Environmental Management Revision Guide

For the NEBOSH Certificate in Environmental Management

Jonathan Backhouse

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781317233602
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Industrial Engineering
• Index: Biological Sciences

The Environmental Management Revision Guide: For the NEBOSH Certificate in Environmental Management is the perfect revision aid for students preparing to take their NEBOSH Certificate in Environmental Management. As well as being a handy companion volume to Brian Waters' NEBOSH-endorsed textbook Introduction to Environmental Management, it will also serve as a useful aide-memoire for those in environmental management roles. The book aims to:

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• Provide practical revision guidance and strategies for students
• Highlight the key information for each learning outcome of the current NEBOSH syllabus
• Give students opportunities to test their knowledge based on NEBOSH style questions and additional exercises
• Provide details of guidance documents publically available that students will be able to refer to.

The revision guide is fully aligned to the current NEBOSH syllabus, providing complete coverage in bite-sized chunks, helping students to learn and memorise the most important topics. Throughout the book, the guide refers back to the Introduction to Environmental Management, helping students to consolidate their learning.

EC 1.1

Foundations in environmental management

Learning outcomes
1.1	Outline the scope and nature of environmental management
1.2	Explain the ethical, legal and financial reasons for maintaining and promoting environmental management
1.3	Outline the importance of sustainability and its relationship with corporate social responsibility
1.4	Explain the role of national governments and international bodies in formulating a framework for the regulation of environmental management

1.1 Outline the scope and nature of environmental management

Key revision points

• Definition of the environment
• The multi-disciplinary nature of environmental management and the barriers to good standards of environmental management within an organisation
• The size of the environmental ‘problem’ in terms of the key environmental issues

Definition of the environment

The environment has been defined as

The surroundings in which an organisation operates whether they are man-made or natural, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their interrelation.

‘Surroundings’ can extend from within an organisation to the global system.

The multi-disciplinary nature of environmental management

The multi-disciplinary nature of environmental management requires environmental managers to be able to address a wide range of factors, including quality, safety and health. For example, when purchasing new equipment the following environmental issues may need to be addressed

• Assessing the effects of any waste likely to be produced during the use of products or at the end of their life, their recyclability and any likely regulatory requirements.
• Atmospheric emissions arising from the use of the products/equipment.
• Consideration of the need to undertake life cycle assessments and or circular economy of products where appropriate and vet the supply chain.
• Effluents produced during use and their effects.
• Energy used during use of the products/equipment.
• Hazardous properties associated with the substances and degradation products, including such properties as flammability, toxicity, carcinogenicity, etc.
• Licensing or authorisation requirements for use or storage of substances.
• Packaging required and its disposal.
• Potential to cause nuisance through noise or smell.
• Restricting or avoiding products or equipment containing hazardous substances – mercury, cadmium, persistent chlorinated hydrocarbons, pesticides, etc.
• Transport impacts, such as emissions and noise.

The size of the environmental ‘problem’ in terms of environmental issues includes:

• local effects of pollution (noise, waste, lighting, odour);
• carbon emissions and climate change;
• air pollution and the ozone layer;
• water resources and pollution (nitrates);
• deforestation, soil erosion and land quality;
• material resources and land despoliation (land rights, etc.);
• energy supplies;
• waste disposal and international waste trade;
• agricultural issues arising from trade between developing and developed economies (e.g., create landfill sites in place of agricultural);
• desertification; and
• cultural heritage and material assets.

These are viewed as man-made.

Examples of man-made effects on the environment include:

1. (a) Atmospheric pollution – from vehicle traffic and local industrial processes, etc.
2. (b) Aquatic contamination – from accidental spillages to deliberate pollution and from fire-water
3. (c) Land contamination – from local industrial processes, for example, spills of chemicals and metals, and waste disposal, leachate from landfill, intense farming utilisation of pesticides and nitrates
4. (d) Effects on the community – caused by odour, noise, visual impact, lighting glare or any other effluvia (nuisance) and loss of amenity
5. (e) Effects on the ecosystem – loss of biodiversity and interdependent ecosystems
6. (f) Loss of raw materials and natural resources/resource depletion – loss of natural resources (which include non-renewable resources – for example, minerals and oil – and renewable resources, such as timber)

Key environmental issues to be addressed with regard to environmental management include:

• global warming;
• carbon emissions and climate change;
• air pollution and the ozone layer;
• water resources (potable) and water pollution;
• waste disposal and international waste trade;
• energy supplies;
• local effects of pollution (e.g., noise, waste, lighting, odour);
• agricultural issues arising from trade between developing and developed economies;
• deforestation, desertification, soil erosion and land quality; and
• material resources and land despoliation.

There are different cycles that are used within the environment, including:

• carbon (see next section);
• nitrogen (Chapter 3); and
• water (Chapter 5).

Carbon cycle

The carbon cycle is the process in which carbon travels from the atmosphere into organisms and the earth, then back into the atmosphere. The stages in the carbon cycle are respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition and combustion.

• Respiration by animals and plants releases energy. This means carbon is produced.
• Photosynthesis by plants creates energy. This means carbon is used.
• Decomposition occurs when an animal dies, which releases carbon back into the atmosphere.
• Combustion is burning; if something with carbon is burnt it will release it into the atmosphere, e.g., fossil fuel.

Carbon is stored in:

• the atmosphere;
• oceans;
• soil and rocks; and
• dead plants/animals (i.e., fossils).

Revision exercise

Outline possible benefits to an organisation for having good environmental management systems in place. (8)

Exam tip

The answers to the above question could include:

1. 1 Cost savings by reducing the use of water, energy, raw materials and packaging
2. 2 More efficient use of transport
3. 3 Reduction of waste going to landfill and increase recycling
4. 4 Not paying for waste transfer permits
5. 5 Improved public relations (PR)
6. 6 Improved legal compliance
7. 7 Improved environmental performance by reducing risk
8. 8 Improved relationships with internal/external stakeholders
9. 9 Improved staff morale and recruitment
10. 10 Positive view by insurers and investors
11. 11 Better opportunities for marketing and other business development
12. 12 Opportunities to draw down funding from governmental bodies

1.2 Explain the ethical, legal and financial reasons for maintaining and promoting environmental management

Key revision points

• The rights and expectations of local residents, including indigenous peoples, supply chain, customers and employees
• Outcomes of incidents in terms of environmental and human harm, and legal and economic effects on the organisation
• The actions and implications of pressure groups
• Overview of legal issues – breaches of national or local laws and individual legal rights
• Penalties such as fines/imprisonment and rights to compensation
• Different levels of standards and enforcement in many jurisdictions; the role of responsible business
• The business case for environmental management: direct and indirect costs of environmental accidents: insured and uninsured costs

Introduction to ethical, legal and financial reasons

The ethical, legal and financial reasons for maintaining and promoting environmental management include:

Ethical/Moral:

We all have an ethical or moral duty to be good stewards of the earth. A famous quote sums up this philosophy: ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.’ We all have a general duty of care, which comes from our society’s attitude to environmental issues seeing the need for sustainable development. What is important to remember is that sustainable development is a process that will allow for human and environmental relationships to exist sustainably.

Legal/Social:

Many countries have a large and growing amount of statutory environmental legislation and civil judgments. In addition there have been many international treaties; for example, Agenda 21....

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• EC1.1 Foundations in environmental management
• EC1.2 Environmental management systems
• EC1.3 Environmental impact assessments
• EC1.4 Control of emissions to air
• EC1.5 Control of contamination of water sources
• EC1.6 Control of waste and land use
• EC1.7 Sources and use of energy and energy efficiency
• EC1.8 Control of environmental noise
• EC1.9 Planning for and dealing with environmental emergencies
• Answering NEBOSH type exam questions
• Index