Obtaining first time approval for an environmental management system

Bristol Water - MCERTS Accreditation

Bristol Water provides drinking water to the City of Bristol and surrounding areas with sustainability and community top of mind. We helped Bristol Water when they needed to obtain the United Kingdom (UK) Environment Agency’s monitoring certification system (MCERTS) accreditation for flowmeters at their water treatment works—MCERTS accreditation gives water companies the framework to improve the quality of data they deliver for regulated processes.

Working to a tight deadline, we reviewed procedures at the water treatment sites and developed an environmental management system (EMS) that would meet MCERTS requirements for self-monitoring of flow—as well as the conditions of Bristol Water’s discharge consent. Our multi-faceted approach required collaboration with the client and was central to the success of the programme. Working with Bristol Water to generate compliant documentation that accurately reflected the company’s processes, we structured the EMS to establish ease of use from an operational and management perspective. The EMS consisted of a maintenance system, verification, document control, and internal audits.

Environmental management systems are rarely approved the first time they are audited, but we achieved first round approval of an EMS for Bristol Water—and we’ve also won praise from the auditor for its delivery.