Our commitment to the environment extends beyond operating in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and requirements. We work to act responsibly and to address the environmental challenges that impact our company and our stakeholders.
The foundation for achieving this goal is the Exelon Environment Policy — a core set of principles that guide our decision-making. To execute this policy, we have established an environmental management program or system (EMS) that assigns roles and responsibilities at each level of our organization. The EMS is an integral part of the Exelon Management Model, the framework for the way we do business at Exelon.
As part of this program, oversight committees of the Board of Directors annually review the environmental performance of each business. While CEO John Rowe, our company’s chief environmental officer, is ultimately responsible for setting our annual environmental performance goals, operational accountability is assigned to the heads of the Operating Business Units (Exelon Generation, ComEd and PECO). Oversight of our environment policy and strategy is assigned to Betsy Moler, Executive Vice President of Government and Environmental Affairs & Public Policy.
Composed of vice presidents representing each of our operating business units, as well as government affairs, public affairs, legal, power marketing and supply management, the Exelon Environment Council, chaired by Betsy Moler, ensures that our organization’s environmental initiatives are aligned with our strategy in the face of changing business conditions. While at the director level, the Environment Peer Group focuses on improving our environmental performance by sharing best practices and implementing strategic programs.
Exelon’s EMS is based on the international standard ISO 14001:2004. This recognized international standard specifies requirements for an EMS to enable an organization to develop and implement a program for effective management of environmental performance.
The EMS establishes the framework to not only comply with environmental laws and regulations but to go beyond that in seeking to protect the environment. Through ongoing support of our EMS program, our stakeholders can expect to see continued improvement in Exelon’s environmental performance.
Exelon decided to pursue certification as a means to demonstrate its commitment to continual improvement. The EMS program is part of a larger corporate initiative fostering a corporate culture where compliance is a minimum expectation and greater environmental responsibility is seen as good business.
The ISO 14001:2004 certification represents an independent verification of the processes and procedures Exelon has established to ensure environmental compliance with a focus on continual improvement. NSF International Strategic Registrations, Ltd., (NSF-ISR) awarded the certifications to Exelon. NSF-ISR is a global leader in environmental and quality management systems registrations.
The audit process included reviews of policies and procedures, observation of site practices, interviews of employees, including management and close examination of records to verify that each site’s environmental management system is implementing each required element of the ISO standard.
In 2005, Exelon began the process of confirming the efficacy of our EMS by seeking ISO 14001:2004 certification for our systems. As of the end of 2007, Exelon now has certified EMS at 60 percent of Exelon’s operating sites/organizations.
The certifications ensure that the site employees are fully aware of the environmental impact of their operations, and that they have a comprehensive understanding of the importance of compliance to all environmental regulations. It also shows that the personnel have been successfully trained in all aspects of their site’s Environmental Management System, or EMS.