Compliance Leadership Model

The CLM is based on the widely-used standards-- ISO 14001: Environmental Management Systems and ISO 19600: Compliance Management Systems, as well as the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The levels in the model represent programs with:

• increasing capability,
• strengthened organizational structure,
• increased focus on risk reduction,
• greater integration of sustainability, and optimization of environmental performance. 

Every retailer has different compliance obligations and regulatory risk and therefore, not all retailers will need or want to progress though the model for every dimension. However, all compliance programs should include Essential Level elements. If you are unsure if your program is at the Essential Level, download the RCC Essential Level Summary to evaluate your program and identify gaps.

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are a widely used, systematic, yet flexible approach to managing compliance and improving environmental performance. The Retail Compliance Center's EMS e-book shows how an EMS can be customized for retail operations provides a roadmap for creating or evaluating a retail environmental compliance program. It also includes tools to help in implementing a full retail EMS or evaluating a compliance program.