How do you identify and prioritize environmental aspects and impacts in your EMS?

From the outset, organizations should consider the "three legged stool" of sustainability = economic, environmental and social sustainability! Organizations have obligations to shareholders, the public, regulatory and government agencies, and the environment. I find too often that the sustainability stool is unbalanced, with too much emphasis upon environmental considerations and not enough on society (aesthetics, livability etc.). https://www.cocc.edu/committees/sustainability/files/understanding_sustainability.pdf

Find the environmental "big fish" in your EMS! Map processes, review regulations, listen to stakeholders, and assess impacts. Score and prioritize based on severity, cost, and feasibility. Don't forget stakeholder concerns and resource constraints. Prioritizing is a journey, not a destination. Adapt and keep the biggest environmental wins in sight!

I. Conduct a thorough assessment of activities, products, and services within the organization. II. Identify potential environmental aspects associated with each activity, such as resource consumption, emissions, and waste generation. III. Evaluate the significance of each aspect based on criteria such as magnitude, frequency, and regulatory requirements. IV. Prioritize environmental aspects based on their potential impacts on the environment, compliance obligations, and stakeholder concerns. V. Document the identified aspects and impacts in the Environmental Management System (EMS) and establish objectives and targets for mitigation and improvement.

in my experience, a structured process is created to ensure a thorough understanding of how the organization activities, products, and services interact with the environment. The key steps include: Environmental Aspect Identification: Conducting a comprehensive assessment of our operations to identify all activities, products, and services that have the potential to interact with the environment. Categorizing these aspects into direct and indirect aspects, enabling us to distinguish between those under our direct control and those influenced by external factors.

Let me respond this for a country highly vulnerable to climate change but insignificantly is a cause to it. Synergize between developmental needs and climate resilience by: a) Investing on climate resilient developmental solutions would offer dual benefit. b) Exhibit commitment towards environmental responsibilities and simultaneously engage in discussions with developed nations and global financial institutions to secure financial and technical support. c) With your own commitment in forefront, advocate for global climate justice and highlight the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, emphasizing the need for support from high CO2 emitting countries. d) Assess your risks and develop clear preventive and adaptive plan.

Impact Assessment: Evaluating the significance and potential environmental impact of each identified aspect. This involves considering factors such as resource consumption, emissions, waste generation, and potential harm to ecosystems. Using tools like life cycle assessments and environmental impact assessments to quantify and qualify the impacts associated with each aspect.

Build strong stakeholders' cooperation - Government (Regulators and policy makers), private sector including financial institutions, other communities (local, development organizations). Set up a long-term adaptation plan keeping in mind the economic priorities as well. Which are the items that are likely to have severe impacts and in near future. Plan them on priority. Contribution of all stakeholders to be must and make it a win-win scenario for all.

Habiendo identificado los aspectos, impactos y procesos que las originan, ya podemos pasar a priorizar estos impactos, y aunar esfuerzos, con el objetivo de prevenirlos o corregirlos. No obstante, antes se deben establecer unos criterios, lo cuales, nos permitan categorizarlos. Dicho de otra manera, un método que ilustre, quienes requieren mayor recursos a la hora de implementar medidas de manejo ambiental más rigurosas. Por todo lo anterior, una metodología acertada de Valoración y Jerarquización de impactos es muy importante. Yo personalmente recomiendo la de Vicente Conesa, ya que comprende todos los aspectos de un impacto ambiental.

1) Build on a culture of transparency and disclosure. This would provide strong database to planning and strategizing. 2) Stringent monitoring of implementation of plans hence ensuring level play field and common standards.

In a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, gathering and analyzing data for environmental aspects and impacts assessment involves identifying all activities, processes, and materials that contribute to environmental impact. This includes energy consumption, water usage, waste generation, and emissions. Data collection methods may include metering, monitoring, and inventory tracking systems. Once collected, the data is analyzed to determine the significance of each aspect and its potential environmental impact, guiding the development of mitigation strategies and improvement initiatives to minimize the company's environmental footprint.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring alignment with applicable environmental laws, regulations, and other requirements. This involves identifying legal obligations related to environmental aspects and assessing compliance. Stakeholder Input: Engaging with relevant stakeholders, including employees, communities, customers, and regulatory bodies, to gather insights into their concerns and expectations regarding environmental performance.

Claro, tomar datos reales de las interacciones de la empresa y el medio, puede dar una mejor referencia para una posterior evaluación. Por lo tanto, llevar a cabo una campaña de monitoreos, auditorías, tomar registros y cartografiar el área de influencia de los impactos y componentes ambientales afectados, brindarán un criterio más acertado y aproximado a la realidad.

Risk Assessment: Conducting a risk assessment to identify potential environmental risks associated with each aspect. This helps prioritize aspects based on their potential for negative impacts and the likelihood of occurrence. Prioritization Criteria: Establishing clear criteria for prioritizing environmental aspects, considering factors such as the severity of the impact, regulatory requirements, stakeholder concerns, and potential risks. Documentation and Monitoring: Documenting the identified aspects, their impacts, and the prioritization criteria in our EMS documentation. Implementing a robust monitoring system to regularly review and update the prioritization based on changes in operations, regulations, or stakeholder expectations.

Carryout Environmental materiality assessment based on internationally recognized standards. List top material topics chosen by all stakeholders. The materiality map derived from this exercise would be the effective tool for strategic planning.

Informing and consulting internal/external stakeholders is crucial. a) It helps identify material issues important to stakeholders. b) It helps build trust and credibility with stakeholders demonstrating transparency and accountability. c) It helps identify potential risks and opportunities. d) It can help improve quality of decision-making by incorporating diverse perspectives and expertise. e) It can help to identify areas where any organization can improve its ESG performance and develop strategies to address these areas. Thus, here are some steps that can be taken: 1) Identify stakeholders 2) Develop communication plan 3) Engage with stakeholders 4) Incorporate feedback in decision-making process. 5) Monitor and report

Abec l'analyse PDCA (plan, do ,check, act) nous pouvons assurer la durabilité et l'amélioration continue des actions environnement mises en places.

To identify and prioritize environmental aspects and impact in construction projects, one should be very familiar with the construction process details by coordinating with project managers or site agents, and ask why, who (workers or general office staff？), what (materials, methods......etc), where (open space or confined space？), when (daytime or evenings？) and how (i.e. 5W1H) for every step of the process. Both aspects and impact should regularly be reviewed and endorsed by top management of the companies, as part of the ISO14001 requirements. Such sort of information could also be covered in the risk management of the companies or the projects.

From my experience, working on projects with a speedy deadline, environmental management can be overlooked. A key element to prevent this is through improving staff awareness and competence. Staff that are trained can identify environmental impacts, which allows remedial action to be swiftly taken. For example, if an impact arises from excessive emissions, do they know the upper limit values? Do they know the protocols for when they discover a potential non compliance, and do they have the confidence to report it. By having the systems in place for reporting, and providing operation specific training, will create a workforce that play a key part in the EMS framework.

General steps are: Identification of Environmental Aspects: Determine Significance Legal and Regulatory Compliance Stakeholder Input Risk Assessment Operational Control Resource Allocation Continuous Improvement Documentation Regular Review