3.9 Establishing and Updating EHS Objectives, Goals, and Action Plans

Taking MIT's EHS Policy to a greater level of specificity, Institute-wide EHS objectives are established in the MIT EHS Policy, and focus on EHS stewardship, sustainability, compliance, accountability, opportunity, and performance. The EHS Policy is reviewed periodically and modified, as needed, by the Institute Council on Environment, Health and Safety and approved by the Academic Council of MIT, if required.

The Environmental Programs/EHS Headquarters Office (EP/EHO) sets vision and high-level environment, health and safety objectives and goals for the central administration of MIT and brings Institute-wide goals and objectives to respective Institute Committees for endorsement.

In addition, if systemic compliance problems are identified within any DLC or contractor operations, the EHS Management Systems requires the development of an action plan to address the problem. The action plan must include steps to be taken to investigate and remedy the problem, including tracking and reporting status. The EHS Office and DLC EHS Coordinators and Committees monitor the implementation and effectiveness of these additional action plans.

The Deputy Director for Sustainability Programs in the EP/EHO works with key Institute administration to establish Institute-wide sustainability goals. The Pollution Prevention Plan helps establish interim performance targets and provides a general framework for developing sustainability action plans, setting targets and establishing timeframes for meeting P2 and sustainability goals.