Reflective Account of Environmental Assessment - Essay Example

Environmental assessment Introduction In one way or the other, the environment is prone to pollution from the various activities that take place in a working environment. It is important for an organization to include environmental assessment in their programs. Environmental assessment is the act of monitoring the effects of activities in an organization, company or industry on the environment either in a direct or indirect manner. It aims at being part of a program in each organization so as to secure the environment. There are various processes in environmental assessment. They include the environmental management system (EMS), environmental impact assessment, environmental statement, carbon accounting, and carbon management in buildings, environmental economic appraisal and strategic environment management. All these activities aim at securing the environment. Environmental Management System (EMS) The environmental management system (EMS) is a kind of tool and program that is used in managing the impacts of the activities on the environment at large. EMS provides an effective approach and structure of planning and implementing measures of protection of the environment. An EMS ensures that environmental management are integrated in an organizations day to day activities, short term goals and in long term planning of the organizations objectives (Melnyk, Robert and Roger, 2003). For an organization to be able to come up with an EMS, it should first access and analyze the impact it has on the environment, it should come up with goals of reducing impacts on the environment and come up with a strategy of achieving the goals and objectives that have been set. For the development of an effective EMS, commitment and support should be evident from the top level management to the staff as well (Sroufe, 2003). Considerations when developing an EMS The environmental policy of the organization should be firstly considered when coming up with an EMS. The policy ensures that the activities of EMS are in line with the objectives of the organization. An environmental audit should be taken before coming up with an EMS to help in identifying the impacts of the organizations activities on the environment. The target and objectives of an organization should also be considered when developing an EMS because it will guide the organization on how to achieve it. The staff and the community surrounding the environment should be committed before, during and after the establishment or developing of the EMS. The operations and procedures also need to be compatible with the objectives of the EMS. The monitoring of the performance of the organization in meeting its objectives of protecting the environment is also considered. Its aim is also to ensure that employees of the organization are aware of environmental management and its competence. EMS also helps in understanding the legislative requirements needed in maintaining the environment (Sroufe, 2003). The main goal of EMS is to increase compliance in an organization and reduce wastes from organizations to the environment. It also aims at building environmental awareness concern and understanding more about the impacts of the organizations activities on the environment. It also aims at increasing the profits of the organization by maximizing the use of the available resources (Melnyk et al, 2003). Environmental impact assessment (EIA) This is a management tool and structure used to ensure that natural resources are optimally used for development to be sustainable. It involves the measurement of the effects of Development projects on the environment. EIA is a process in an organization that predicts the positive and negative impacts of a plan, program, plan and project on the environment. This assessment is done prior to the implementation of the project. The impact assessment proposes the measures to be taken to reduce the chances of negative impacts when a project is implemented (Daniel, 2004). It plays a role in sustainability development of the environment. The main goal of EIA is to ensure that decisions made in an organization put environmental impacts into consideration. The implementation of projects should ensure that the processes that take place to not have a negative impact on the environment (Agol, Agnieszka and Bernardo, 2014). Four major methods are used in achieving EIA in an organization that is working on a project. One of them is the measuring of industrial products and the processes to be used in the project. For example the extraction of raw materials, use and disposal of waste raw materials. This helps in identifying the impact of the project to the environment. When assessing the impacts of genetically modified plants on the environment, methods such as GMP-RAM and INOVA are used to ensure that they are not harmful to the environment (Silviera, 2009). Environmental statement This is the summary that includes the contents and conclusions made in the EIA. In short, it is the summary of all the findings made in the environmental impact assessment. The statement is published and given to the society. The ES has all the information about the development of a project in detail. It combines all the threads that have been assessed in the technical report. The ES has all the descriptions about the characteristics of a project. It also states the ways in which natural resources are use in a project and the kind of wastes that comes from it. It describes the areas and aspects of the environment that are likely to be affected by the development process in a negative manner. It also states the pollutants that are emitted in the process of working on the project. An ES should also make an outline of some of the major alternatives found in the EIA with considerations of the environmental effects of the project under description. Finally, it gives a description of the measures that are proposed to be used in reduce pollution of the environment (Richard, 2014). Carbon accounting This is the process in whereby organizations report and account for the emission of carbon gases from greenhouses or any industry that involve the emission of gases to the environment. Carbon accounting gives organizations, companies or industries an opportunity to assess the efficiency of carbon and its exposure to the environment. Carbon accounting is achieved by the use of software and templates. Carbon accounting helps companies and industries in making effective and precise decisions relating to carbon. Carbon accounting is also used in sustainability accounting in an organization for profit gain. Carbon accounting is a necessary activity that must be carried out in green houses because of the amount of emissions to the atmosphere that take place. Carbon accounting can also be undertaken to gauge the amount of carbon that should not be released to the atmosphere by an organization. To achieve this, the organization will have to come up with mechanisms that would reduce the emissions and increase their consumption (ACCA, 2014). Carbon management in building Due to the changing weather conditions of the environment, it is advised the buildings should be kept at low carbon. To achieve a low carbon economy in buildings, energy performance in buildings should be improved. The maintenance of low carbon in buildings is not an easy task because it requires regular assessment of the levels of carbon in a building. To reduce the emission of carbon in buildings, people should adapt the use of low intensity lights and electronics. They should also reduce the time of consumption of energy which emits carbon to the house. Plants should be grown in various parts of the building to reduce the amount of carbon in the building (Rohinton, 2014). Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) This is a process which involves decision making in an organization and in the coming up with a policy. SEA ensures that environmental aspects are considered in a policy or program of an organization. SEA takes place before the implementation of a program in an organization. It is the first stage of integration of environmental assessment in the program or plan of an organization or company. An effective SEA requires q structure decision making framework. The framework helps in merging the environmental aspects into the activities of the organization and ensuring that it is practiced in the daily operations of an organization. The SEA process is based on evidence and involves the application of science in policy, program and plan making of an organization (Melnyk et al, 2003). SEA involves six major steps for it to be effective in an organization or company. The first step is screening which is the process of determining the need of a SEA in a program or plan of an organization. Once a need has been identified, scoping is carried out to determine the scope or range of the environmental aspects and issues that would be covered in the plan or program. Once the scope of the SEA has been identified, an environmental report is prepared. The report has information of the purpose of the SEA in the program and the issued that it will cover. After the report, consultations are carried out to know the ways in which the environmental issues will be dealt with. When the consultations are complete and decisions have been made, the environmental considerations are implemented in the program of the organization. An SEA statement is published and distributed to the public (EPA, 2014). Economic appraisal This involves the consideration of the costs incurred in the process of management of the environment as indicated in the program or plan of an organization. EA takes into account all the costs and benefits that would be achieved in the environmental assessment. It involves the calculation of the costs incurred in environmental management and the possible benefits that will come out of it. EA is a tool that enables decision making in an organization before an environmental assessment is implemented in a program or plan. There are three main activities that take place in economic appraisal. They involve cost benefit analysis, cost effectiveness analysis and scoring and weighting. The main goal of an economic appraisal in environmental management is to identify the monetary costs and value that come along with the various activities of ensuring environmental management in an organization, company or industry. It also aims at helping in decision making on the amount of money that will be located to taking care of environmental issues in an organization (Lee and George, 2014). Conclusion All of the activities mentioned above are important to be included as part of their programs for easy assessment of their impact on the environment. This will help reduce chances of pollution. Works cited ACCA. Carbon Accounting. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.climatechangecentre.uk/carbon-Acc.html Agol, Dorice, Agnieszka, Latawiec and Bernardo, Strassburg. Evaluating Impacts Of Development And Conservation Projects Using Sustainability Indicators. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. Vol 48(2): 1-9. 2014 Daniel, Tsoulfas. Aggregating and evaluating the results of different Environmental Impact. Assessment methods Ecological indicators. Vol 1(4):125-138. 2004 EPA. Strategic Environmental Assessments. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.epa.ie/monitoring-assessment/strategic-environmental-assessment.html Hitzschky Silviera. A proposed impact assessment method for genetically modified plants. Environmental Impact Assessment review. Vol 1(29):348-368. 2009 Lee, Norman and George, ‎Clive. Economic Appraisal In Environmental Assessments. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.dfni.gov.uk/environmental-assessment/economic-appraisal.htm Melnyk Steven., Robert Sroufe., and Roger, Calantone. Assessing The Impact Of Environmental Management Systems On Corporate And Environmental Performance. Journal Of Operations Management. Vol 21 (3): 329–51. 2003 Richard Becker. Environmental Statement Factsheet. London: The Woodland Trust. 2014 Rohinton Emmanuel. Carbon Management In Buildings Is Central To A Low Carbon Economy. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 2014. Sroufe, Robert. Effects Of Environmental Management Systems On Environmental Management Practices And Operations. Production And Operations Management. Vol 12(3): 416-431. 2003 Read More