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Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center

Green Environmental Management System (GEMS)

The environment is a delicate instrument all around us that we must protect throughout the year.  To accomplish this, in 2005 the Wilkes-Barre VA Green_EarthMedical Center established a Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) program to ensure that environmental activities are well managed. The GEMS program complies with Executive Order 13148, “Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management” and follows the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Standard. The ISO 14001 approach to environmental management follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act model that allows for continual improvement of the environmental management system.

The GEMS program encourages VA employees at all levels of the organization to be good stewards of the environment by complying with federal, state, and local laws; preventing pollution; minimizing waste; conserving energy, water, and other natural and cultural resources.

The GEMS Committee is comprised of members from all levels of the organization. The committee meets regularly to evaluate current environmental conditions and opportunities for improvement.

The Wilkes-Barre GEMS Committee is dedicated to improving the surrounding environment by:

  • Recycling Medical Center waste including: comingled cans and bottles, paper, cardboard, toner cartridges, pallets, batteries, fluorescent tubes, used oil, electronics, ferrous and nonferrous metal.
  • Utilize sustainable practices to eliminate, minimize, or mitigate adverse environmental impacts.
  • Symbols on Clean EarthEvaluate and monitor the operation of VA facilities and incorporate policies and procedures necessary to reduce environmental vulnerabilities and ensure environmental compliance.
  •  Integrate pollution prevention, waste reduction, natural and cultural resource conservation, affirmative procurement/green purchasing, and environmental compliance into planning, purchasing, and operating decisions, whenever practical.
  •  Implement source reduction as the pollution prevention method of choice or alternative methods of reuse, recycling, treatment of wastes, or proper disposal.
  • Use natural resources efficiently and maintain and protect plant and wildlife habitat, consistent with VA’s mission.
  • Recognize that the development and construction of VA facilities must consider the unique conditions of the environment of which the facility is a part.
  • Train all appropriate VA staff, as needed, to satisfactorily carry out the environmental responsibilities of their positions.
  • Improving hazardous waste, regulated medical waste, universal waste, stormwater, aboveground and underground storage tank management.

 

For additional information, please contact the Wilkes-Barre VA GEMS Coordinator, Christopher Colegrove at (570) 824-3521 ext. 7345 or email at Christopher.Colegrove@va.gov

  
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