Environmental Management

In Australia, an environmental management system (EMS) is best understood as a kind of quality management system. The processes, practices and technologies implemented in an environmental management plan are designed to minimise the impact of construction-related activities.

An EMS can help organisations comply with the Environmental Protection Act of 1993, which states that ‘you must not cause damage to the environment unless licensed’. This essentially explains that you need a licence to pollute. ‘Pollution’ is defined, in this case, as fairly commonplace processes like exhaust emissions from a production plant or the residual gasses and minerals left over from mining operations.

The processes and practices of an EMS not only reduce pollution and other environmental impacts, but it can also increase operating efficiency and reduce costs. It does so by clearly outlining aspects of daily processes like training, record management, inspections, objectives and policies that are affected by considerations of environmental health. Companies that achieve a sound construction environmental management plan are on their way to becoming ISO 14001 series certified.

Environmental management systems are incredibly important to an overall organisational structure. It can set the agenda for company-wide processes, procedures and even allocation of resources.

With a well-designed and implemented environmental management plan in place, an organisation can reap benefits such as:

• Reduction in environmental incidents
• Consistent reputation for compliance
• No issues when it comes to auditing
• Lowered risk of fines for non-compliance
• Clearly defined marketing differentiator that can become a competitive advantage
• Reduction of waste disposal and utility waste
• Increased profitability due to more efficient operations

While these are more corporate-focused objectives and incentives for implementing an environmental management plan, the endgame is environmental protection. These processes ultimately help with pollution prevention and resource conservation.

It’s crucial to control the environmental risks that stem from construction as most construction activities cause major environmental disruption and pollution. Environmental management systems are designed to balance the risks of the construction industry, and hopefully even mitigate them, with the need for human development and the impacts to the environment.

Managing environmental risk requires a blend of theory and practice. Organisations may choose to outsource the creation of an environmental management plan to environmental management companies. Planning, defining, checking and taking action are ultimately the framework for developing this plan.

Generally, and in broad strokes, environmental management systems need the following steps for implementation:

• Developing an environmental policy that aligns with regulations
• Hiring an environmental management company to coordinate this
• Identifying how the organisation interacts with the environment
• Identifying legal and other requirements
• Setting environmental targets and programs to meet these
• Monitoring and measuring progress
• Reviewing the system and environmental performance
• Continually improving these standards and performances

A skilled environmental manager creates and develops an effective environmental management plan for organisations.

Some of their tasks include:

• Developing the strategies, policies, practices and action plans required to maintain compliance
• Coordinating the actions of waste management and pollution control, including recycling, conservation and more
• Auditing, analysing and using reporting tools to measure environmental performance
• Raising awareness and training staff at all levels with new protocols