When I’m running face-to-face training courses one of the areas that students sometimes struggle with is the social aspect of sustainable development. Generally the courses I deliver are based around environmental management and delegates usually grasp this side of sustainability. However we should not forget that sustainability has two other subjects related to it: social and economic. Leaving economic sustainability for another time, I thought it would be interesting to identify social issues and how they relate to sustainable development. I’ve noticed over the years that having knowledge of social issues is becoming more and more important as social issue management is increasingly being added to the role of environmental…
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Life Cycle Thinking 101
Every product has a life cycle and understanding the components of the lifecycle is important for getting to grips with its true environmental impact. Traditionally, environmental impact assessments have considered just the manufacturing phase of a product – this would include direct impacts. Direct impacts are those that are physically released by the organisation itself. For example emissions from a boiler on site that causes air pollution or the discharge of oil into a nearby river causing damage to the river. They generally include pollution issues. These can be significant for some organisations and obviously need to be carefully assessed and controlled. Upstream Impacts However, considering direct impacts does not…
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Five Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Environmental destruction is prominent in the media at present, but often we can associate being environmentally friendly with certain actions and products, for example, the combustion engine has been targeted for producing high emissions. What if you considered the fact that almost every lifestyle-related action we take has a carbon footprint attached to it? Meaning, it is almost impossible to live a modern lifestyle with a zero carbon footprint. However, if we can lessen our impact every little helps and small changes are a positive step in the right direction. What is a carbon footprint? This phrase refers to the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the environment…
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Benefits of Studying IEMA Foundation Certificate in Environmental Management
The IEMA Foundation Certificate in Environmental Management course provides a solid foundation of environmental and sustainability concepts and knowledge. It is aimed at individuals who uphold responsibility for environmental duties, allowing them to improve sustainable practices and increase positive impact on society and the environment. The course covers key learning outcomes such as; supporting change and transformation to improve sustainability, environmental law and regulation, and outlining implications of global environmental trends. Be Part of a Professional Body IEMA is the professional body for everyone working in the environmental and sustainability sectors. By studying the IEMA Foundation Certificate you are entitled to associate membership of IEMA (AIEMA), giving you access to…
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How Ecosystems Contribute to The Economy
Introduction A concept that has always interested me is that of ecosystem services. In a nutshell, an ecosystem service is a benefit that is provided by nature to humanity. A natural extension of this approach is to then try to value the ecosystem, which involves making an estimation of how much money the service brings to an economy or how much money the service saves. I am a big fan of this approach. Unfortunately, in society the case for protection of ecosystem is made stronger by thinking about what they offer to humanity rather than just looking. If we objectively understand why they are important this should provide a significant…
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World Environment Day 2019 & Why It Is Important
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…
