QMS & EMS London

The EU should make better use of the ecodesign Directive to improve resource efficiency, according to campaigning NGO, the European Environment Bureau (EEB). The directive is expected to deliver over 40% of the EU’s energy efficiency target by 2020 by setting limits on the amount of power that electrical and electronic equipment can consume, says the EEB. 

Ecosystem services (ES) are being increasingly addressed in international impact assessments, particularly for major infrastructure and extractive industry projects. This follows the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) inclusion of ES criteria in the 2012 versions of its performance standards, which are widely applied by development finance institutions and Equator Principles adherents to their funding clients. Consequently, any project which has to meet the environmental and social standards of participating financial institutions to secure funding must address ES requirements.

Investigating the number of documents typically included in applications for major infrastructure projects. Major infrastructure projects are an important part of the political agenda, demonstrated by the government’s recent commitment to Hornsea Project One (part of a 4GW offshore wind farm) and Hinkley C, which will be the first new nuclear power station in the UK for a generation. Developers of these nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) are required by the Planning Act 2008 to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). A total of 32 NSIPs have been determined since this new regime became effective in October 2009 (31 of which were granted consent and one was refused). A further 22 projects are currently going through the examination process and 50 are at the initial pre-application stage.

The country ballot on the DIS in November 2014 showed 92% of ISO member bodies supported moving to the next stage. The step was for the working group to consider comments on the DIS made during the consultation period, which ended in October. Key issues covered in the six-day meeting in Tokyo were the clause relating to ‘risks associated with threats and opportunities’ and the term ‘compliance obligations’.

The clause in 14001: 2015 to understand the organisation and its context will require high-level understanding of the important internal and external issues that can affect an organisation’s environmental management system (EMS). A workshop approach to increase cross-functional understanding and input from across the organisation would be one way to ensure this requirement helps improve the effectiveness of the EMS. But an EMS tends to be the exclusive domain of only one or two people, disconnecting it from the rest of the business and, with the exception of environmental issues, what is happening in the outside world. As a result, the system often lacks exposure to “big picture issues”, which have the potential to seriously affect, negatively or positively, the ongoing success of the EMS and the business itself. Examples of such issues include a possible change in government, a changing workforce or future restrictions on accessing critical substances. Such issues coul...

Incorporating natural features in the built environment offers business opportunities, according to a report by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC). Street trees, roof gardens, parks and woodlands can potentially increase the value of land and property, the report states. It also claims that natural cooling from living walls and roofs can cut the cost of running air conditioning equipment. Conversely, a failure to incorporate green infrastructure in developments brings risks for developers such as delay or refusal of planning permission. If buildings with green infrastructure are built, occupiers may be at risk of local flooding, UKGBC warns.