Environmental Aspect/Impacts

Environmental Aspects
Environmental aspects are the building
blocks of your EMS!!
 Aspect Identification -
a critical path step
• Identify and prioritize significant aspects and impacts
• Set improvement objectives, targets, and corresponding programs
• Manage your significant aspects and impacts
– Operational control
– Monitoring and measurement
• Document your system
• Train employees
• Design and implement an internal EHS MS review program
• Design and implement a corrective action system
• Conduct a management review

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 ISO14001 Requirement
ISO14001 requires:
– “the organization shall establish and maintain a
procedure to identify the environmental aspects
of its activities, products and services that it can
control and over which it can be expected to
have an influence, in order to determine those
which have or can have significant impacts on
the environment”
 What is involved?
Processes to be evaluated
– Chemical handling
Consequences of
– Recycling
– Wastewater treatment
significance designation
– Suppliers – Consider improvement
– Products
– Operational control
Significance criteria
– Environmental consequences
– Monitoring and
measurement
– Regulatory implications
– Concerns of interested parties – Employee awareness

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 Identify Activities,
Products and Services
• Activities may include:
• Identify activities that the
– commuting
organization controls or
– on-site activities
influences
• manufacturing
• What does control and /or • office
influence mean? • maintenance
– fiscal control – contracted activities
– organization control • cafeteria
– contractual control • janitorial
• Don’t forget to evaluate the • landscaping
aspects of your product – supply chain
• transportation
– packaging
• containers
– energy use
 Next Steps

• Identify the environmental aspects

• Identify the environmental impacts
• Evaluate significance
• Consider improvement
• Manage the significant aspects
 What is an
environmental aspect?
• ISO14001 defines an environmental aspect as an:
– “element of an organization’s activities, products
or services that can interact with the environment”
• Aspects can be
– regulated or non-regulated
– natural or man-made
– positive or negative
– controlled or influenced by the organization
 Examples of Aspects
• Inputs • Outputs
– Traffic – Wastewater
– Chemicals – Fumes (air emissions)
• corrosives – Solid waste
• flammables – Hazardous waste
• toxics – Noise
• contained gases – Traffic
– Resource use
• energy
• water
 Environmental Impacts
ISO14001 defines
environmental impact
as:
– “any change to the
environment, whether
adverse or beneficial,
wholly or partially
resulting from an
organization’s activities,
products or services”
 Define “Environment”
• ISO14001 defines the
environment as:
– “surroundings in which an
organization operates,
including air, water, land,
natural resources, flora,
fauna, humans and their
interrelation
– NOTE: Surroundings in
this context extend from
within an organization to
the global system.”
 Examples of Impacts
• General
– depletion of natural resources
– destruction of habitats
• Water
– pH
– oxygen level
– toxicity
• Air
– air toxicity
– smog
– global Warming
– ozone Depletion
 Aspect/Impact
Identification Workshop
• Pick an activity
• Brainstorm for the inputs and
Aspect Media Impacts
outputs of that activity
– consider the following:
• raw materials
• consummables
• utilities
• machinery
• man-power
– the inputs and outputs are the
aspects
• Then brainstorm for the
impacts of each aspect
 Who should determine your
significant aspects and impacts?

YOU!!!
– You know your process
– You know the environmental consequences
– You know your business requirements
• The organization sets its own criteria for
significance
 Significance Criteria
• Many different techniques
– qualitative
– quantitative
– combination
• Criteria varies
– environmental consequence
– regulatory issues
– community concerns
 Qualitative Analysis -
Any yes means significant

Inputs to product, activity, or service

Uses prohibited or listed material

Significant
Uses large amounts of water,
energy, natural gas, other fuel
Hazard to personnel, company
from storage, etc.
Uses large quantities of
chemical additives
Use of materials of local interest
(regulated, beneficial usage, etc.)
 Qualitative Analysis -
Any yes means significant

Outputs to product, activity, or service

Significant discharge to air,
water, or soil (quantity or type)

Significant
Special hazard of materials
(regulated waste, other remark)
Special hazard to personnel
(general safety or injury potential)
Large quantities of waste generated
(hazardous, oils, chemical waste, etc.)
Metal or electronic waste
(not recovered; wasted resource)
Waste sent for incineration or disposal
that has other feasible options
 Identifying
Environmental Aspects

I Energy Consumption VI Air Emissions

II Water Consumption VII Waste
III Chemical Consumption VIII Water Discharge
IV Raw Material & IX Product
Components X Land Use
V Supplies XI Community
Interactions
 MODIFIED

Environmental Aspects

I. Energy Consumption
• Electricity • Coal
• Fuel Oil • Photo-cells
• Natural Gas
• Gasoline
• Other Fuel
• Purchased Steam
• Purchased Chilled Water
• Propane
 Environmental Aspects

II. Water Consumption

• Site-owned Sources
• Municipal or Private Sources
• De-ionized Water
• Bottled Water
• Other Sources
 Environmental Aspects

III. Chemical Consumption

• Corrosives (acids, bases) • Resins
• Solvents • Cryogenics
• Adhesives • Solder Products
• Inks • Photographic Chemicals
• Fluxing Agents • Water Treatment Chemicals
• Compressed Gases • Petroleum-based Products
• Oxidizers • Maintenance Supplies
• Paints • Pesticides, Fertilizers
 Environmental Aspects

IV. Raw Material and Components

Consumption
• Silicon • Pallets
• Metals • Unusual Materials
• Piece Parts (electronic
components,
circuit boards,
semiconductor wafers)
• Batteries
• Wire/Fiber Plastics
• Packaging
 Environmental Aspects

V. Supplies

• Office Paper
• Computer Paper
• Tissu Paper
• Food
 Environmental Aspects

VII. Waste
• Concentrated Corrosives • Debris
• Solvents • Batteries
• Adhesives • Mercury-containing Wastes
• Inks • Lab Packs
• Solder/lead Wastes • Asbestos
• Oxidizers • Petroleum Waste
• Paint/Paint Related Waste • Hazardous Waste Solids
• Photographic Chemicals • Hazardous Waste Liquids
• Waste Treatment Sludge • Other Mixtures
• Contaminated Soil
 Environmental Aspects
VII. Waste
• Automotive Wastes • Activated Carbon
• Pesticides, Fertilizers • Cafeteria Waste
• Biomedical/infectious Waste
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Equipment
• Radioactive Wastes
• Refuse
• Wood/pallets
 Environmental Aspects

VIII. Water Discharge

• Sanitary
• Industrial Pretreatment
• Stormwater
• Thermal Loading
 Environmental Aspects

IX. Product
• Manufactured Items • Quantity (weight/volume)
• Energy Consumption • Packaging and Shipping Materials
in Use • Reusability
• Toxic Material Content • Recyclability
• Recycled Content • Recycled Content
• Upgradability • Toxic Material Content
• Emissions During Use • Material Diversity
• Use of Consumables • Biodegradability
During Use,
Maintenance, etc.
 Environmental Aspects

IX. Product
• Transportation • End of Life Management
• Mode/distance • Reusability
• Energy Use • Recyclability
• Emissions • Hazardous/toxic Material Content
• Material Diversity
• Upgradability
• Waste Classification
• Assembly/disassembly techniques
• Disposal/emissions
 Environmental Aspects

X. Land Use
• On-site Storage/containment/distribution/handling of
Solids, Liquids, Gases
• Interactions with natural surface or ground water
on the property; wetlands
• Cooling Tower Operation
• Thermal Emissions
• Maintenance Activities
• Soil Erosion
• Release of Pesticides, Fertilizers, etc.
• Remnants of past activities at the site
(e.g., soil contamination)
 Environmental Aspects

XI. Community Interactions

• Noise, Odor, Vibration, Heat Generation, Site Lighting
• Employee Commuting
• Trucking In and Out
• Dust Generation
• Electromagnetic Frequency Releases
• Recycling and Recovery Operations
• Appearance (Visual Impact)
and Housekeeping
 Aspects Evaluation

Evaluation Categories
1. Direct and Indirect Discharges,
Exhausts and Emanations

2. Consumed Natural Resources

3. Community Impacts
 Determining Significance

Significance Rating (SR) = (Sum of Environmental Criteria +

Sum of Business/ Other criteria) / Number of Criteria

Significance Rating (SR) = (Severity + Frequency + Compliance

Obligations and or Legal Liabilities + Public Concern) / 4

SR = (S + F + C + P)/ 4
 Determining Significance

An aspect will be termed as significant if:

a) the significance rating (SR) is greater than 2.25 and it will
be significant;
b) the significance rating (SR) is equal to 2.25 and there is any
compliance obligation and/ or legal requirement associated with it;
c)there is any compliance obligation when SR is even less than
2.25
 Use of Examples
• When it comes to implementation
– Adapt, don’t adopt!!!!
• When it comes to procedures
– Keep them simple!!
 Ensure Success
Involve multi-functional team
Define your methodology
– Ask managers to identify candidates with
Select team facilitator(s) specific competencies
– Strong team skills – Consider different teams for different
– Respected by peers activities

– Knowledgeable – At a minimum, validate the aspect/impact

identification and significance scoring with
representatives from the respective
operations
– Keep information up-to-date

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Questions