GENVI Environmental Management

• Environmental Management refers to a goal or vision, to an attempt to steer a process, to the applications of a set of tools, to a philosophical exercise seeking to establish new perspectives towards the environment and human societies.
• Actual decisions and action concerning policy and practice regarding how resources and the environment are:

  1. appraised
  2. protected
  3. allocated
  4. developed
  5. used
  6. rehabilitated
  7. remediated
  8. restored
• Environmental resources are generally described as all abiotic and biotic components of the environment that are used or can be used in the economic system.
• Environmental Resources examples: soil, water, mineral, hydrogen, oxygen, trees, and animals.
• Environmental resources Classifications:

  1. Renewable Resources
  2. Non-renewable Resources
  3. Recyclable
  4. Non-recyclable
• Renewable Resources

  • These are reproducible and in principle could be maintained perpetually.
  • Examples are forests, animals, and water
• 2. Non-renewable Resources

  • These resources can be regenerated, or the regeneration takes place so slowly that it will not significantly increase the stock of resources in any reasonable time span.
  • Examples are oil, gas, and minerals
• 3. Recyclable

  • resources that do not lose their properties when they are used in economic processes, thus can be reused in the economic system
  • Examples are minerals, paper, and glass
  • In theory, 100% of these resources could be recycled but for economic reasons only a fraction is recycled.
• 4. Non-recyclable

  • these resources are finite in the sense that once used, their stock is no more available for future use.
  • Examples are energy resources such as coal, gas, and oil
  • also include single use items
• Renewable Energy:

  1. Solar energy
  2. Wind energy
  3. Hydropower/Water
  4. Biomass- soil and plants
• Nonrenewable Energy

  1. Fossil fuels
  2. Oil
  3. Coal
  4. Natural gas
  5. Nuclear
• Potential Resource

  • Resources that exist in a region and may be used in the future.
  • For example, petroleum may exist in many parts of India, but until the time it is drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource.
• 2. Actual Resource

  • Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are being used in present times.
  • The development of an actual resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available and the cost involved.
• 3. Reserve Resource

  • The part of an actual resource which can be developed profitably in the future.
• 1. Potential Resource

  • Exists but not yet used
• 2. Actual Resource

  • Currently used
• 3. Reserve Resource

  • Actual resource for future use
• Management Entities

  • Individuals or groups that are responsible for environmental resource management.
• 1. Government

  • provides the legal bases
  • formulate and implement laws, policies, presidential decrees, prohibitions, and penalties regarding the use of environmental resources
• 2. Industry

  • use APPROPRIATE methods
  • meet LEGAL requirements
  • have a PROACTIVE attitude
  • EMS: Environmental Management System
  • application of IE: Industrial Ecology
• 2. Industry

  • The Environmental Management System (EMS) is a cycle involved in programs of organizations to meet their obligations to the environment since all activities are linked to the environment.
• EMS

  • raw materials – natural resources
  • production – waste generated (solid waste, air pollution, noise pollution)
  • transport – land, air, or water pollution
• 2. Industry

  • Investors should be encouraged to cooperate and establish a recycling unit to reuse/recycle the waste and produce raw materials/products that can be sold
  • Applications of Industrial Ecology (IE) concept as a potential method to help the construction industry to become a sustainable responsible business
• 3. Community

  • take responsibility for actions, active involvement in managing the environment, “thinking global and acting local”
  • should practice discipline, active participation, and overall respect
• 4. Research and Educational Institutions

  • information dissemination, data on environmental status, providing advice, participating in management initiatives
  • Research institutes and universities should develop solutions to existing environmental problems and promote the concept of sustainable development
• 5. Church

  • the responsibility to God as the Creator has been a powerful incentive to pro- environmental concerns
  • the church is tasked to remind, set examples, and initiate environmental project
• 3. Community

  • DISCIPLINE
  • ACTIVE participation
  • RESPECT for environment
  • Think Global and Act Local
• 4. Research & Education

  • RESEARCH: find solutions
  • EDUCATION: information and dissemination
• 5. Church

  • REMIND: stewards of creation
  • INITIATE environmental projects
  • Set an EXAMPLE
• Environmentally Sustainable Development

  • Use but NOT Abuse
  • Using, conserving, and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future can be increased.
  • Meeting current needs without compromising future needs.
• 3. Intergenerational Equity

  • Conserve for Future Generations
  • Principle of international environmental law providing for the preservation of natural resources and the environment for the benefit of future generations
  • Example: Paris Agreement
• Under Intergenerational Equity:

  Paris Agreement

  • An environmental agreement signed in 2015 by almost all countries, agreeing to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, lowering the global temperature, reducing the negative impacts of climate change, thereby preserving the environment for future generations.
• 4. Environmental Considerations in Decision-making

  • government, industrial, and business sectors
  • like precautionary principle but concentrates more on major projects and actions
  • EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Example: The proposal to build a dam should be reviewed carefully in the context of its impact on the environment
• Under Environmental Considerations in Decision-making

  • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is designed for this purpose; to evaluate the impact of a project on the environment, society, and health.
• 5. Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecological Integrity

  • BIODIVERSITY: The Future of the Earth
  • all environmental principles boil down to this fundamental principle
  • biological diversity is especially important for maintaining the balance in ecosystems
• 6. Improved Valuation, Pricing, and Incentive Mechanisms

  • These mechanisms would enable environmental factors to be included in the valuation of goods and service
  • Valuation helps to manage environmental risks; and reflect the trade-offs and complementarities between environmental benefits and other forms of economic and social activities
• Management Models

  • These are the steps involved in carrying out an environmental management project.
  • It includes the elements of an Environmental Management Program Work Plan
  • Required by ISO 14001
  • Latest: ISO 14005:2019
• Management Models

  • ISO 14001 – This sets out criteria for an environmental management system and can be certified to.
  • Latest being the ISO 14005:2019
• Management Models (5)

  1. Objective: Why
  2. Targets: How
  3. Personnel: Who
  4. Tasks: What
  5. Schedule: When & Where
• Objective

  • Primary aim
  • Includes the associated activity, its environmental aspect, the environmental impact, and possibly even the element of environmental policy that the environmental management program is related to.