Transcript EMS NUTS AND BOLTS

WELCOME TO
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS 101
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Upon Completion of this Training, you Will be
able to:
– Define Environmental Aspects and Impacts and Give
Examples of Both
– Describe What ISO 14001 Requires with Respect to
Environmental Aspects
– Identify Environmental Aspects Associated with your
Organization’s Activities, Products and Services
– Evaluate and Prioritize your Environmental Aspects
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT?
• ISO 14001 Defines Environmental Aspect as
element of an organization's activities, products or
services that can interact with the environment
• Aspects can be further defined as:
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Controlled
Influenced
Significant
Non-significant
Positive
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
• Environmental Aspects Include:
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Air emissions
Waste generation and management
Releases to water
Contamination of land
Consumption of energy and natural resources (e.g.,
water, coal, natural gas, fuel oil, etc.)
– Local and community issues (noise, odors, aesthetic
conditions)
– Positive aspects of operations on the environment (i.e.,
tree planting, recycling, etc.)
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
WHAT CAUSES ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS?
• Adverse Environmental Aspects
are the unwanted byproducts or
consequences of an organization’s
Activities, Products and Services
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT?
• ISO 14001 Defines Environmental Impact
as:
any change to the environment, whether adverse or
beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an
organization's environmental activities, products or
services
• Environmental Impacts are the effects of
your Environmental Aspects
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
EXAMPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
• Environmental Impacts can Include:
– Local air pollution
– Global air pollution
– Adverse impact to employee health
– Degradation of local water quality
– Depletion of natural resources
– Impairment of property
– Degradation of flora and fauna
– Noise pollution
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
HOW DO ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES, ASPECTS AND IMPACTS RELATE?
ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
WHAT DOES ISO 14001 REQUIRE?
ISO 14001 – 4.3.1 Requires that you:
• Establish and maintain a procedure for identifying
environmental aspects, which:
– You can control
– Over which you can be expected to exert influence
• Determine which aspects do/may have a significant impact
on the environment
• Consider “significant aspects” when setting objectives and
targets
• Keep your aspects current
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
STOP AND REVIEW!
• Environmental Aspects:
– Are the means in which your organization interacts
with the environment
– Can be:
• Controlled or influenced
• Adverse or positive
• Significant or non-significant
– Stem from your organization’s activities, products
and services
– Do/can result in Environmental Impacts
• ISO 14001 requires that you identify, evaluate
and manage significant environmental aspects
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
USE THE 5-STEP ASPECTS PROCESS MODEL
Step 1
Identify your Activities,
Products and Services
Step 5
Update your
Environmental Aspects
5-STEP
ASPECTS
PROCESS
MODEL
Step 4
Prioritize your
Environmental Aspects
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
Step 2
Identify your
Environmental Aspects
Step 3
Evaluate your
Environmental Aspects
STEP 1 – IDENTIFY ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES
• Determine the scope of your evaluation (directly controlled
versus influenced)
• Compile an inventory of your organization’s activities,
products and services that can interact with the
environment
• Consider
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Manufacturing processes (e.g., calcination, precipitation)
Products
Internal support services (e.g., maintenance, WWTP)
Services provided (e.g., transportation)
Contract services procured (e.g., asbestos removal)
Legacy issues (e.g., contamination, ongoing remediation)
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
STEP 2 – IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
• Select the categories of environmental aspects that you will
identify (e.g., air, water, waste, etc.)
• Determine the level at which aspects will be identified
(site, department, area)
• Review the inputs and outputs associated with each
identified activity, product or service to identify the
environmental aspects
REMEMBER – ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS ARE THOSE
ELEMENTS THAT CAN IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT,
INCLUDING HUMAN (WORKER) HEALTH
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
STEP 2 – IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
• Examples of input aspects include: energy consumption,
water consumption, etc.
• Examples of output aspects include: air emissions, waste
streams, water discharges, chemical releases, etc.
• A process model can be an effective means to accomplish
the inputs-outputs analysis
• Compile your identified aspects into an inventory
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
ACTIVITY, PRODUCT
Environmental
OR SERVICE
Outputs
Inputs
Air Emissions
Labor
Raw Matls
Energy
Location
Department
Process
Equipment ID
Chemical Release
Waste Generation
Water Discharges
Toxic Substances (worker exposure,
product use)
Location Mgmt. (odors, noise,
aesthetics)
Water
Land Mgmt. (contamination)
Recyclables
Product
Output
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STEP 3 – EVALUATE ASPECTS
• The next step is evaluating and prioritizing aspects
based on their actual or potential environmental
impact
• This can be accomplished through “instincts”, risk
matrices, algorithims, etc.
• The key is to define what key items to consider in
evaluating aspects and factor them into the
decision process
• The result are your Significant Aspects
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STEP 3 – EVALUATE ASPECTS
• “Impact Factors” that many companies
consider include:
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Severity of environmental impact
Likelihood of environmental impact
Potential for employee exposure
Potential Liability
Legal Concerns
Etc.
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
STEP 3 – EVALUATE ASPECTS
• Once you have identified, inventoried and
evaluated your aspects, you can assign
significance
• Aspects that do or may have a significant
environmental impact, based on your impact
factors should be considered significant
• Aspects that do not have a significant
environmental impact are not significant
• Once again, some companies set numerical
thresholds, some companies use their instincts
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.
STEP 4 – PRIORITIZE ASPECTS
• Significant aspects should be prioritized
• Priorities can be assigned based on:
– Impact scoring
– Risk
– Technological, operational and financial
limitations
– Community good will
– Etc.
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STEP 5 – UPDATE ASPECTS
• Update your aspects
– Integrate aspects identification/evaluation into
new process/chemical reviews
– Update aspects periodically to reflect site
changes
– Review aspects at least annually to ensure that
your results continue to reflect site conditions
Copyright 2001. The Solution Foundry. All rights reserved.