Environmental Management and Assessment - Research Paper Example

Environmental Management and Assessment Environmental management system (EMS) is a key component of any firm or company before getting its licence for establishment (Richard Welford, 1998). An EMS is a formal and organized system for managing the environmental footprint of any company or organization. It is a flexible process that changes according to the establishment of new technology and new operations. It is necessary for companies to get certification from the authenticated agencies for maintaining EMS (Christopher Sheldon and Mark Yoxon, 2006). The present study deals with the critical analysis of the EMS specific to Alcan Smelting and Power Ltd., The United Kingdom. The EMS can also adapt to changes affecting the organization related to new regulations from time to time. Several categories of environmental standards are now regarded as representative of safe EMS options. However, at global level, ISO 140001 is considered as most efficient and reputed and is highly acceptable by majority. Established in the year 1996, the ISO14000 series of standards provides not only a specification but guidance and advice on a wide range of environmental issues including auditing, labeling and life-cycle assessment. The effectiveness of existing EMS in the said company would be examined under this study. EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is also considered as most reputed one for EMS specifications at the European level (M.S.Wenk, 2005). This was introduced by a European Union council regulation (No.1836/93), making it mandatory in implementation in all European Union Member States. Though it is mandatory in all EU Countries, at present, it is a voluntary scheme for individual companies. 1: International Organization for standardization. Management standards. http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/management_standards.htm. Accessed on 19th April, 2009. The main objective of the present study is to prioritize a programme of environmental action designed to protect, and to continuously improve, its environmental performance. All of the EMS standards stress the need for continuous, never ending, improvement in striving to protect the environment, by reducing the extent and magnitude of environmental pollution. In nutshell, the aim of the EMS standards is to provide safe environment to our future generations and in that process facilitate sustainable development. The present essay describes the status of business activites and environmental management systems in Alcan Smelting and Power Ltd., The United Kingdom. It also discusses the main management systems like energy, water quality management etc. for its effective management of environment in future. It also provides vital information on recommendations for Alcan Smelting and Power Ltd., The United Kingdom for best EMS in future. Company Aspects Name of the company selected for case study: Alcan Smelting and Power Ltd., The United Kingdom. Its main units are located in Fort William and Ashington, Northemberland, United Kingdom. Nature of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd. This is a major giant in aluminum production. It also supplies bauxite, alumina and engineered and packaged products at global level. Alcan Ltd.has some 68,000 employees, including its joint ventures, in 61 countries and regions2. With its head office in Montreal, Canada, Alcan is a public company traded on the Toronto, New York, London, Paris and Swiss stock exchanges with 2006 revenues of $23.6 billion. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK is one of the main companies under Alcan Ltd. that operates in United Kingdom. The main business areas and products (goods or services) dealt by Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd. Alcan Smelting and Power Ltd., UK deals with the global supply of bauxite, alumina, aluminum and engineered and packaged commodities. It is also involved in AP technology (the most complete power-to-product aluminum smelting solution in the world), Anodes (used for the electrolysis process by which aluminium is extracted from ore), transportation materials (Materials delivery, design and manufacture of various vehicle components and modules), pharmaceuticals (Sourcing, manufacturing, design and mass production), food packaging materials 2: Alcan. Innovative aluminum and packaging solutions worldwide.http://www.alcan.com/web/publishing.nsf/content/About+Alcan+Home. Accessed on 19th April, 2009. (Printed and coated plastics and cellulose films, papers and aluminum foil), Extrusion billet, foundry ingot, rotor ingot, remelt ingot, cables (Aluminum cable, rod and strip products), aerospace products (Metallurgy, plate, alloy and casting), Aluminum composite material, balsa core materials and structural foam, Fused aluminas, tabular aluminas and calcined aluminas and aluminum hydroxides. The company business information available to diagnose the existing position regarding the development of an EMS? The environmental pollution is caused by different ways while executing the business activities of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK. It may be in following ways: a. As it is also involved in AP technology, several hazardous chemicals get mixed in the atmosphere and water which requires to be controlled according to latest EMS standards. b. Air, soil and water pollution is resulted due to the electrolysis process by which aluminium is extracted from bauxite ore, and hence it requires adherence to current permissible limits of pollutants according to ISO 14000. c. The manufacture of transportation materials and various vehicle components and modules involves emission of dangerous pollutants like nitrous oxide and hence requires strict implementation of EMS. d. The water and air pollution caused by manufacture of pharmaceuticals is enormous and requires thorough checking. e. The preparation of food packaging materials like printed and coated plastics and cellulose films and papers and aluminum foil releases some considerable amount of pollutants and their intensity should be with in permissible limits of best EMS in the world. f. In addition, several good number of pollutants are released both in to air and water during manufacture of cables (Aluminum cable, rod and strip products), aerospace products (Metallurgy, plate, alloy and casting) and Aluminum composite material, balsa core materials and structural foam. Strong implementation of EMS is necessary to regulate the production of these above mentioned products. 2. Key Issues and Information Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK Strives hard for manufacture of alumina products, cable, engineering, packaged, aerospace and pharmaceutical products with increased productivity, competitiveness and profitability to customers around the world. At the same time, it should strive well for attaining the status of eco-friendly organization at global levels. This necessitates the company to implement EMS at most accurate level. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK registered it self under British Standards Institution (BSI) for implementation of EMS. It should also make strong efforts to meet the specifications of ISO 14000 series. Another major concern is that non compliance with the latest EMS standards may debar the company from registered companies under new environmental legislations of UK (Susan Wolf and Neil Stanley, 2003). Hence it is very urgent necessity to follow the regulations and EMS standards efficiently and accurately to make sustainable development plan operative. This requires an integrated approach. As Alcan Ltd. is involved in manufacture of diversified products like Alumina to aerospace products, the nature of pollutants vary significantly. Accordingly, the management of these pollutants also requires a different approach in separate phases. This necessitates Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK to implement a balanced approach between market demands and environmental standards. This certainly facilitates powerful synergy of its skilled people, its market-driven solutions, its advanced technology and its proven commitment to sustainable value creation. Critical evaluation of existing environmental policies Existing management systems of the company have to be refined considerably For example, the Alcan Integrated Management System (AIMS) enables the Company to share best practices and tools for improvement, and creates sustainable competitive advantages. Selected as a “Super-Sector Leader” on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in 2005, Alcan Ltd. seeks to balance its economic, environmental and social responsibilities everywhere it operates. Another important focus is on developing strong leaders and empowering employees, the driving force behind Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd’s innovative solutions and services, and its ability to anticipate and meet customers’ changing requirements. It is heartening to note that Alcan Smelting and Power UK achieved the highest possible ranking in the publication the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency’s (EA) annual publication “Spotlight on Business - Environmental Performance 2004” for its ongoing efforts to minimise its environmental impact3. Analysis of six main environmental management issues in which environmental targets will be required and their justification Emphasis must be given to some key areas of environmental management so that Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK Wouldn’t face any problem related to legal provisions of environmental safety. As the areas of operation of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK are highly diversified, the nature of management techniques also would vary accordingly. In short, this necessitates the successful implementation of integrated environmental management approach by effective and combined management of following key elements. The major objective of sustainability can be achieved by Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK which automatically 3: UK Environment Agency Recognizes Alcan For Outstanding Performance. Dated 23rd August, 2005. http://www.alcan.com/web/publishing.nsf/Content/UK+Environment+Agency+Recognizes+Alcan+For+Outstanding+Performance. removes geographic or business group boundaries. This also facilitates a cohesive and forward-looking global strategy to address environmental issues. Let us analyse the issues one by one as follows: 1. Energy Energy is a significant industrial input for Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd’s operations, especially in its Bauxite and Alumina and Primary Metal groups and it certainly involves release of considerable amount of pollutants. In addition to concentrate on development of cost effective technology, Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK should emphasise on environment friendly measures. While formulating any company energy strategies in future, a sustainable energy management must be kept in mind. 2. Climate Change The negative impact of industrial sector on global warming and other climate change related parameters is already well established. Hence the negative impact caused by Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK due to its mining and other engineering activities must be minimzed. All the recent EMS standards fixed the specification criteria based on climate change in consideration. Hence Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK Must give highest priority to this area for environmental safety. 3. Natural Resource Management Maintaining the balance between natural resources while converting inputs to outputs, would certainly facilitate higher eco-preservation and reduce environmental pollution. Hence, Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK must have a separate department of Natural resource management which would concentrate on development of eco-friendly technology. 4. Water quality management EMS standards ensure the industrial development with out hampering the environment at large and water quality in particular. Several pollutants may be added to surroundings due to the waste water release from Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK. Hence, Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK should focus on water treatment plants for effective environmental safety. The cultivation of some aquatic weeds which detoxify and purify the waste water may be recommended for Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK. Some aquatic weeds like water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) help in detoxification of waste water by reducing the levels of toxic elements like mercury, copper and lead . This is because environmental management is a wholesome process, it cannot be achieved in segregated manner. Hence, the major objective of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK should be encouragement of water quality and safe disposal of industrially treated waste water surrounding its plant in the most effective manner. 5. Environmental releases and Welfare of employees and people As mentioned earlier, the diversified nature of manufacturing activities of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK, different toxic metals would be released in to soil, air and water. Hence effective EMS should concentrate on welfare and safety of employees and other people who live in nearby areas. 6. Innovation and product management As the new challenges related to environment management crop up from time to time, there is a necessity to develop innovative and most promising technology by Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK. At the same time, the product should not result in environmental pollution because of its toxicity. To meet the new standards of EMS, efforts must be made at Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK to develop eco-friendly and easily bio-degradable products in future. 3. EMS Critical Appraisal Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK must select best EMS option depending upon the location of the plant and emergency of the operations. Critical analysis of three possible options of EMS like adhoc, home grown and externally verified categories is required for effective environmental management of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK. In areas of emergency, adhoc EMS option is best. In case of several locally related activities, home grown EMS options would play vital role. However, when Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK has to apply environmental standards to its branches located through out the world, externally verified EMS has more relevance. Hence all these three EMS options are equally important. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK has been giving equal importance to all the three EMS options. However, as the operations of Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK are mainly confined to UK, it is strategic to give more emphasis to home grown EMS. 4. Recommendations for the company Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK First of all, making a balance among economic, social and environmental well-being of the communities and building a successful, global and sustainable development should be the key objective for Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK. This is possible with following recommendations. With out proper EMS, no organization can survive in long run. Rather, an organization will have to face legal hurdles if efficient EMS is not given importance (Stuart Bell and Donald Mc Gillivray, 2005). Hence, strict adherence to legal provisions related to recent norms of EMS is recommended for Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd, UK though it has already initiated efforts to implement some measures. (Brenda Short, 2003). It is highly recommended that Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK should have a separate cell on EMS. It may be suggested that planning of environmental friendly practices must be done while formulating new projects in future. Strict adherence to environmental rules and regulations in UK is of paramount importance. It is also recommended for Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK to develop awareness about new rules and regulations of UK environmental legislation. It should learn lessons from its past experiences in the form of legal challenges. The European commission recently complained about pollution caused by coal-fired plant of Alcan Ltd. located at Linemouth, UK (Peter Mc Cusker, 2009). The European Commission claimed that the level of pollutants released by power plant of Alcan ltd. didn’t come down which come under breach of its operating licence. Hence, it is recommended that Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK must safeguard in future to reduce its level of pollutants, otherwise, there is a danger for its closure of power units. It is also suggested to define the long term and short term objectives clearly and strive for their successful implementation. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK is also recommended to develop coordination among other companies working on similar products and concentrate on supply chain management. Fix the role and responsibility of individual functionary and monitor the same from time to time. Time to time training exposure of all the staff members on environment management and legal aspects would be critical in deciding the success of EMS (R.Therivel et al., 2005). For expansion of future activities at Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK, the company has to plan for the efficient environmental management systems from the planning stage itself to reduce the environmental pollution by its activities (Timothy O’Riordan, 1999). Cost effective and environment friendly technology must be designed and sufficient research efforts must be done for achieving the same. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK should give highest priority to environmental safe machinery and processing facilities which wouldn’t result in significant climate change. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK must have a specialized wing for evolving ideal natural resource utilization for production of eco-friendly commodities. An ideal EMS should be transparent both with in and out side the organization.  Hence, Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK, should make efforts to make its policies highly transparent as far as the management of environmental systems is concerned. Moreover, EMS benefits each activity of an organization by making it more efficient because new technology with environmental friendly nature is always expected to be highly efficient in terms of output also. Therefore, it is recommended that Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK must update its technology sticking to both home grown and externally verified EMS. Collective and wholeheartedness is the key for generation of environment friendly technology and hence Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK must provide harmonious and motivating environment among employees to achieve this target. Effective detoxification units must be installed which will meet the specifications of ISO 14000 and safety of employees and other people would be ensured. Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK should develop innovative and promising technology that result in less environmental pollution and toxicity. Conclusion Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK would certainly build a successful global enterprise that is compatible with the economic, social and environmental well-being of the communities in its areas of operation by following the recommendations on EMS suggested above. With the development of new strategies on EMS, The Company would develop beneficial products by combating environmental degradation, conserving natural resources including water quality management and ensuring safe workplaces for its employees. Overall, Alcan Smelting & Power Ltd., UK would develop a master plan which meets legal provisions and regulations related to environment and leads to sustainable development. References Brenda Short. (2003). Environmental law (Nutshells). Sweet & Maxwell publication. P:176. ISBN-10: 0421797908. Christopher Sheldon and Mark Yoxon. (2006). Environmental Management Systems: A Step by Step Guide to Implementation and Maintenance. Earthscan ltd. publication. P:294. ISBN-10: 1844072576. M.S.Wenk. (2005). The European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Eco-efficiency in industry and science series. Vol 16. IX. P:278. Peter Mc Cusker. (2009). Alcan future threatened by Euro pollution laws. The Journal. Dated 21st january 2009. R.Therivel, John Glossan and Andrew Chadwick. (2005). Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment (Natural & Built Environment). Routledge publication. P:448. ISBN-10: 0415338379. Richard Welford. (1998). Corporate Environmental Management: Systems and Strategies v. 1. Earthscan ltd. publication. P:288. ISBN-10: 1853835595. Stuart Bell and Donald Mc Gillivray. (2005). Environmental law. OUP Oxford publication. P:978. ISBN-10: 0199260567. Susan Wolf and Neil Stanley. (2003). Environmental law (Cavendish principles of law series). Routledge Cavendish publication. P:576. ISBN-10: 1859418325. Timothy O’Riordan. (1999). Environmental Science for Environmental Management. Longman publication. P:544. ISBN-10: 0582356334. Read More