Industrial Environmental Management Page 1 of 5

Industrial Environmental Management

Andrew Simpson, CES, The Environmental Management Consultancy,

The Rotunda, 150 New Street, Birmingham B2 4PA, UK

as@bir-ces.demon.co.uk

A tranquil industrial scene - the result of

good environmental management

Andrew Simpson is a Principal Environmental Scientist at CES who are providing Britannia
Food Ingredients Ltd with environmental consultancy services. His article covers the
following topics :

1. Tougher Sentences for Environmental Offences

2. Direct Environmental Regulation
3. New Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations
4. Legislation that Affects Non-Regulated Businesses
5. Environmental Management Systems
6. Further Information

1. Tougher Sentences for Environmental Offences

Environmental management is moving up the business agenda. The Environment Agency

in England and Wales successfully prosecuted more than 500 companies and individuals
for serious pollution offences in 1999.

In presenting an assessment of business environmental performance, Sir John Harman,

Chairman of the Environment Agency, noted that 1999 was the first year that a company
director was disqualified for committing an environmental offence. However, although the
highest fine imposed for an environmental offence was £750,000, he suggested that at an
average of £2,800 fines was generally not big enough. The Agency has recommended that

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a review be undertaken to ensure that fines for companies are greater than any financial
benefit from the offence.

The message is clearly getting through to government. Michael Meacher, UK minister for
the environment, has spoken of companies being fined as much as 10% of annual turnover,
with directors being personally fined six figure sums and sent to prison for environmental
crimes.

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2. Direct Environmental Regulation

Directors are often not aware of their duties and responsibilities under environmental law.
So how does environmental legislation affect companies? Most businesses are not directly
regulated by permits issued under environmental legislation. Unless you operate a
prescribed process that required an authorisation under Part I of the Environmental
Protection Act, a facility that requires a waste management licence under Part II of the 1990
Act, or you have a consent to discharge to controlled waters under the Water Resources
Act 1991, it is unlikely that you will have met an inspector from the Environment Agency.
That is unless you have been identified as having committed an environmental offence.

The direct regulation of prescribed processes (generally the most polluting industrial
activities) changed in August 2000 with the implementation of the Pollution Prevention and
Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (PPC Regulations). The Integrated
Pollution Control (IPC) and Local Authority Air Pollution Control (LAPC) regimes
implemented under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 were superseded. The
new PPC Regulations are discussed briefly below.

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3. New Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations

The PPC Regulations cover the processes formerly prescribed under IPC and LAPC and a
number of additional activities. A full list of the activities, installations and mobile plant is
given in Schedule 1 of the Regulations, which runs to 23 pages. To give a flavour of the
types of industries subject to PPC, Section 6.8 of Schedule 1, which covers the treatment of
animal and vegetable matter and food industries, is reproduced in Box 1. Any food industry
installation that falls into the categories listed in Box 1 will require a PPC permit before it
can operate.

Box 1 - Extract from Schedule 1 of PPC Regulations

Section 6.8 - The Treatment of Animal and Vegetable Matter and Food Industries

Part A(1)

a. Tanning hides and skins at plant with a treatment capacity of more than 12 tonnes of finished
products per day.

b. Slaughtering animals at plant with a carcass production capacity of more than 50 tonnes per
day.

c. Disposing of or recycling animal carcasses or animal waste, other than by rendering, at plant
with a treatment capacity exceeding 10 tonnes per day of animal carcasses or animal waste

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or, in aggregate, of both.

d. Treating and processing materials intended for the production of food products from -

i. animal raw materials (other than milk) at plant with a finished product production
capacity of more than 75 tonnes per day;

ii. vegetable raw materials at plant with a finished product production capacity of more
than 300 tonnes per day (average value on a quarterly basis).

a. Treating and processing milk, the quantity of milk received being more than 200 tonnes per
day (average value on an annual basis).

b. Processing, storing or drying by the application of heat of the whole or part of any dead animal
or any vegetable matter (other than the treatment of effluent so as to permit its discharge into
controlled waters or into a sewer unless the treatment involves the drying of any material with
a view to its use as animal feedstuff) if -

i. the processing, storing or drying does not fall within another Section of this Schedule or
Part A(2) of this Section and is not an exempt activity; and

ii. it may result in the release into water of any substance listed in paragraph 13 of Part 2
of this Schedule in a quantity which, in any period of 12 months, is greater than the
background quantity by more than the amount specified in relation to the substance in
that paragraph.

Part A(2)

a. Disposing of or recycling animal carcasses or animal waste by rendering at a plant with a

treatment capacity exceeding 10 tonnes per day of animal carcasses or animal waste, or, in
aggregate, of both.

Part B

a. Processing, storing or drying by the application of heat of the whole or part of any dead animal
or any vegetable matter (other than the treatment of effluent do as to permit its discharge into
controlled waters or into a sewer unless the treatment involves the drying of any material with
a view to its use as animal feedstuff) if -

i. the processing , storing or drying does not fall within another Section of this Schedule
or Part A(1) or Part A(2) of this Section and is not an exempt activity; and

ii. the processing, storing or drying may result in the release into the air of a substance
described in paragraph 12 or Part 2 of this Schedule or any offensive smell noticeable
outside the premises on which the activity is carried out.

a. Breeding maggots in any case where 5 kg or more of animal matter or of vegetable matter or,
in aggregate, of both are introduced into the process in any week.

To obtain a PPC permit, operators of the regulated installation must apply best available
techniques in consideration of many issues, including some or all of the following:

low waste technology

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use of less hazardous substances

recovery and recycling of substances and wastes

comparable alternative processes

technological advances

nature, effects and volumes of emissions

consumption and nature of raw materials, including water

energy efficiency

minimising overall impacts of emissions on the environment

need to prevent accidents and to minimise the consequences for the environment

For the purposes of Part A of the PPC Regulations, 'emissions' includes the direct and
indirect release of substances, vibration, heat or noise into the air, water or land.

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4. Legislation that Affects Non-Regulated Businesses

Environment Agency figures suggest that between 50% and 80% of substantiated pollution
events occur at non-regulated sites. The Agency is attempting to assess what contribution
to pollution is made by non-regulated businesses and in particular the 99.9% of UK
businesses that are classified as small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A consistent
view has emerged from studies and surveys suggesting that the majority of SMEs have
little idea what environmental legislation affects them, what is necessary to achieve
compliance and how best to manage the environmental risks associated with their
activities.

What legislation might apply to businesses that are not directly regulated? All industrial and
commercial waste is subject to the waste management Duty of Care imposed by Part II of
the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Any hazardous (special waste) must be managed
in accordance with the Special Waste Regulation 1996. If the amount of packaging that is
handled in the business exceeds given thresholds, then the Producer Responsibility
Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 apply. Guidance on all legislation is
available from the Environment Agency.

The discharge of wastewater to surface water or ground water is subject to consent under
the Water Resources Act 1991. Discharge of trade effluent to foul sewer requires an
agreement with the sewerage undertaker (normally the local water utility) under the Water
Industry Act 1991. In each case monitoring is generally required to confirm compliance with
the terms of the consent.

Emissions from the majority of industrial premises of dark smoke, grit, dust and fumes are
subject to the Clean Air Act 1993. Noise is generally regulated through the land-use
planning process and the statutory nuisance provisions of the Environmental Protection Act
1990.

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The environmental law briefly discussed above is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but
it gives a flavour of the legislation that might affect a typical business that is not subject to
direct regulation. Directors should ensure that their companies comply with all the relevant
statutes and statutory instruments.

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5. Environmental Management Systems

Any organisation subject to PPC will require a comprehensive environmental management

system to ensure compliance with permit conditions. Many forward-thinking companies in
non-regulated sectors are also establishing environmental management systems to assist
in managing compliance and minimising risks. Systems can be based on a recognised
standard such as ISO 14001 or the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
Alternatively, less formal systems can be adopted. In all cases, the starting point is
generally an environmental audit to assess compliance with legislation, significant
environmental effects and to benchmark against good practice.

ISO 14001 is proving to be the preferred option for companies seeking registration to a
recognised environmental management system. Approximately 8,000 certificates had been
issued in a total of 72 countries by the end of 1998. It was estimated that approximately
1,000 of these had been issued by UK certification organisations. Part of the impetus for
certification has come from supply chain pressures. In October 1999 Ford and General
Motors told their manufacturing suppliers, thought to be of the order of 10,000 world-wide,
to implement environmental management systems, with Ford insisting on registration to
ISO 14001. In the UK, Rover and Jaguar have also taken steps to promote ISO 14001
along the supply chain.

The ISO 14001 model will be familiar to those with experience of quality systems, and in
particular the Draft International Standard 9001:2000. The process of establishing an
environmental management system generally involves an initial Environmental Review to
establish the significant environmental effects of the company's operations and all the
environmental legislation relevant to the site. An Environmental Policy can then be drafted
and an environmental programme, with targets, drawn up.

A documented environmental management system is then established to deliver

compliance with the policy and to assist in achieving the targets. Regular audit is required
to demonstrate the effectiveness of the environmental management system and to help
identify areas where corrective and preventive action may be required. If registration by a
third party certification body is deemed appropriate, the system will also be subject to
regular external assessment.

6. Further Information

If you want more information about how environmental legislation might affect your
business or if you are interested in establishing an environmental management system,
contact Andrew Simpson of CES on +44 (0)121 616 1126 or as@bir-ces.demon.co.uk . To
find out more about CES, visit the web-site at www.ces-environmental.co.uk

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