Carpeta

Implementation
Since the end of 2004, the University of Sonora has engaged in greening of the campus by its
Sustainability Management System, which is based on the ISO 14001 standard. Previously,there was operated an educational model called “sustainable cell” which took the campus as a
very suitable place for implementation of “Practice-What-You-Preach” initiatives. Basically, thismeant a shift from a less integrative and less documented approach to a more integrative and
documented approach.
The purpose of the SMS is the protection of natural resources and the prevention,reduction
and/or elimination of environmental and occupational risks generated by the members of the
university community when using resources in order to fulfill its substantive functions ofteaching, research, outreach & partnership, and stewardship.
The Engineering College is the fenceline, where the improvements would take place, of the
system; therefore, the scope includes allthe activities and process to perform the substantive
functions in the Engineering College.
Universities that have achieved certification had had several motivations for adopting an EMS
scheme oncampus; these can be classified as external drivers such as governmental
guidelines, society pressure, strong competition, and legislation; and internal drivers such as
internal cost reduction,improving sustainability or environmental performance, image, and
social responsibility. External drives for EMS in Mexico are not strong. Regulation for
universities does not exist and when itdoes exist, there is not enforcement for regulation.
Student demands for enrolling in the university are always over our capacity and there is no
pressure from community for a better environmentalperformance. This means the external
stimulation is far less than the internal drivers. Therefore, the main drivers behind this effort
were largely internal.
The implementation of ISO 14001 was...