ABSTRACT
Municipalities around the world are using a structured environmental management system (EMS) as a tool for implementing the sustainability agenda. The Regional Environment Department of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, Canada, has developed its EMS to broaden its scope and apply the management systems concept to all types of decision-making. Provincial governments, which are legislatively responsible for municipalities in Canada, have restructured the municipal–provincial relationship with the result that many environmental, financial, planning and social services have become the responsibility of municipal governments. The environmental mission statement is: The Regional Environment Department is committed, within the framework of its assigned mandate, to work towards the achievement of the sustainable community expressed in VISION 2020 and complying with Regional Council's Environment Policy. The EMS explicitly stated that VISION 2020 is the root of the Department's environmental mission statement and the expressed goals of VISION 2020 are the main drivers for the objectives and targets.
