What should an environmental policy be?
An environmental policy should:
- Be appropriate to the nature, scale and environmental impacts of your activities.
- Include a commitment to continual improvement, prevention of pollution and compliance with regulations.
- Describe your organisation and the activities that impact on the environment.
- Outline your mission in relation to managing the environmental effects and aspects of your operations.
- Clearly state your aims and objectives with respect to the environment.
- Include a commitment to education and training of employees in environmental issues and the environmental effects of their activities.
- State how progress will be monitored, and environmental performance will be reviewed.
The policy should also set to achieve:
- Successful communication of your aims and objectives to employees and other interested parties.
- Include statements meant for all to read, so should be easy to read and understand.
- Be realistic, achievable and relevant to your environmental impacts.
- Demonstrate commitment by getting it signed, dated and endorsed by senior management.
- Be general enough to avoid the need for frequent alterations and re-issues.
How do you write an environmental policy?
Before you can compile your environmental policy, you need to have accurate information of what the main environmental impacts of your organisation are. This can be achieved by carrying out an Environmental Review, also known as a ‘Baseline Survey’ or ‘Benchmarking Exercise’. This information is important so that the objectives outlined in the policy are relevant and realistic to the operations of your company. Once you have the relevant information needed, there are several key elements to include as detailed in this guide.
What are the steps involved in developing environmental policy?
You need to decide which of your company’s operations are to be covered by the policy what is the scope going to be. For example, if you are an office-based organisation with no manufacturing processes, your policy may cover the operations of your premises (energy use, paper use, waste management etc). You will need to make this information clear within the policy by first describing the type of business you are, what your decided scope is, and therefore what your main impacts are. Next you need to decide what your policy objectives are going to be. Make sure that these objectives are realistic and achievable, and state in the policy how you will monitor your progress.
The main elements to be included within your policy are:
- Description of your organisation and your main impacts on the environment.
- The main objectives of your organisation to reduce its environmental impacts, targets associated with these objectives, and how these will be monitored.
- Frequency of reviewing the policy, how this will be done and who will be involved.
- Illustration of the support of senior management by having a named person sign the policy.
What is the main goal of environmental policy?
To communicate your business’s commitment to the wider environment and the intention to minimise your environmental impacts. As the policy also includes specific improvements and objectives it holds you accountable to these commitments.
There are some policy traps that should be avoided including, setting aspirations or making claims that are open to misinterpretation, that can’t be substantiated, or achieved. As well as using non-committal language like ‘where possible’, ‘where practical’ or ‘we aim to’.
Why are environmental policies important?
An environmental policy allows you to set your intentions and direction in relation to your environmental performance as formally expressed by top management. An environmental policy also provides a framework for action and for the setting of environmental objectives and environmental targets. Additional benefits include increased commercial opportunity where organisations want to work with like-minded organisations that are reducing their environmental impacts, making clear your commitment to comply with environmental legislation reducing risk, giving structures for monitoring and reducing your environmental impact and helps preventing incidents that could result in a liability.
What is the environmental policy process?
Once an environmental policy is written and adopted, it is vital that it is positively communicated and that you work to it in how you operate your business from then on. The policy should be kept up to date and under regular review so that any changes are captured.
How do you implement environmental policy?
Once a policy is written, it needs senior management endorsement and support to be successful and buy in from all of your staff in order to enact the commitments that it makes. Gaining support throughout the business is key to the successful implementation of an environmental policy and its adoption in a business, embedding it into day-to-day operations.
This guide is of a general nature; specific advice can be obtained from Assurity Consulting.
Assurity Consulting is the UK's leading independent compliance consultancy specialising in workplace health, safety and environmental solutions. We have over 35 years' experience of helping customers of all sizes, from across all sectors, manage their compliance responsibilities, making sure that their organisation is compliant, their employees are safe, their processes are cost effective and their management team is in control.