The Development of Environmental Management Systems - Term Paper Example

PART B (40% of the work requirement) For Part B you are required to write an essay in response to the following question: “Environmental law has led the development of environmental management systems (and environmental auditing in particular).” Discuss. Your essay needs to: analyse the relationship between the rise of environmental law and the development of environmental auditing describe two or three specific environmental law requirements and how they impose environmental management type requirements (e.g. environmental record keeping and performance and impact review) include illustration of how particular industries or businesses have adapted to the rise of such compliance requirements consider whether there are any disadvantages to environmental auditing being influenced by concerns about legal compliance Word limit: 1500 words Your essay must be typed and all sources must be referenced. Hand in Date: 11th August 2011, 16.00 (generic resit CW submission date!) Marked work to be returned: To be negotiated Environmental law builds on reform movements from the early part of the 20th Century, including consumer protection and industry regulation legislation that was enacted through the House of Commons in the protection of the public welfare and safety of workers. As public awareness and understanding of the danger to the natural environment from pollution and waste produced by industry grew, more and more people began to organize into advocacy groups and political change or reform movements to affect public policy. Domestic law was the early vehicle for these reform movements and legislative changes produced in this manner became part of the common law tradition that would be enforceable in court with damages or penalties. As the role of governmental authority in policing and regulating industry on environmental concerns became more prevalent, official environmental protection and monitoring bodies were organized on the national level as industry watchdogs. With the rise of this legislation and associated governmental agencies in environmental protection, the requirements for the consumer, business, and industry to abide by environmental regulations led to the development of testing and auditing procedures that would guarantee compliance over large sectors of the economy. This can be seen in automotive emissions requirements and fuel conservation requirements in cars, trucks, and other vehicles; in pollution emissions testing requirements for factories in the energy industry and industrial production; clean water and anti-pollution requirements for companies; as well as in modern movements to initiate a global carbon trading regime based on carbon-credits and a business’ fundamental carbon footprint calculated through use of fossil fuels in all aspects of production. These developments highlight how environmental protection legislation has moved from national law to become a major aspect of international business through treaties, multi-national accords, GATT negotiations, the WTO, etc. Nationally in the UK, there are two main sources of modern environmental law, the 1974 Control of Pollution Act and the Environmental Protection Act of 1990. The 1974 CPA prohibited the dumping of waste material, sewage, and other pollution in public land, rivers, and oceans, “where— (a) the waste in question is of a kind which is poisonous, noxious or polluting; and (b) its presence on the land is likely to give rise to an environmental hazard; and (c) it is deposited on the land in such circumstances or for such a period that whoever deposited it there may reasonably be assumed to have abandoned it there or to have brought it there for the purpose of its being disposed of (whether by himself or others) as waste, shall, subject to the following subsection, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding £400 or both or, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine or both.” (Legislation.gov.uk, 2011) The inevitable consequence of the passage of this act was to begin the requirement of environmental testing for private industry, as required to be in accordance with the law, and also in government, in order to monitor the compliance of industry with the law. With the increased testing and monitoring of industrial production facilities for pollution or other chemicals that might be harmful to workers, consumers, or the environment, there was developed additionally the auditing and bookkeeping methodology both in private industry and governance that tabulated and recorded the results of testing for official records. These auditing records could be used by industry on one hand to prove their compliance with national environmental law. As the focus of the law itself broadened, for example to automobile and commercial transportation emissions, this auditing and monitoring facility was broadly expanded to operate across entire sectors of industry. For example, in the Environmental Protection Act of 1990, the emissions testing requirements are broadly established in section 3 where it states: “3. Emission etc. limits and quality objectives. (1) The Secretary of State may make regulations under subsection (2) or (4) below establishing standards, objectives or requirements in relation to particular prescribed processes or particular substances. (2) Regulations under this subsection may— (a) in relation to releases of any substance from prescribed processes into any environmental medium, prescribe standard limits for— (i) the concentration, the amount or the amount in any period of that substance which may be so released; and (ii) any other characteristic of that substance in any circumstances in which it may be so released; (b) prescribe standard requirements for the measurement or analysis of, or of releases of, substances for which limits have been set under paragraph (a) above; and (c) in relation to any prescribed process, prescribe standards or requirements as to any aspect of the process.” (Legislation.gov.uk, 2011) Furthermore, in section 5 of this clause of the EPA, it also establishes that: “(5) The Secretary of State may make plans for— (a) establishing limits for the total amount, or the total amount in any period, of any substance which may be released into the environment in, or in any area within, the United Kingdom; (b) allocating quotas as respects the release of substances to persons carrying on processes in respect of which any such limit is established; (c) establishing limits of the descriptions specified in subsection (2)(a) above so as progressively to reduce pollution of the environment; (d) the progressive improvement in the quality objectives and quality standards established by regulations under subsection (4) above;” (Legislation.gov.uk, 2011) From this it is evident that the initial impetuous for developing an environmental monitoring and testing regime developed from consumer protection laws and industry regulation, leading to the passage of the 1974 Control of Pollution Act during the beginnings of the international environmental protection movement and further developing as people became more aware and concerned about these issues. The Environmental Protection Act of 1990 is the widest treatment of these problems in public law in the UK currently, and through this legislation the requirements for testing in air, water, soil, and emissions are established. This is important, for even when environmental issues and standards are advocated and enshrined in international law, the latter rarely includes funding for testing and verification or a means of enforcing environmental standards outside of the institutions of a sovereign national state. This places the burden of enforcement on the UK government in environmental law, and makes the 1974 CPA and 1990 EPA the primary legal references for authorities. These laws further led to the establishment of governmental agencies such as those noted in class lectures (PPT, 2011): Waste Authorities (1972) HM Inspectorate of Pollution (1984) National Rivers Authority (1990) Environment Agency (1995) In private industry, this has also led to a responsibility for environmental testing and monitoring, as well as accounting and auditing facilities, in transportation where auto and truck emissions must be tested on a regular basis in order to receive certification that the vehicles are operating within legal emissions limits for pollution. In manufacturing, companies must test internally the waste water and products that are disposed of in landfills before releasing the waste elements into the environment. Otherwise, the company may face legal culpability under the aforesaid mentioned legislation if proof of the waste emanating from the business premises is proved by government regulators in courts. The public perception of environmental consciousness has become increasingly important in modern society, but it cannot alone drive the regulation and enforcement of industry to environmental regulations under current standards. Independent environmental protection groups operating as NGOs, activist organizations, or consumer protection and advocacy may represent an important countermeasure to trust in government EPA authorities for enforcement in industry, but this has not developed into a credible alternative to governmental regulation at the current time due to funding and reliability concerns. Under the current legal environment, private industry is required to comply with EPA and CPA regulation, in addition to the international law that the UK government has agreed to through treaties, participation in organizations such as the EU, UN, WTO, etc. Private industry must test, audit, and regulate itself internally or risk being found in violation of anti-pollution or emissions law. While Food and Drug protection often operates alongside of EPA regulations, the assumption in current practice is that government is the watchdog and protector for the consumer and citizen, and it is upon their advocacy that the environmental legislation is enacted and enforced. In equipping the government with this task, there is a further need for private watchdog groups acting on an activist basis but grounded in academic consensus to test, regulate, and benchmark the EPA’s own testing, auditing, and monitoring of industry. Without an independent network of watchdog groups operating to verify government regulators, there may be problems with oversight, selective prosecution, corruption, bribes, preferential treatment to industry, etc. that all lead to environmental regulations being sidelined. The independent groups must not only verify the environmental testing results from private industry and government regulators, but also keep pressure on public policy by advancing new issues related to environmental protection into public law. Sources Cited Legislation.gov.uk (2011). Control of Pollution Act 1974. The National Archives. Web. Viewed 07/14/2011. Legislation.gov.uk (2011). Environmental Protection Act 1990. The National Archives. Web. Viewed 07/14/2011. Word Count: 1505 Read More