World environment day takes place annually on 5th June. It is a day designated to encourage worldwide awareness to protect our environment, established in 1974 by the United Nations. Fundamentally it is a day for people to make changes towards the environment. It could be anything from organising a corporate event or an action you wish to pursue as an individual. Each world environment day is awarded a theme that is deemed important. For example, this year the theme is air pollution. Air Pollution – 2019 Theme Air pollution is a growing concern both in the UK and globally. This year’s world environment day host China has particularly poor air…
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Fly Tipping – An Environmental Practitioners Perspective
The Problem Of Fly Tipping I do enjoy a bit of road cycling, yes I’ve reached the age of becoming a MAMIL! (a middle aged man in Lycra), in case you have never heard of that one before. I’m quite lucky that the area where I mostly cycle, the North Pennines, is a beautiful place with stunning views and many nice, quiet and largely traffic-free roads. However, one issue that really makes my blood boil when I’m out for a ride is the amount of waste that is illegally disposed on the side of the road. I’ve seen many different types of waste over the years such as TVs, construction…
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The Use of Zoning in Environmental Law
A few weeks back you might have seen on the news the introduction of the UK’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London. This got me thinking about areas of environmental law where zoning is used. The designation of a ‘zone’ where the law is different or stricter is a relatively common occurrence in environmental law. Notably, we see it a lot in the UK and beyond, for other areas of environmental management as well as air pollution. Firstly, let’s first take a look at the ULEZ. The ULEZ is a geographical area, roughly in the centre of London that has placed restrictions on the use of vehicles. It…
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World Earth Day 2019 – The World’s Biggest Secular Observance
I do like a themed day! I think one of my favourites, as it always provides me with a little laugh, is the 4th of May. If you don’t know what this one is, have a think and I will let you know the answer at the end of the post. A specified day is important in raising awareness of issues. There are many awareness days, but perhaps one of the most important is Earth Day. Earth Day is an event that is held on 22nd April every year when various events are held to demonstrate people’s commitment to protecting the environment. It is the largest secular observance globally, being…
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How to Write an Effective Environmental Policy Statement
Over the years I’ve seen many environmental policies. Some are good and some, well, not so good. It’s a common task for environmental practitioners to write a policy from scratch, or at least maintain an existing policy. Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to identify good practice when it comes to policy development. An environmental policy statement is a key document that outlines the aims of an organisation with regards to environmental management. It is an expression of the organisation’s top management commitment to high standards of environmental performance. It is advisable in environmental management to use either, good practice guidance or law as criteria for development of controls.…
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Five Ways That We Can Recycle More Effectively
Most of us are guilty of not recycling enough, and unfortunately this is a global issue. An issue that is progressively getting worse, and the damage caused is becoming almost irreparable. Society has become accustomed to living a consumer driven lifestyle. Meaning that we buy products with the view of throwing them away once they are no longer of functional use. Although the UK recycling rate is (currently) gradually increasing, since a majority of our environmental laws derive from EU law; there is much scepticism as to whether the UK Government will prioritise recycling once we exit the EU. The UK recycling rate for Waste from Households (WfH; including IBA…
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Historical Parallels – The Great London Smog of 1952
As anyone who has attended a majority of the classroom-based courses that I have delivered will know; I believe a case study from the past can assist in helping students understand the problems of today. This can be a great learning experience. In regards to air pollution, I’m not aware of a better case study than that of The Great London Smog of 1952. The Great London Smog of 1952 The Great London Smog occurred in December 1952 and resulted in the deaths of around 12,000 people, and thousands of people became ill. The smog occurred for a period of 14 days in total. In the UK this case study…
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Q & A – John Binns on New Online NEBOSH Environmental Certificate Course
Our resident Environmental specialist and trainer John Binns, is on hand to answer questions about our new online NEBOSH Environmental Certificate course. Question & Answers with John Binns How do you find the experience of presenting content for online courses & have you done this before? I think this is the third time I have presented the content for an RRC environmental management course. So, I am becoming a bit of an old hand! When I started my career in environmental management I certainly didn’t expect to ever be filmed at any time doing my job. The first time I completed the filming I was a little nervous, but I…
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The First Step to a Career in Environmental Management
I can’t believe that I have been working as an environmental management consultant and trainer for twenty years. Much like a professional footballer who is playing in his early thirties (I wish) I have achieved veteran status! My career has had its up and downs over the years. But I do not regret it for one minute. When considering the content for this post I thought I would identify what can be more challenging from my experience than carrying out a job. And that is getting a job in environmental management in the first place. The problem is that in competitive job markets, in order to be successful you need…
