Environmental Legislation and Business Processes - Case Study Example

Environmental Legislation Introduction Ambrosia Landfill site, like any other factory or industry, faces many problems due to its emissions that create havoc to the residential areas in and around the place where the landfill site is located. The landfill site is surrounded by various product manufacturing industries and due to this factor; there has been an increase in the problems. The residential areas around the landfill site are more prone to these problems and the Claimants continue to complain about the landfill site. This report aims at proposing certain strategies that would minimize the problems and ensure hassle free operation in the landfill site. The various environmental laws and legislations include several restrictions that the site must follow in order to operate in a hassle free manner. Problem Description The landfill site, which has been operating for the past 20years, has undergone several issues regarding the pollution and other environmental impacts. The place was once deserted without much human habitation. The Paradise Estate, located along the landfill site is more prone to pollution and other problems. The odors from the industries and factories surrounding the residential area are one of the major problems. The residents have been complaining about this issue and it has led to various other problems. Due to this, they have been suffering from problems like nausea and other health issues. Though the residents were aware of such problems, the increase in the number of factories and industries in the neighboring areas have contributed to the prevailing problems. The residents did not face many problems during the initial years of occupation. Since the power station between the estate and the landfill site served as an intermediary, the problems were comparatively lesser. The increase in the number of industries led to litter, pest and pollution. Business Processes The business process of each factory differs according to the products they manufacture. There are several factories which surround the area of Paradise Estate. Each of these industries poses certain problems to the residents and this purely depends on their business process. The environmental impact also varies depending on their production and the chemicals used in the production process. The factory that produces liquorice sweets uses alcohol which emits malodors which in turn lead to various health hazards. The west side of the landfill site is surrounded by a silver factory. This factory emits fumes which are harmful and this creates skin problems to the residents. This has a great impact on the environment since the harmful gases emitted by the silver factory affects the ozone layer of the atmosphere. (Williams, 2002). This increases the risk of global warming and the factory must abide by the environmental laws and legislations. Another industry is the one that deals with steel and gas works. The gas works site is used to store the gas and this certainly creates problem to the residents. The industrial units along the Western boundary also emit harmful gases and odors which creates nausea among the residents of the Paradise Estate. Though a planning inquiry was carried out to ensure whether the place is suitable for residential occupation, the drastic increase in the factories and the landfill sites led to these problems. The Claimants complain more about the Ambrosia landfill site since the residue that spreads through air creates problems like erosion of paint. (Loveday, 2009). The red dust from the landfill site destroys the residential buildings there by leaving the buildings in a very bad state. Apart from these external problems, people are affected due to the poisonous gas which makes the air more polluted. Generally factories must be built in a place where there is no human inhabitation. The Unitary Development Plan could have suggested a better place for the development of Paradise Estate. When considering this situation, the board of directors of Ambrosia must ensure that they follow the environmental laws and legislations. They must also modify their operations to avoid problems in the future. Environmental Laws Environmental laws propose certain limitations upon which an organization must operate. The environmental legislations are common for all types of industries and the severance depends on the type of product the company produces. An organization differs in respect of their product and the type in which the products are manufacturing. The organization must also be environmentally responsible and they must ensure that the company produces a product based on the environmental laws. (Environment Agency, 2010). This can be achieved by incorporating environmental strategies that define the procedures based on which an organization must manufacture a product. This will ensure that the intended product is manufactured by following the proposed strategies. These strategies are generally defined based on the country’s environmental law. Before formulating the strategies, the governmental laws and legislations must be taken into consideration. Environmental laws are different in each country and the country expects the industries to abide by the legislations. The environmental laws of a country aim at protecting the environment from hazardous chemicals. The environmental laws in U.K and the European countries are more severe when compared to the other countries. Environmental Laws in U.K The environmental laws came into existence only when the protection and preservation of environment was considered as the major issue. These environmental laws include legislations for pollution, protection of wildlife, litter and other environment related issues. In a country like U.K, several agencies are assigned to protect the environment and to assess the organizations. The agencies are the controlling authority of the organizations which indulge in product manufacturing. (Environment Agency, 2010). Right from the place where a factory is established and the chemicals used in the factory are assessed by these agencies. One of the major environment laws is the one that deals with the wastage of a factory. Factories fail to dispose their wastes in a proper manner. Instead they tend to leave it unattended where they get into river fields and water reservoirs. This certainly poses a great danger to the people who live along the places around the factory. The law was passes in the year 1972 and it was named, Poisonous wastes Act. When considering this landfill site, air pollution is the major problem and most of the Claimants complain about the dust that is exerted from the landfill site. The authorities must make sure that the landfill site follows the air quality standards. The Air quality standard defines the percentage of each gas that can be emitted by an industry. The major problem is air pollution and the board of directors must definitely consider this act and ensure that the landfill site does not emit any harmful gases. The U.K environment Act that was passed in the year 1995 insists on assessment and review of each and every factory. This is done to check whether the industry follows the standards proposed by the government. The country has proposed special laws which specify the standards for industries that emit dust and contribute to air pollution. (Decc, 2009). The landfill emits certain malodors and the Claimants suffer due to this problem. The odors of rotten materials create nausea and it has become a common problem for the residents of the estate. The U.K government has passed another act which assesses the dust and grid emitted from an industry. This law, Clear Act 1993, insist that the industries must install an equipment that arrests the dust emission. The authorities of the landfill site must abide by this law, since the Claimants continue to complain about the red dust which occasionally explodes from the site. Defendant’s Problems The landfill site is surrounded by several industries which include silver factory, gas works and liquorice industries. All these industries emit certain amount of gases and dust which create a problem to the residents. The landfill site also poses great difficulty to the residents in the Paradise estate. The Claimants continue to complain about the malodors, litter, scavenging birds and emission of mysterious dust. When considering the environmental laws, the authorities must ensure that the Claimants will not have any problem in the future. The air pollution and dust emission laws are mandatory and the directors must decide on strategies that could control the emission of dust. Since a law is passed by the government, the claimants will have the rights to complain regarding the mysterious dust that is emitted from the landfill site. This defence can be validly claimed by the Defendant once the authorities ensure that their site is not responsible for dust explosion. (Williams, 2002). This can be done only if they interact with the other factories in the same location. Once they are sure that the landfill site does not emit any dust, they can validly claim. Another problem is the emission of malodors and litter. (Loveday, 2009). The U.K government does not specify any special law to assess or control the odors emitted from the industries and the landfill site authorities can continue to do their normal work. The Claimants cannot complain regarding the malodors emitted from the landfill site. Conclusion This report aims at helping the authorities of the Ambrosia landfill site to ensure that they abide by the laws and legislations passed by the government. The various factors that lead to problems have also been indicated. Once the directors implement certain effective strategies, they can be sure of maintaining a problem free site. As a consultant, I would suggest the board of directors to minimize the emission of dust and malodors. This will certainly reduce and eradicate the prevailing problems. The Claimants will also be peaceful without any problem since these problems are a serious health hazard. Recommendations The Board of directors must conduct a meeting in order to implement certain unique strategies to resolve these problems. They must also check the landfill site to ensure that they follow the environmental laws proposed by the government. If the site has not been operating by following these laws, they must modify their operations and make sure that they abide these legislations. Once the authorities fulfill the criteria specified by the government, they can be sure of maintain the site in a hassle free manner. The Claimants will also hesitate to raise a complaint against the organization. When considering the present problems, it is better for the organization to resolve these issues immediately. This will help them in building a better organization that does not yield problems in the future. As the site has an environment permit provided by the Environmental Permit department, they can continue their operations in the same manner. They must try and minimize the emission of malodors as it may lead to serious health problems to the residents of the Paradise estate. I would advise the Board to implement a strategy that would resolve the issues at the earliest. They must also be prepared to provide a reasonable amount as compensation to the residents. They can validly claim to certain defences as they operate based on the laws of the government. Works Cited Williams, Glanville. Learning the Law. U.K: Steven & Sons, 2002. Loveday, Murley. Pollution Handbook 2009. U.K: National Society for Environmental Protection, 2009. Environment Agency. “Environmental Protection”. 2010. Environment Agency U.K. 2 January 2011 < http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/> Decc. “Environmental Protection and Management”. 2009. Department of Energy and Climate Change. 30 December 2010. < http://www.decc.gov.uk/> Read More