What Is Environmental Compliance?
image: Michal Marcol / freedigitalphotos.net
If you don’t already know about environmental compliance, you should start finding out immediately. It’s sounds complicated but it’s not. In fact, it’s nothing more or less than what you should be doing already, to be running your company completely legally.
Environmental compliance means conformation to environmental laws and standards. This has become a bigger and bigger concern in recent years, and will only get bigger as environmental concerns grow. The number and the stringency of environmental standards have increased recently, which means that corporate entities have to be more cautious than ever and lessen their environmental impact more than they ever have in the past. These laws and standards are meant to reflect the concern that exists in the community, and our collective priorities. Laws are supposed to be the solidification of consensus. They are meant to reflect our beliefs and values. We need to define the ways in which we interact with each other, and laws are our way of doing that.
Environment law reflects a belief that we all live together on earth and therefore no one should damage or pollute the earth anymore than any one else, and that everyone should keep that damage to an absolute minimum. Environmental concerns and compliance are therefore very closely related. It follows that activities are now more and more integrated and aligned. This is to avoid conflicts, wasteful overlaps and gaps in corporate practice that would damage the environment. You can learn about compliance laws through compliance training companies.
Environmental compliance varies from place to place, so get on top of what is required in your area. In particular, if you are doing anything that profits from natural resources you will be subject to stringent environmental laws. Things like mining activities, geothermal activities, petroleum activities are subject to very stringent environment laws. Laws like the carbon tax are intended for everyday businesses that don’t necessarily reap profits from the environment, to regulate the impact that they have on the earth in the long term. Acts like Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation act of 1999 stipulate framework for protection of the environment and the preservation of the biodiversity of the earth in the area. It includes, among other things, a broad range of enforcement mechanisms intended to manage suspected or identified instances of non-compliance, and also for reviewing the compliance of referred projects. Make it part of your business practice to constantly review how you every day operations are complying or not complying. Mechanisms for ensuring compliance include civil or criminal penalties (these can apply to individuals or corporations contravening requirements for environmental approvals), incorporating the provision of false or misleading information to obtain approval, which is very badly regarded.
Those who don’t comply can also be subject to remediation orders and determinations which must repair or mitigate any environmental damage resulting from a contravention. All of this can be very expensive, even crippling,for corporations who haven’t complied as they were supposed to.
About the author
Ivy Delfin is a copywriter working with Safetrac, one of the market leaders in online compliance services that provides a range of legal compliance, policy compliance, risk management and behavioural compliance training and testing products. When Ivy’s not writing content she enjoys swimming, shopping and taking her dog for a walk.
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Our writers come from all over the world, but one thing unites them - their passion for sustainability.