Environmental Management and Sustainable Health - Assignment Example

Environmental Management and Sustainable Health Table of Contents Identification and critique: Sustainable Environmental Management practice which isaligned to the Wolverhampton Strategy aimed at benefiting human health 3 Identification, review and critique of one method to tackle climate change within the strategy 6 Critical discussion of sustainable development as defined by the strategy 9 Two recommendations to enhance the strategy in terms of Sustainability and Environmental Management 11 References 14 Identification and critique: Sustainable Environmental Management practice which is aligned to the Wolverhampton Strategy aimed at benefiting human health The Wolverhampton City Council has developed a plan for implementation of the practices of environmental management aimed at sustainable development of the health and well being of the society. In collaboration with the strategic local partnerships, the City Council of Wolverhampton has agreed to fulfil the objectives set out in the United Nation’s report on health and environment. It has been identified that the economy, society and the environment are interdependent and the holistic development of the society and health of its members is only possible through sustainable environmental management practices. It has, therefore, been asserted in the strategy of the Wolverhampton City Council that sustainable practices for managing the environment would be adopted with the aim of benefiting the health of people of the society which would also lead to the development of the economy. By sustainable practices, it is meant that the practices and measures for environmental development would be undertaken to meet the present needs without compromising on the ability of the people to fulfil the need of environmental management in future. The environmental management practices are in line with the strategies adopted by the Wolverhampton City Council for the period of 2008-26 which has also superseded the strategies adopted earlier in 2004. The practice of carbon management is one useful and sustainable approach for environment management that is aligned to the strategic implementation plan signed by the Wolverhampton City Council. The management of carbon-di-oxide emitted due to the activities of the council is essential to control the pollution and impacts of atmospheric changes on the health of human beings in the society. The measures for carbon management in the society are in line with the strategic priorities of the City Council which include encouragement, engagement and active contributions from individuals and enterprises for development of the community (Dernbach, 2002, p.48). The monitoring of the acceptable level of carbon-di-oxide in the air and enforcement of the measures for carbon management is only possible through responsible decisions and actions of the members of the society. The sustainable management of the carbon-di-oxide level in the air is only possible through strict governance of a capable and confident council. The Wolverhampton council has recognised that the sustainable management practice of controlling the level of carbon-di-oxide would lead to the achievement of a green economy. A green economy would have lesser dependence on fuel and would, therefore, empower the members of the community in tackling the scarcity of fuel (SULPHEY and SAFEER, 2014, p.73). This practice of environment management would lead to the protection and conservation of the environment on a sustainable basis. A green environment would help in securing a better future for the people of the community. A review and critique of the work done on sustainable environment management shows that out of the seventy-two activities listed as part of the environmental management program, ninety-five percent of the activities have either been completed or on the track of implementation in near future. The council has also allocated funds for activities identified with low carbon involvements. This step has been taken to motivate the individuals and enterprises to engage in low carbon activities that would in turn help to reduce the carbon levels in the atmosphere. An example is the allocation of funds by the council in the low carbon activities undertaken in the area of West Midlands. The Structural Investment Fund (EUSIF) and Black Country Strategic Economic Plan (BCSEP) have been formulated to aid the small and medium enterprises to engage in low carbon activities and thereby contribute in creating a green economy. This is a major step taken by the council towards implementation of sustainable environmental management practice and thereby reducing carbon level in air. Some of the other initiatives adopted by the council include allocation of funds by the council for recycling of wastes as well as regeneration of renewable energy. In order to undertake these activities, blocks have been constructed by the council in identified areas of the community. The implementation of the Aggresso system and multi-functional devices has been done in order to create awareness in the society for storing documents in electronic mode rather than on paper. A print campaign was held to create awareness for creating a green environment. In order to further strengthen the implementation of the environmental management approach on a sustainable basis, the Wolverhampton City Council has set up a team of employees of the council. In 2013-14, the Council has been effective in partnering with HCA in order to develop lands in the community. In 2014, a new director for business improvement has been appointed for supervision of business operations in the city following sustainable practices of environment management. This has resulted in setting up of sustainable business which is aligned to the strategy of Wolverhampton City Council. The Council is also supported by an advisory group which comprises of the council members. These council members review the activities on sustainable development of the environment in order to ensure that the targets for environment development are achieved within the stipulated time period of five years from 2013 to 2018. The designated council employees reports the pace of progress and development of the council activities on environmental management as part of the ongoing monitoring and review process. The activities on environmental management are reviewed on a quarterly basis and the same is reported annually to the advisory board of the council. Based on the report provided to the advisory group of the Wolverhampton City Council, further discussions are held for meeting the gaps and appropriate strategies are adopted for fulfilling the desired targets on pollution level, carbon management, environmental wastes and recycling, etc. All these measures together constitute a sustainable practice of controlling the carbon-di-oxide level and managing the environment which ultimately helps in meeting the strategic goals of Wolverhampton City Council to protect and benefit human health. Identification, review and critique of one method to tackle climate change within the strategy The plan of environment management by the Wolverhampton City Council also takes into account the aspect of climate change for ensuring sustainable development of the environment and the health of the society. The declaration on climate change was signed by the city council in 2006 and the same was agreed by the partnership board in the year of 2007. The implementation of strategies for controlling the climatic changes was started in 2009. The action plan for tackling the climate change in the community was taken up side by side with the strategies for setting up sustainable environment. The council articulated that without effective ways of tackling climate change it would not be possible to establish sustainable practices of environment management. With this view, the council has adopted the method of controlling carbon emissions and level of carbon-di-oxide in the environment in order to tackle climate change in the community (Friedman, 2003, p.84). The targets for reduction of carbon emission were set by taking the level of carbon emission in 2005 as the reference. The council has envisaged the reduction of carbon emission to the extent of 12% by the time of 2012 and to the extent of 26% by the time period of 2026. It has been reviewed that the reference figures for 2005 for calculation of the extent of reduction of carbon emission were not available and hence, the estimation for target achievement has been done with reference to a baseline figure for 2010. The action plan to tackle climate change has exceeded the targets for 2012 as it has been found that the level of carbon emissions have reduced to the extent of 14% from 2010 to 2012 as against the set target of 12%. This has been possible all the more due to the Carbon Reduction Commitment approach adopted by the city council. This has been set as a statutory requirement on an annual basis where all carbon emissions as a result of the activities of the city council are to be reported. In the first year, the council left the statutory requirement only to the extent of reporting. However, from the next financial year of 2011-12 the council has made it mandatory that a payment has to be made to the Department of Energy and Climate Change for the carbon emissions. This payment would be realized in the form of purchase of carbon allowances. This has helped the Wolverhampton City Council in keeping track of the carbon emissions produced in the environment. It was reported by the Wolverhampton City Council that the total amount of carbon emission from 2011 to 2012 is around 35012 tonnes of carbon-di-oxide. A critique of the results achieved, in controlling carbon emissions as a method to tackle climatic change, could be done by comparing the details of the work in the progress against the set agenda for achievement of target for 2026. In April, 2013 the council has aligned their initiatives for controlling climate change in collaboration with the local government which was further approved in May, 2013. The council has undertaken a study and produced a report to the advisory group on the uses and effects of renewable and low carbon energy sources. The suggestion for implementation of the action plan on encouraging use of renewable energy and low carbon energy sources have been mentioned in the report. The report produced to the advisory group also contains recommendations emphasizing the alignment of the council’s strategy of tackling climate with the proposed method of reducing carbon emissions in order to tackle climate change. The advisory group has looked into the recommendation of the green projects that have been proposed and individual green projects in the community are currently under consideration. In 2013, as part of the carbon reduction commitment the council has already adopted the method of reporting all forms of consumption of energy as well as carbon emissions. The payments towards carbon emissions are also monitored in order to keep track of the carbon emissions in the environment on an annual basis. The council is also ensuring the fact that centralised decisions on investment in buildings, estates, AIDA projects are implemented in order to implement the low carbon initiative in the community. The housing projects managed by the council are designed in a way that promotes energy efficiency. The homes would contain loft and cavity wall insulation and have less dependency on fuel. The street lights in the community have been designed to be energy efficient and this has been already accomplished as part of the Wolverhampton strategy. As a result of this, the council has been able to save around 750000 kwh of energy amounting to around 80000 pound sterling. The Affordable Warmth Strategy is delayed to some extent as the council could not yet finalise a model in which the strategy would be implemented. The green deal partnership is expected to come up with the support of the government through which energy efficiency in the domestic houses could be increased. The domestic houses in the hilly areas would contain external insulation in the walls that would in turn provide affordable warmth to the house owners. In June, 2013 in Passivhaus the council and the local government has conducted training programs in order to create awareness on the methods of low carbon investments in homes, street lights, heating and power generation in the community. In collaboration with the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, the council has spent around 1.3 million pound sterling for development of low carbon transport facilities like the Toucan road crossings, roads for cyclists and pedestrians, parking spaces for cyclists, etc. The council has also paid attention in engaging in low carbon transport facilities for journey of their staffs. A risk register is also being maintained for the adverse conditions created due to the climatic changes. The risk register would help in reacting to risk prone events on priority basis under the supervision of the council (Clini, Musu and Gullino, 2010, p.93). Thus, from the above review it could be said that the Wolverhampton council has been effective in implementing the method of reducing carbon emissions in order to tackle climatic changes and also put in place emergency plans to tackle risky incidents as a result of climatic changes. Critical discussion of sustainable development as defined by the strategy The concept of sustainable development has been explained in the strategy adopted by the Wolverhampton City Council and its local strategic partners. Sustainable development of environment explains ways that could be adopted in order to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the people to meet their future needs. Sustainable development of the environment is only possible through the joint efforts on social, economic and environmental management as they are interconnected. In order to establish sustainable practices for environmental management, the Wolverhampton city council has adopted an action plan which emphasizes on the methods of controlling carbon emission, tackling climatic changes and an emergency plan to tackle risky incidents in case of environmental disorder. The targets set for implementation of the plan have been set keeping in mind the expectation from the society and the economy. As explained in the strategy the sustainable development of the environment could only be achieved with the spread of awareness among the members of the society and successful integration of the sustainability measures with the aspect of a green economy. In line with the local government’s green deal initiative, the Wolverhampton City Council has set up the strategy of tackling climatic changes that leads to the sustainability of the environment development in the long run. The council has set up a team of members who would contact the households and businesses in order to implement its initiatives on improving the energy efficiency of the economy. As per the strategy of the council, the four key priority areas for sustainable development are the economy, climate change, people and the environment. The council has looked to establish a green economy which would be beneficial for the health of human beings. The green economy has been envisaged with the initiatives of recycling of waste products, greater use of renewable energy and investment in low carbon products (Laboy-Nieves, Schaffner, Abdelhadi and Goosen, 2008, p.68). The strategic action plan of reducing carbon emissions in the environment would not only restore healthy conditions for business and households at present but would also not exhaust natural resources required for sustainability of future generations. The city council of Wolverhampton has also emphasized on tackling climate changes with the efforts of reducing carbon-di-oxide level in the environment. The impact of climatic changes may lead to acid rain, floods and other natural disasters that is likely to hamper sustainable development of the society and economy. In order to prevent such adverse incidents, the council has aligned strategies with the initiatives of the local government. This has helped in increasing the energy efficiency of the economy and decreasing the dependence of the households on the fuel resources. The support provided to engage in low carbon investments by the small and medium enterprises, energy efficient street lighting, transport arrangements involving low carbon emissions has been effective in controlling climatic changes in the long run. The council has also maintained a risk register to keep track of risky incidents that could take place as a result of climate changes. Prompt remedial actions enforced by the Wolverhampton City Council has been planned to continue the flow of sustainable development of the environment and economy. The inclusion of the people of the society as part of the strategic action plan of the Wolverhampton City Council has led to the sustainability of the environmental development. The council has identified the members of society who are physically and mentally disabled. This has led to overall participation of the community through strategic partnership with the council. Thus the council was able to implement its action plan with whole hearted participation and awareness of the society. Finally, the aim of sustainable environment management has been focussed through implementation of measures like the reduction of wastes, reduction of the level of carbon-di-oxide, management of drainage and sewage systems, low carbon investments in houses, low carbon transport and use of renewable energy. All these strategic implementation of measures by the Wolverhampton City Council has led to the achievement of the targets set for environmental management as of 2012 and is well on course towards achieving the target of reducing carbon emission by 26% in 2026. This would only be possible through sustainable development of the environment, society and the economy over a period of time. Two recommendations to enhance the strategy in terms of Sustainability and Environmental Management From the report of the UN World Commission and the strategic action plans adopted by the Wolverhampton City Council, it has been found that the initiatives for sustainable development through environmental management practices have been beneficial for the health of mankind in the society. The strategic action plans for creating a green economy has led to the development of the economy. The dependency on fuel resources have been reduced and use of renewable sources of energy ensured that level of carbon emissions and environmental degradation has been controlled. In line with the progress of the work being done as per the strategic action plan of the Wolverhampton City Council, the following could be recommended in order to enhance the strategy for attaining sustainability in environmental development. The practices for environmental management and development that have been implemented as per the strategy of Wolverhampton City Council need to be monitored and reviewed for enforcement and taking remedial actions where necessary. Although the Carbon Reduction Commitment is a step towards monitoring the level of carbon emissions, further enhancements in the commitment are recommended for the council so that necessary actions could be taken when the emission cross the threshold mark set as per the targets. The enhancement could be explained in details as follows. At present the carbon emissions are tracked by the Department of Energy and Climate Change through the amounts paid in lieu of carbon purchases and total amount of carbon purchases for the year is calculated. Going forward, these amounts paid towards carbon purchases by the businesses and individuals should be classified into separate files (Schaltegger, Bennett, Burritt and Jasch, 2008, p.125). The threshold for separate entities needs to be fixed in a way that the overall target for yearly carbon reduction is met. As soon as the carbon emission by any of the entity crosses the threshold value fixed by the council, the business entity or individual would be cautioned and the excess amount of carbon consumed by the entity would be adjusted in the next year. Similarly, the entities that have been able to control the emission levels as per the benchmark set by the council would be rewarded with social recognitions that would lead to enhancement of their goodwill for being a socially responsible citizen. This enhancement in the Carbon Reduction Commitment would not only allow the council to check the total carbon emission within the allowable limits but also identify the entities and the households which require caution for controlling their carbon emissions. Therefore, apart from the overall monitoring of the level of carbon-di-oxide level in the environment, case by case monitoring of entities and households is extremely important for achieving sustainable development of environment management practices in the long run. The second recommendation for enhancement of strategic action plan for environment management and sustainability would be to adopt the best practices of achieving energy efficiency in the economy through innovative ways of using renewable sources of energy and reducing the dependency on fuel resources. The involvement in the low carbon investments would help in attaining the long term targets of reducing carbon emissions in the environment. Similar to the ideas adopted from EU AIDA housing projects containing low carbon investments, the Wolverhampton City Council would need to find more such innovative ways in which the use of fuel could be reduced in generating heat, electricity and power. An example of enhancement this strategy includes offering discounts for purchase of machines and tools driven by solar power. Instead of motor driven vehicles, low price battery driven vehicles could be launched in the market. The council could look to engage in strategic partnerships with the local self help groups. The inclusion of the self help groups in this initiative would add a strong dimension in terms of establishing a holistic approach and creating social awareness for attaining sustainable development (Dyball and Keen, 2012, p.57). The recommendation of this approach is to include all sections of the society and at the same time develop new and innovative ways that would help in achieving the target of achieving sustainable environmental development in the targeted period of time. References Laboy-Nieves, E., Schaffner, F., Abdelhadi, A. and Goosen, M. 2008. Environmental Management, Sustainable Development and Human Health. New York: CRC Press. Schaltegger, S., Bennett, M., Burritt, R. and Jasch, C. 2008. Environmental Management Accounting for Cleaner Production. New Jersey: Springer Science & Business Media. Dernbach, J. 2002. Stumbling Toward Sustainability. New York: Environmental Law Institute. Clini, C., Musu, I. and Gullino, M. 2010. Sustainable Development and Environmental Management: Experiences and Case Studies. New Jersey: Springer Science & Business Media. Friedman, F. 2003. Practical Guide to Environmental Management. New York: Environmental Law Institute. SULPHEY, M. and SAFEER, M. 2014. INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT. New York: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Dyball, R. and Keen, M. 2012. Social Learning in Environmental Management: Towards a Sustainable Future. New York: Taylor & Francis. Read More