Assessing environmental performance is an important task that every environmental practitioner will need to complete at some point. Some more than others. In this post I thought we could take a brief look at the various tools that are available. There are quite a few, so coverage is not exhaustive but we will take a look at the key ones.
Environmental risk assessment (ERA)
This involves the determination of activities that have the potential to cause harm to the environment. The likelihood and consequences of that harm will be covered in some way also. ERA is an overarching term. It covers many different assessment tools some of which we will cover in this post such as life cycle analysis or environmental impact assessment.
Environmental management systems (EMS)
It is common that an organisation will develop an environmental management system to a recognised standard (here’s looking at you ISO 14001). EMSs are usually voluntary and provide a structured mechanism to manage environmental impacts. An organisation can gain external certification to an EMS standard. Most EMSs standards are based on the concept of Plan-Do-Check-Act.
Environmental audits
Auditing has its origins to ascertain financial performance and has been adapted to determine environmental performance. It consists of a systematic, documented, repeatable and objective evaluation of how well an organisation is performing. Environmental audits can be used for all sorts of purposes. For example to determine the quality of an EMS or for due diligence (environmental costs associated with the purchase of an organisation).
Life-cycle analysis (LCA)
An LCA considers environmental aspects and impacts across the full span of a products life, from cradle to grave. This gives a more accurate picture than considering the environmental impacts of a single part of the life cycle such as the manufacturing phase. For example, some products will have a significant impact in their use or when raw materials are extracted or grown. The information from an LCA can be used by organisations for marketing purposes.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
EIA is a form of risk assessment that is a legal requirement (most types of environmental risk assessments are completed voluntarily) e.g. in England Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 require EIAs are undertaken for listed developments. An EIA is required at the planning stage of a development, such as a road, railway or high risk industrial premises. It considers the risk before the development is constructed so that mitigation measures can be incorporated into the design to reduce environmental impact. It gives planning regulators information about the environmental impact of a development and how they are to be minimised, so that they can decide whether it should proceed.
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
An SEA is a very similar tool to EIA, sorry for all the acronyms! It is another type of assessment but is generally undertaken by governments. An SEA would be legally required to be carried out for government policies, plans and programmes. Such plans etc. will be broad e.g. an energy policy might stipulate the building of power stations. Such individual development will be covered by the EIA process.
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)
A CBA is a means to determine the positives and negatives of a project/development etc into monetary values. By using the same unit they can compare the two sides of the argument and make a decision on whether the project/development should proceed. Although improving as the years proceed, one major downfall of CBA is that it can be difficult to accurately value environmental impacts.
Footprints (such as carbon and water footprints)
A footprint is kind of like a life cycle analysis, in that they usually cover the impacts on the environment of the full life cycle. Often Footprints are used for single issues such as carbon or water, but they can cover broader impacts such as the ecological footprint.
Final Note
By no means an exhaustive list but the above covers some of the key tools that are available to environmental practitioners to determine environmental performance.
John Binns BSc (Hons), MSc, MIEMA
With over 19 years’ experience working in environment management, John Binns BSc (Hons) MSc MIEMA is an experienced environmental tutor and consultant with knowledge of health and safety management.