Aspects, Impacts, and Significant Aspects EMS Implementation Workshop Aspects, Impacts, and Significant Aspects

Objectives of this Session Know definitions of aspect, impact, significant aspect Recognize importance of significant aspects to the EMS Learn EMS requirements for aspects identification

Why do this? Managing Aspects vs. Impacts It is more prudent and more efficient to manage “how” you interact with the environment than to manage “what” you have done to the environment An EMS is built around identifying, prioritizing, controlling, and improving upon, those elements of the organization that interact with the environment For example; it is is better to know that wastewater discharges may impact the environment, and therefore manage the effluent quality than it is to wait for the fish kill and try to manage the crisis.

Specific Benefits Prompts your organization to identify issues not typically managed; particularly non-regulated issues Integrates environmental issues into operations Makes for proactive planning

Environmental Aspects and Impacts-ISO 14001 Definition Elements of an organization’s activities, products or services which can interact with the environment. (For example: wastewater discharges, air emissions, resource consumption, energy usage, ecosystem alterations, etc.) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partly resulting from an organization’s activities, products, or services (based on the aspects, for example: air emissions impacts the air by degrading the air quality). Efforts and activities related to managing the environmental aspects is how the EMS becomes tangible to the workforce.

ISO 14001 requires organizations to: develop procedures to identify environmental aspects in order to determine those which have or can have significant impact on the environment keep aspects information up-to-date (regularly, and whenever changes occur), not once and done. Necessary records will include aspects lists, and significant aspects list

Role of Aspects in the EMS Significant aspects drive the EMS and are a subset of the full list of aspects EMS is designed to identify, control, manage, and improve upon the significant aspects Compliance with Legal and Other Requirements is a part of the system that does relate to the aspects Elements such as operational control (procedures and work instructions), training, monitoring and measurement, emergency planning, and setting objectives all depend on significant aspects.

More on Environmental Aspects Aspects are “cause”, impact is the “effect” Control and influence of aspects is a factor Aspects can be: direct or indirect normal, abnormal, or emergency past, present, or future Aspects address not only waste stream, but resource consumption, energy, and other “non-traditional” factors (noise, odor, visual)

Going About the Aspects Process Identify who and how this will be done (aspects procedure) List and characterize activities, products services Identify aspects and impacts for each A/P/S -Tap into your knowledge base! Determine significance Maintain records

Activities, Products and Services This is where you describe what you do at your facility – mostly “activities” for Feds Consider mission – what ‘facility’ is designed to do - e.g. visitor center Consider activities that support the mission – e.g. vehicle maintenance Consider actions that are both regulated and not regulated e.g. commuting to work

Aspect Analysis - Examples of Activities Mission related operations Maintenance Motor vehicle fleet operations Wastewater treatment Solid waste handling and disposal Raw material and chemical handling Bulk storage of fuels Administrative and employee activities Engineering Purchasing

Some Ways to Characterize Activities, Products, and Services Process flow diagrams Interviews with supervisors, managers, staff Hazardous material inventories Hazardous waste records Records from emergency planning, accident reports, emergency incidents Water and energy consumption records

List Aspects Can sort and organize aspects, for example: Releases to air Water consumption, pollution Land contamination Use of raw materials, natural resources Other local environmental, community issues Will be able to “re-sort” later to better manage the aspects

Examples of Aspects Aspect: Not an aspect: Waste generation Material usage Fuel usage Air emissions Chemical consumption Energy consumption Not an aspect: Improve air quality – this is an objective P2 – this is an objective Vehicle maintenance – this is a activity Water pollution – this is an impact

Examples Activity, Product, or Service Aircraft operations Bus transportation and maintenance Environmental Aspect Jet fuel consumption Jet fuel releases (potential) Noise generation Gasoline consumption Electricity consumption Solid waste generation Water consumption Waste water generation

Examples Activity, Product, or Service Vehicle maintenance Environmental Aspect Hazardous waste generation Gasoline consumption Noise generation Electricity consumption Solid waste generation Water consumption Waste water generation Release of volatiles

Examples Activity, Product, or Service Store Cafeteria Environmental Aspect Raw material consumption Fuel consumption for transport Solid waste generation Food waste generation Electricity consumption Water consumption Waste water generation Release of ammonia from refrigeration equipment (potential)

Examples Activity, Product, or Service Office work Environmental Aspect Electricity consumption Water consumption Waste water generation Release of ozone depleting substances in air cooling units (potential) Solid waste generation Heavy metals “use” in computers

Examples Activity, Product, or Service Cleaning offices Playing field upkeep (golf course, softball field, parade ground) Environmental Aspect Hazardous material release Electricity consumption Solid waste generation Waste water generation Water consumption Runoff from pesticide usage Gasoline consumption Grass clipping generation

Identify the Impacts of Aspects Once the aspects are identified, you must identify the impact(s) associated with each one. This can be done using the same process you used for aspects, except there might be more involvement of environmental staff to assess impacts List impacts along with aspects Example of impact not typically part of an environmental program – paper consumption

Examples of Aspects & Impacts Air emissions (exhaust) Water consumption Fuel release (accidental spills) Noise generation Energy consumption (lights left on) Paper recycled Air quality degraded Water resource depleted Storm water contaminated Soil contaminated Area nuisance Increased CO2 from coal-fired power plant emissions Landfill space conserved, raw materials conserved Examples of regulated, unregulated impacts Example of natural resource impact Examples of actual and potential impacts Example of human impacts Example of offsite impacts due to products used Example of positive environmental impact

Determine Significant Aspects A significant aspect is one that has or can have a significant impact on the environment (you define) Site selects the criteria for significance rating and cutoff value Significance can be determined by numeric cutoff value or subjective assessment based on yes/no answers Significance could be tied to: environmental degradation concerns, natural resource concerns, regulatory or legal exposure, concerns of interested parties

EMS Requirements ISO 14001 uses “significant” aspects and impacts as the basis for developing objectives and preparing programs. The organization chooses which aspects are “significant,” based on applying their own criteria, to the related impacts. However, once significant, the EMS must address the aspect. Process and criteria for significance described in procedure.

Many Methods for Determining Significance Criteria Staff judgment Risk Assessment Organizationally-derived criteria and/or hybrid approaches based on staff judgment and risk assessment Key is to be consistent, and in line with “reality check” – are you capturing what makes sense? Criteria must relate to environmental impact

Examples of Significance Criteria Magnitude - How big of a problem is it? Global, regional, local? Severity - How bad will it get? Probability - How likely is it to occur? Daily, weekly, monthly, annually, in emergencies, only when a certain event happens, when a new project starts? Regulated? Of concern to interested parties?

Applying the Criteria Each aspect must be evaluated in terms of the criteria Significant ones listed Each time a new aspect enters the system for whatever reason, it must be evaluated for significance ALL significant aspects must be carried forward into the system

Where Do Significant Aspects Fit in Your EMS? EMS manages your significant aspects, impacts Significant aspects drive objectives and targets and operational controls Employees need to be aware of significant aspects of their jobs Must communicate significant aspects externally Significant aspects are monitored and measured

Identify Aspects Significant? no Remains on aspect list yes Significant aspect No, or yes but want to do more? Objectives and targets Under Control? Operation controls yes Address now? No (still must have controls) Yes EMPs, and Operational Control Deployed in EMS

In Closing- Tips for Effective Aspects Identification and Rating Be comprehensive Do not pre-judge! Inventory completely; you have the opportunity to prioritize later Sort by activity, product, or service; and identify impacts Significance criteria change over time; all relative. Should never have a situation with no significant aspects (as per continual improvement commitment) “Aspect” is considered significant although environmental impact is used to make significance determination Aspects not considered significant will not be carried through the system Significant aspects affect and drive all other parts of system! “If you must control, it must be significant”.