How Do I Carry Out an Environmental Risk Assessment
How Do I Carry Out an Environmental Risk Assessment
Environmental management should be risk-based. Follow prescriptive environmental management requirements and good practice guidelines. However, tailor your policies and procedures to address the specific risks of your business.
What activities do you do?
Your environmental risk assessment should cover all business activities, including daily, overnight, and infrequent tasks. Include all departments, subcontractor activities, supply chain processes, product usage, and end-of-life considerations.
What are the environmental impacts?
After identifying all your activities, assess their environmental impacts. According to ISO 14001 (the international standard for environmental management), an environmental impact is any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, that results wholly or partly from an organization’s activities, products, or services. For each activity, determine what could change the environment and what the potential change might be. For instance, waste storage could lead to pollution if the waste escapes. It is important to identify all possible impacts at this stage, regardless of their size or likelihood.
What are the risks?
Risks can be assessed by evaluating their likelihood, severity of environmental damage, affected areas (such as protected habitats or drains), legislative controls, and existing measures. Establish criteria for assessment and determine significant risks. Rate activities to identify significant environmental risks and take appropriate action.
What controls are in place?
Identify and assess existing controls for the identified risks. Determine if they manage the risk to an acceptable level. If not, develop an action plan to implement necessary changes. Consider the risk, legislative requirements, and cost when identifying effective solutions. The action plan should specify actions, responsible parties, and timelines.
Carrying out an environmental risk assessment is essential to ensure that you are aware of your specific hazards and to make sure they are controlled appropriately to reduce the likelihood of an environmental incident. Once this has been completed, actions should be implemented to improve controls where required and the risk assessment should be regularly reviewed to ensure it remains up to date and accurate.