooperative’s origins — and has guided it for a quarter century

Great River Energy’s commitment to environmental stewardship has been a part of the organization since its formation in 1999. Great River Energy’s environmental management system (EMS) is a fundamental component of the cooperative’s dedication to environmental stewardship and it covers both power supply and transmission divisions. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Great River Energy’s EMS.

An EMS is a robust framework that drives to confirm compliance and to continually improve environmental performance. Great River Energy’s EMS was developed in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001:2015) standard. It follows a path each year of planning, doing, checking and reviewing.

“As part of the EMS framework, we commit to continual environmental improvement. When environmental stewardship, or improvement, aligns with reasonable rates and reliability, Great River Energy’s management is always supportive. It all ties back to our triple bottom line. It is embedded in our culture and it just makes sense.”

— Greg Archer, director of environmental services

As one example, to confirm compliance, Great River Energy employees created check sheets for each facility that identify applicable environmental permits, plans, procedures and specific records (planning).

Employees complete these check sheets each year (doing). Third-party consultants then check this work. These annual third-party audits both verify the EMS’s ongoing compliance with ISO 14001 requirements and confirm compliance by focusing on more complex and environmentally risky operations (checking).

All of this annual work is then reviewed by staff, summarized in an annual report and presented to leadership as a cornerstone of the EMS continual improvement process (reviewing).

This report also summarizes internal and external drivers as part of the annual management review process and as a key component of the EMS framework. These drivers are then overlayed on potential environmental impacts across the organization in order to develop and propose annual work goals for the following year, as part of “planning” to continue the cycle.

By setting clear goals, implementing effective processes and continuously monitoring results, employees drive environmental performance over time. This system ensures efficient resource allocation, clear accountability and rigorous evaluation of power supply and transmission operations to uphold the highest environmental standards.

“It is incredible to look back over 25 years of having the EMS to both confirm compliance and to continually improve environmental performance, across our organization, to see all of the progress. It is truly a testament to our corporate culture, our triple bottom line, our supportive management and our staff who continue to work diligently on improving environmental performance,” Archer said.