With all divisions’ cooperation, this semester’s first ISO14001 in-campus environmental inspection was completed on March 31. According to Inspection Group, all the members of Tamkang have made striking progress in the recognition of environmental management system after the inspection. And most of the advices given addressed some minor defects or enhancement of education and training; obvious defects were not found.

In preparation for improving all the defects before Taiwan Examination Company’s visit in October, environmental inspection is scheduled on March and July.

After one week’s inspection, member of Environmental Safety Center Huang Shun-hsing, who is in charge of evaluation affairs and drawing up the environmental process book, indicated that before the inspection, most of the staff and students thought that it concerned only those units likely to have impacts on the school’s environment, such as Office of General Affairs, the laboratories of College of Sciences and College of Engineering, the workshop of Department of Mass Communication, and some of the administrative sections and departments were not enthusiastic in promoting education of environmental protection. But after the around-campus examination, some administrative sections, though not directly related to the impacts on school’s environment, were found to be actively promoting the education of environmental protection. For instance, the meeting of College of Business publicized the importance and goals as well as policies of environmental protection related to the college’s affairs. Huang pointed out that this is an effective way to raise the awareness of the teachers and students present in the meeting and help fulfill the goal of promoting the importance of environmental protection. He also mentioned that only a few defects were found in this inspection, and most of the sections/divisions still need to improve their education of environmental protection and the emergent measures for environmental accidents, which cannot be dealt with only with process book; all divisions have to be able to react to the possible accidents and devise effective reaction models.

The eighteen members of Inspection Group, as well as the divisions evaluated, had a fresh experience this time. Chair of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Chiang Hsu-cherng, also member of Inspection Group, suggested that items for inspection, including the applied regulations and process books of the divisions evaluated, be simplified, and some rigid regulations be more objective, in order not to beat evaluators even before the inspection actually proceeds. Evaluator Wang Ming-feng pointed out that she came across some technical terms in the inspection items beyond her professional field, and she suggested that evaluators with specialties in the fields of sciences and engineering be sent to evaluate the divisions that have obvious impacts on the environment; with the division of specialties, she believed, the work of inspection can be completed more effectively.