Ensuring Proper Management of the Environmental Resources within a Community - Case Study Example

Environmental Management Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Environmental Management Several environmental occurrences in recent times have prompted an upsurge of public interest in environmental policies. Climate change, change in disease patterns, global warming, frequent flooding, and adverse weather conditions have made public to become increasingly aware of the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the environment. As a result, they have started demanding for more environment-friendly practices and policies from the government and organizations. In turn, Sullivan and Wyndham (2001) observe that organizations and governments have turned to environmental management as the most effective way to bring their policies and activities at par with interests of the public. Today, there are many environmental regulatory frameworks and management systems in place both locally and internationally to combat effects of human activities on environmental resources and endowments. This report explores various aspect of environmental management, including the meaning and significance of the concept, environmental management systems (EMS), international environmental concerns, regulatory frameworks, and new technologies and approaches to environmental management. Environmental Management and EMS Environmental Management According to (Barrow 1999, p.18), environmental management refers to “an approach to environmental stewardship which integrates ecology, policymaking, planning, and social development.” The definition demonstrates that the concept represent a wide range of collective and individual decisions by individuals, groups, and companies that lead or aim to ensure proper management of the environmental resources within a community. Therefore, the management extends to encompass resources like air, water, land, biodiversity, and other natural resources. Moreover, environmental management occurs through major stages: identification of goals, evaluation of the feasibility of the goals, and development and implementation of the means to achieve the goals. Achieving the first component is not easy because different individuals, organizations, or groups have different needs and preferences. Some individuals may have needs that harm other individuals or groups and the environment, and needs change with time. As such, sustainable development requires swapping between today’s development and gratification to make sure a better future. Thus, environmental managers need to identify objectives that balance the needs or interests of different parties. Among others, such goals may include identifying opportunities, preventing and resolving environmental issues, maintaining and enhancing existing environmental resources, and establishing new and useful technologies and approaches. Attaining the other two components demands an interplay of ecology, legislations, economics, individuals, and politics in order to ensure sustainable development. Like the other component, balancing these factors is quite difficult because sustaining one factor may affect the others. At many occasions, the balancing requires multilevel efforts at local, regional, and international levels. EMS An EMS refers to a group of interrelated activities (for example, planning activities, procedures, resources, practices, and others) applied in developing and implementing environmental policies and managing environmental issues. Such activities may be related to public and private organizations, corporations, institutions, and other entities that have public responsibilities. In this context, EMS can be regarded as an environmental framework that guides an organization in developing and implementing environmental policies as well as in ensuring that together with its stakeholders, the organizations abides by the policies. The policies are declarations by the organizations concerning their dedication to continuous ecological performance that conforms to legal and environmental regulations. Classical examples of EMS include the BS 7750 and the ISO 14000 Series (Edwards 2004). BS 7750 represented the first EMS standard to be used in UK for environmental management in organizations. It resulted from the concern over environmental damages and threats presented by operations and practices of organizations. Its design and operation resembles those of BS 5750, which was developed to control the quality of goods produced by companies. It sets out guidelines or standards on which organizations to develop EMSs and evaluate their environmental performance. In particular, it requires organizations to establish environmental policies outlining their activities to the employees and the public. Developed by the International Standards Organizations (ISO), ISO 14000 series remains the most widely used and international recognized EMS framework (Edwards 2004). Although there are various standards within the series, ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 are the ones that emphasize on EMS. While the 14001 standard establishes the basic framework of EMS, 14004 establishes the relevant or the appropriate guidelines. The most significant feature of ISO 14001 regards identification of components of the EMS that can be evaluated and certified autonomously. However, adoption of the standard by countries or organizations is voluntary and compliance does not necessarily imply an enhanced environmental management. It requires organizations to commit their environmental efforts towards sustainable prevention of pollution and dedicate the efforts towards conforming to appropriate environmental laws and policies. International Environmental Concerns Environmental management grew out of the concern to address various environmental issues that have been affecting the globe since the industrial revolution. Prior to this era, it was believed that majority of ecological processes, including the greenhouse effect and global warming occurred naturally. Natural greenhouse effect refers to the interaction between atmosphere and surface of earth to absorb, transfer, and radiate energy in form of heat, cycling it through the space and back to the surface. The phenomenon plays an important role in regulating the temperature of the earth for survival of natural biodiversity and humans. However, industrial revolution brought about a wide range of gases that over the years have enhanced the greenhouse effect. Man’s activities, including extensive of fossil fuels, destruction of forests for settlement and agriculture, and ineffective disposal of wastes have increased the rate of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. In effect, these gases have negatively affected the natural greenhouse effect by preventing the cycling of sun’s energy between the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. For example, increased burning of fossil fuels has been increasing carbon dioxide footprint in the atmosphere. These gases are known to absorb or reflect radiated sun’s energy back to the Earth’s surface, thereby increasing the temperature of the surface. Other gases, such as chloro-flourocarbons (CFCs), react with the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light to release chlorine, which then attacks stratospheric ozone molecules ((Silver 2008). This process reduces the number of ozone molecules in the stratosphere (deplete), where they act as GHG preventing UV radiation from reaching the earth’s surface. Such ozone depletion presents a growing international concern, as scientists warn that it will allow more UV radiation to reach the Earth’s surface, which will create a catastrophic human health effect of skin burns. Moreover, the two processes (enhanced green house effect and the ozone depletion) combine to enhance warming of the globe. Global warming refers to the rise of the average temperature of the Earth, primarily because of the enhanced greenhouse effect and the ozone depletion. It has because a global environmental concern because scientists argue that in the next few years, the temperature will increase by about 40C. It is further believed that the warming will produce erratic climatic changes, which are being witnessed in various parts of the world. Because of the enhanced temperatures, ice in Polar Regions will melt and sea level will rise. This will lead to flooding and submergence of islands and regions close to lakes and oceans. Moreover, some of the adverse climatic changes have already started to occur. As Silver (2004) argues, the warming enhances the hydrological cycle because the high temperatures evaporate waters from water bodies, which then fall back as rain. Scientists have linked these changes in hydrological cycle with flooding being witnessed in various parts of the globe, including the one that occurred in Sheffield in 2007. In other places, the increased temperatures will be responsible for frequent and adverse droughts, as it is being witnessed in some parts of the Horn of Africa. Besides loss of biodiversity, such impacts will have adverse effects of health of human beings. Scientists believe that the erratic climatic changes will cause change in disease patterns. Some diseases, such as Malaria (prevalent in temperate regions) will shift to affect people in regions that were believed to be cooler. In addition, the economic consequences of such impacts will be substantial, as flooding, diseases, and drought will consume considerable amount of resources. Regulatory Frameworks Due to the need for effective environment management, governments and intergovernmental environmental agencies have developed and implemented various legislations. For example, in UK, there are various environmental legislations and regulations aiming to guide organizations to develop effective environmental policies. A good example includes the National Emissions Reduction Plan (NERP) that establishes the levels of sulphur dioxide and compounds of nitrogen acceptable in the country (Environment Agency 2011).. It serves as an effective regulatory framework, helping the organizations to develop EMS that are not only environment-friendly, but also cost effective. The regulatory framework can also be regional, which usually sets out standards that organizations within same trading blocs should follow to ensure their environmental performance conforms to environmental legislations in each country. European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) presents one such framework (Environment Agency 2011). It establishes standards and procedures on which organizations operating within member states of EU should follow when designing their GHG environmental policies. Introduced in 2005, the system replaced the old system and it covers more than 10,000 organizations in both private and public sectors. The international community also has regulatory structure that aims to present policies and regulations for organizations operating in all countries should use to design and implement their EMSs. Such regulations usually supersede local and regional frameworks, with most governments and regional blocs pegging their regulations to them. A classical example includes the Kyoto Protocol, designed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Environment Agency 2011). It presents various guidelines and standards, requiring various countries (particularly major industrial powers) to enhance their efforts in reducing GHG footprints in their activities. Specifically, it calls for about 30 nations to develop environmental policies geared towards controlling GHG emissions in their industries. New Technologies and Approaches Organizations are developing and implementing various technologies and approaches to enhance their environmental management policies. Majority of these efforts encompass use of sustainable production processes and sources of energy, as well as manufacturing of environmentally friendly products. In recent times, there has been a renewed interest in use of alternative or renewable energy technologies in industries and in the society. Fossil fuels are being replaced with biofuels, which are fuels produced using environmentally benign processes and raw materials. In addition, individuals and organizations are replacing petroleum-based electricity generation with green technologies such as biomass, solar power, and wind power. These technologies have become core components of organizations’ environmental policies because they do not or produce little GHG to the atmosphere (Clini, Musu, & Gullino 2008, p.314). Organizations have turned to green processes and products to meet the environmental interests of their consumers as well as comply with appropriate regulations and laws. These refer to products or processes that have little harm to the environment and to the health of the employees and consumers. For example, electronic firms are producing energy saving systems capable of operating with minimal power input in order to conserve energy consumption, which in effect reduces any harm the power technologies have on the natural resources and humans. Today, most products are packed in recyclable packages, allowing consumers and the manufacturers to reuse them repeatedly. Conclusion Environmental management refers to a wide range of collective and individual decisions by individuals, groups, and companies that lead or aim to ensure proper management of the environmental resources within a community. An EMS refers to a group of interrelated activities (for example, procedures, resources, and practices, among others) applied in developing and implementing environmental policies and managing environmental issues. BS 7750 represented the first EMS standard to be used in UK for environmental management in organizations. It sets out guidelines or standards on which organizations to develop EMSs and evaluate their environmental performance. ISO 14000 series remains the most widely used and international recognized EMS framework. Man’s activities have increased the rate of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. These gases reduce the number of ozone molecules in the stratosphere (deplete), allowing more UV radiation to reach the Earth’s surface. Due to the need for effective environment management, governments and intergovernmental environmental agencies have developed and implemented various legislations. International community also has regulatory structure that aims to present policies and regulations for organizations operating in all countries should use to design and implement their EMSs. Today, organizations are developing and implementing various technologies and approaches to enhance their environmental management policies. Majority of these efforts encompass use of sustainable production processes and sources of energy, as well as manufacturing of environmentally friendly products. References Barrow, CJ 1999, Environmental management: principles and practice, Routledge, London. Clini, C, Musu, I, Gullino, ML 2008, Sustainable development and environmental management: experiences and case studies, Springer, Berlin. Edwards, AJ 2004, ISO 14001 environmental certification step by step, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Pollutions and emissions 2011, Environment Agency, viewed 23 November 2011, Sullivan, R & Wyndham, H 2001, Effective environmental management: principles and case studies, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Read More