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Environmental Aspects and Impacts: In-

depth
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Environmental
Aspects and
Summary Impacts
An organisation’s activities, products and services that interact with the environment
Summary
are referred to as “aspects”, which may have a negative or positive impact on the (/topics/environmental-
environment. Typically, aspects might include emissions to air, discharges to water aspects-and-
and waste arisings, which in turn may generate environmental impacts such as global impacts/summary)
warming, water pollution or contaminated land.
Quick Facts
Some activities, such as those of an office-based service, will have relatively minor (/topics/environmental-
aspects-and-
environmental impacts, such as energy used and emissions linked to air conditioning.
impacts/quickfacts)
Whereas some heavy industrial aspects such as processes that cause emissions to
air and discharges to water may have significant environmental impacts.  In-depth
Managing environmental aspects and impacts is arguably the most important Resources
(/topics/environmental-
component of an environment management system. This topic explains how to
aspects-and-
identify environmental aspects and related impacts and provides useful methods for
impacts/resources)
determining relative significance in terms of risks to the environment. It also explains
how to compile a register of significant aspects and impacts. "How To..." Guides
aspects-and-impacts/how-
In Practice grade-aspects-and-
impacts-according-their-
significance)
What is an Environmental Aspect? Model Policies
An environmental aspect is described in BS EN ISO 14001 as an “element of an
aspects-and-
organisation’s activities, products or services that can interact with the environment”.
impacts/environmental-
Identifying environmental aspects should take account of whether a particular activity, aspects-and-impacts-
product or service causes: policy)
air emissions
effluent discharges
waste arisings
land contamination
use of resources (eg, water, fuel and natural resources).
The above aspects relate to those an organisation can control. There are other
aspects over which the organisation may have “control” or “influence”. These can
include:
product design — to improve environmental performance or extend life of

products
packaging — to minimise the use of material resources and energy
performance — of contractors (on site) and suppliers of goods and materials
land use — improve biodiversity and wildlife habitats on site.
What is an Environmental Impact?

Once the environmental aspect and the cause of that aspect have been identified, the
next step is to identify the potential environmental impacts associated with it that may
adversely affect the environment and human health. The principal types of impacts
are:
https://app.croneri.co.uk/topics/environmental-aspects-and-impacts/indepth 1/12
those associated with inputs, eg extracted resources used in the form of raw
materials and energy — that can give rise to land degradation and depletion of
natural resources
those associated with outputs, eg emissions to air, discharges to water and

waste arisings — that may cause pollution
those associated with on-site activities and processes, eg storage, cleaning,

assembly and packaging — that can also cause pollution or loss of materials
and other resources.
Requirements of ISO 14001

ISO 14001 (/topics/ems-standards/quickfacts) requires organisations to use a
systematic approach to determine its aspects and impacts, by having documented
procedures which:
determine (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-impacts/indepth#DCAM-932385)
the environmental aspects of its products, services and activities, taking into
account current and planned activities, covering the aspects that it can both
control and influence
determine the environmental impacts of each aspect (/topics/environmental-

aspects-and-impacts/indepth#DCAM-932386)
assess the significance (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

impacts/indepth#DCAM-932388) of these aspects and impacts.
An organisation must also consider:
aspects which are under direct management control
aspects which are indirect and do not fall under management control
aspects which can be influenced (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

impacts/indepth#DCAM-932380), if not controlled
past, current and future aspects
actual and potential aspects
linkages between environmental aspects and legal or other requirements.
Requirements of EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (/topics/ems-standards/quickfacts) (EMAS)
includes ISO 14001 as a specification for an environmental management system
(EMS), but goes beyond the EMS standard by stating types of direct and indirect
environmental aspects, as well as being more prescriptive when determining
significance. Furthermore, EMAS specifies which types of environmental aspects
must be considered for the initial review and environmental statement
(/topics/baseline-review/quickfacts), which are required for EMAS.
Processes, Aspects and Impacts

The table below shows some types of process, examples of their aspects, and
subsequent impacts. More examples are shown in the annexes of ISO 14004: 2004.
Example of Processes and Related Aspects and Impacts
Process Aspect Impact
Generation of Extraction of coal Unsustainable

electricity by losses of natural
coal fired
resources
power stations
Emissions of acidic gases Creation of

such as nitrogen oxides photochemical
ozone, which
affects plants and
animals
Emissions of carbon dioxide Climate change

(and possibly other (via global
greenhouse gases) warming)
Process Aspect Impact
Generation of Zero emissions during Reduction of

electricity by
generation climate change
wind turbines
impacts and
sustainable energy
production
Location on hills Visual impact
Noise when turbines are Noise nuisance

moving
Paint spraying Consumption of paints and Unsustainable

using oil- solvents consumption of
based paints
natural resources
and solvents
Emissions to air of solvents Creation of

during use photochemical
ozone and other
pollutants that
affect human health
and the
environment
Capture of overspray, Air emissions from

resulting in hazardous waste, incineration, eg
where disposal route may carbon dioxide,
either be incineration or resulting in climate
conversion of secondary change. Air
liquid fuels (SLF) emissions from
SLF use.
Transportation
Use of oil-based fuels Unsustainable
of goods
losses of natural
using motor resources
vehicles
Emissions of carbon dioxide Climate change

(via global
warming)
Emissions of particulate Impact on human

matter health, especially
people prone to
respiratory ailments
Positive and negative impacts

A process can typically have many aspects and each aspect can have more than one
impact. For example, paint spraying can be an inefficient process and up to half the
sprayed paint can be wasted. The excess paint is typically captured using water
which contains chemicals to hold the paint. This in return results in a thick, sludgy
effluent which may be hazardous.
If the disposal route for the sludge is incineration (/topics/incineration-and-energy-

recovery/quickfacts), there will be air and solid emissions from the incineration
process. If the sludge is recycled into a secondary liquid fuel (SLF) and then used as
a substitute for fossil fuel in cement manufacture, for example, the overall impacts
may be both positive and negative. On the negative side, there will still be air
emissions from cement manufacturing, but this process removes the need for:
landfilling the sludge, resulting in potentially polluting leachate and loss of land
resource
air emissions from the incineration of sludge.
On this basis, there may be net positive impact from converting the sludge to SLF,
noting that commercial and stakeholder considerations may also come into play.
Direct and Indirect Environmental Aspects
A direct environmental aspect is one that is directly attributable to an activity or
process and can therefore be controlled. Indirect environmental aspects are typically
those that arise before an activity (known as upstream aspects) or after the activity
(known as downstream aspects).
Examples of upstream environmental aspects include:
extraction of raw materials and resources
sources of energy production
packaging used by suppliers
chemical content of a product
manufacturing processes used by suppliers.
Examples of downstream environmental aspects include:
energy use of products
use of product by a customer
disposal processes for by-products
end-of-life issues of products.
An organisation cannot always control indirect environmental aspects, such as those

in the supply chain, but it can often influence suppliers and users to reduce, minimise
or eliminate the impacts caused by such aspects.
Ways to Influence the Control of Indirect Aspects and Their Impacts
Process Indirect aspects Influencing mechanism
Generation of Releases of air Changing to suppliers who use a higher

electricity by emissions proportion of “low to no carbon” sources
fossil fuel use
Transportation Releases of air Requiring suppliers to increase fuel

of raw emissions (also efficiency and improve logistics, ie reduce
materials by traffic the net emissions of air pollutants per unit
motor vehicles congestion) of raw material transported per mile
End-of-life of Waste disposal Offering incentives to send spent toner

products, eg of spent toner cartridges back to the manufacturer for
printer toner cartridges refilling and recycling
cartridges
Manufacturing Multiple direct Requiring suppliers to reduce their own

of components and indirect environmental impacts through adopting
for use in inputs and ISO 14001/EMAS
assembly of outputs from
products manufacturing
Suggested Approach — Aspects and

Impacts Analysis
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-
impacts/indepth#DCAM-932501) guidance to accreditation bodies requires EMS
assessors to verify that an organisation’s approach to aspects and impacts analysis is
appropriate to its activities, products and services.
A suggested approach to determine aspects and impacts, according to their

significance, includes the following five steps:
1. Identifying activities (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

impacts/indepth#DCAM-932383), component processes and products under all
applicable conditions.
2. Determining their environmental aspects (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

impacts/indepth#DCAM-932385).
3. Determining the impacts (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

impacts/indepth#DCAM-932386) of these aspects.
4. Assessing the significance (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

impacts/indepth#DCAM-932390) of these impacts.
5. Ranking the impacts according to their significance (/topics/environmental-

aspects-and-impacts/indepth#DCAM-932390).
Identifying activities, processes and products

The first step is to analyse what an organisation does by describing its activities. Each
activity has an outcome, which may be a product or service, while activities also
typically consist of component processes. These can be mapped using a table or flow
chart (process mapping).
When creating flow charts, consider normal conditions, abnormal events, historical
conditions and planned changes. The table below shows some examples of how
normal, abnormal, historical and planned events can affect the environmental aspects
and impacts of fuel storage. As well its own activities, an organisation also needs to
take into account those of its contractors and suppliers.
Examples of Normal, Abnormal, Historical and Planned Events on

Environmental Aspects and Impacts
Condition Process Aspect Impact
Normal Above-ground volatile Evaporative Air pollution, such as

fuel storage in containers losses during photochemical ozone
with secondary filling production and its
containment — refilling effects on plants and
the containers animal life
Abnormal Lack of control of filling, Spills, but Losses of a limited

resulting in overfilling within the resource
contained
area
Planned Controls to prevent Closed Maximum efficiency of

overfilling and recovery system to fuel transfer due to
of evaporative, prevent minimisation of losses
displacement losses losses — resource use
efficiency and reduction
of air pollution
Historical Underground storage of Underground Pollution of

fuels, with tanks still in leakage of groundwater,
place and badly fuels contaminated soil
corroded
Note:
Aspects are not always related to releases (outputs). They also relate to inputs, eg
procurement.
Determining environmental aspects

EMAS and several standards in the ISO 14000 series, eg ISO 14031 for
environmental performance evaluation (EPE) and the ISO 14040 series of standards
for life cycle analysis (/topics/life-cycle-assessment/indepth#DCAM-1527123) (LCA),
use an approach based on the mass-balance model or input-process-output model.
This model states that for every process, the inputs must be equal to the sum of the
outputs plus any losses through process inefficiencies and by-products. Using this
approach enables an organisation to quantify several measures, such as:
amounts of raw materials used per unit activity or product
consumption of energy per unit activity or product
amount of waste produced for each process
releases to atmosphere or water
amount of fuel used to transport a unit product over a specified distance.
This approach underpins both EPE and LCA as such data allows an organisation to
understand the details of significant environmental aspects. Once such data is known,
an organisation can then target improvements at specific areas, eg increasing the
fuel-use efficiency for transporting goods.
A simplified flow chart for paint-spraying can show both the processes at each stage,
together with the inputs and outputs for each step.
Using the combination of process flow charts and input-process-output models can
therefore help an organisation to:
determine the processes which combine to form an activity
determine the environmental aspects for each process, by analysing the inputs
and outputs
assess direct and indirect environmental aspects
show the linkages between individual aspects and the laws or other
requirements which affect them.
Aspects to impacts
As an impact is the result of an interaction between an aspect and the environment,
the next step is to determine the nature of that interaction. An effective way of doing
this for direct environmental aspects — and in particular, releases to the environment
— is to use a model frequently employed for the assessment and management of
contaminated land.
This model states that for every release from a process, there will be a source, a
pathway that it follows, and a point where the release interacts with “receptors” in the
environment. The following table shows some examples of sources, pathways and
receptors.
Examples of Sources, Pathways and Receptors
Environmental aspect Source Pathway Receptor
Noise Machinery Air Local houses
Particulate emissions Boilers Air The local environment

and local population
Effluent from spills Damaged Drainage Local rivers

containers systems
Leakage of fuel from Tanks Permeable Groundwater

underground storage tanks ground
Having determined the pathway and the actual or potential receptors for a release,
the next stage is to determine how such releases impact on the environment. Among
other things, the organisation should consider issues such as:
effects of using land and resources
pressures of activities on biodiversity
acidification of water and soil
changes to river quality
effects of photochemical ozone
effects of greenhouse gas emissions
effects of noise on local populations and wildlife
quarrying and extraction of raw materials
sensitivity of plants and animals to different releases
people (those directly affected and other stakeholders).
Defining significance
A commonsense approach is to establish whether a particular aspect has the
potential to have a negative (or positive) impact on the environment. Activities that are
subject to environmental regulations will signal that environmental aspects and
impacts are significant and need to be properly managed.
There are statutory requirements for the controlled release of certain substances to
air, land and water, eg the release of polluting substances into watercourses will
require a discharge consent from the Environment Agency. Guidance on the
significant impacts associated with particular industries are prescribed in regulations,
guidance notes and various authorisations from the Environment Agency. See
Croner-i Legislation Tracker (https://app.croneri.co.uk/reference-articles/law-and-
guidance/legislation-tracker?product=139).
The criteria for significance will need to consider the type, size and frequency of a
particular aspect and the potential scale, severity and duration of the associated
impact. However, the scope of significant impacts may extend beyond regulations.
Stakeholder issues, for instance, are not always linked to legislation, yet they can still
be highly significant. For example, the noise produced on a site may not contravene
regulations, but if the site is located in a populous area, the noise may result in
complaints from local residents. An organisation’s relationship with the local
community is an important issue and noise levels will therefore be a significant aspect
on that organisation’s register.
Each organisation should define its own significance criteria, recognising that such
criteria should be justified and consistent. The key point is acknowledging the “need
to manage” significant aspects associated with their activities. The list of “need to
manage” aspects will fall into a range of groups; for example, those that are managed
for:
legislative/regulatory compliance, eg liquid effluents, air emissions and waste
performance targets for water, energy, raw materials usage, etc
staff motivation and awareness training
environmental impacts that include safety, eg hazardous chemicals storage,

use and spillage prevention
routine planned maintenance, prevention of leaking pipes and smoke from

boilers, etc
multi-disciplined activities such as new developments.
As a guide, the following factors could be considered.
Source of impact (the aspect of a company’s operations)
Is the source a hazardous substance or process?
Is the impact regulated, subject to policy or codes of practice? (If yes,

there should be cross-reference to a register of regulations?
Transport route (eg transport of liquid via surface water drains to a river).
Does the impact arise from normal, abnormal or emergency operations

(or a combination)?
Is the impact a result of past, current or planned activities (or a

combination)?
Consequences
Does the impact involve potential financial/legal liabilities?
Is the impact likely to be the subject of stakeholder concern?
Has the probability and consequence of the undesired event been

considered?
Evaluating significance
As a general rule, a significant aspect is one that has, or can have, a significant
impact. Evaluation can be based on the consideration of both environmental concerns
and business concerns. Environmental concerns include the scale, duration and
nature of the impact and the likelihood of the impact occurring. Business concerns
include adverse publicity, inefficiencies (eg heating and waste materials), legal
exposure and risk of prosecution and the cost of preventing the impact.
The evaluation of significance requires a transparent methodology to determine the

relative significance of aspects and associated impacts. The methodology may be
qualitative or quantitative, or a combination of both. Establishing a scoring system can
help to establish priorities for action. The key is to ensure that the methodology
remains consistent for all aspects that give rise to environmental impacts.
One option might be to consider a “Control” rating and “Severity of Impact” rating
matrix. The simple equation would be represented as “Significance = Control ×
Severity of Impact”, similar to risk-type matrices. Both the control and severity ratings
would need to be explained and given numerical values. For example, a “severity”
rating 5 might be the highest rating with potentially serious impacts whereas “severity”
rating 1 might be insignificant. Similarly, a high 5 control rating would be where there
is no control and a low 1 control rating would represent a high level of control. In this
way it is possible to demonstrate levels of significance for each aspect and associated
impact.
A simpler approach is to assign each aspect a score of 1 to 5 for each significance

criterion, and then add the scores together. For example, a score of 1 for the first
criterion — the potential to cause environmental harm — would signify low potential,
whereas a score of 5 would signify high potential. The table below shows three
aspects spanning the spectrum of significance using this scale.
This listing process can be documented in a spreadsheet that can be designed with
additional columns for further information to be inserted later for other functions of the
environmental management system. The spreadsheet will also satisfy ISO 14001
Clause 4.4.4 on Environmental Management System Documentation.
Calculation of Significance
Criterion Environmental aspect and impact
Effects of noise Emissions of carbon Storage of fuels and
dioxide to the atmosphere chemicals — accidental spills
Potential to 1 5 5
cause
environmental
harm
Sensitivity of 3 5 3
the
environment
Size and 1 5 3
frequency of
the aspect
Importance to 1 5 3
employees
and
stakeholders
Applicable 2 3 5
legislation
Totals 8 23 19
It is important to agree the criteria for assessing significance. This might involve the
EMS review team and others with operational or environmental expertise, using the
1–5 scoring approach identified above to assign scores and produce a
qualitative/quantitative assessment of significance. Croner’s Environmental Aspect
Evaluation Record (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-impacts/resources#DCAM-
1605700) provides a useful template.
Once assessments have been carried out, the next step is to look at the individual
scorings and extract the higher scoring items which are deemed significant. This then
forms the list of aspects and impacts which can be included in a register of
environmental aspects and impacts.
Prioritising aspects
The higher the rating, the more significant the aspect. On this basis, the table above
indicates that releases of carbon dioxide from energy sources is the most significant
while the storage and handling of chemicals and fuels would be the next most
significant. Both of these aspects would therefore have a top priority for action.
Having graded the aspects and impacts according to their significance, it is useful to
tabulate them showing the laws and other requirements which apply to them. This
demonstrates clear linkages between aspects, impacts and legal/other requirements.
The assessment of significance does not necessarily require a numerical approach.

However, numbers can be a useful way of imparting relative significance (eg to senior
managers), particularly if the numbers vary greatly.
The significance of an aspect may not remain constant, and can change depending
on circumstances. For example, new laws on energy efficiency and carbon emission
trading could increase the rating for emissions of carbon dioxide under applicable
legislation.
On the other hand, although the sensitivity of the environment to fuel and chemical
spills cannot be reduced, the size and frequency of such spills can be reduced and
therefore this aspect would fall in significance as better management practices reduce
its environmental risk.
This page covers

Environmental risk analysis
The approach shown in the table above (/topics/environmental-aspects-and- Summary
impacts/indepth#DCAM-932389) is a simple form of environmental risk analysis, In Practice
where the first three criteria underpin a technique often used in safety assessments,
List of Relevant Legislation
known as Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA). While the scales and criteria
 Further Information
shown in the Calculation of Significance table (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-
impacts/indepth#DCAM-932389) can be effective for most circumstances, the Publications
approach can be less effective for an organisation with many complex activities and British Standards
many releases to the environment. Under such conditions, FMEA can be a further
Defra Publications
useful tool.
 Organisations
Using FMEA, environmental risk is defined as:
the chances of an environmental incident occurring
plus
the chances of detecting the incident
both then multiplied by
the severity of the consequences.
FMEA typically assigns a score of 0 to 100, with the scaling factors below.
FMEA Scale Factors
Chances of occurrence Chances of detection Severity of the consequences
Rating Rating Rating
Very high 5 Very high 0 Very high 10
High 4 High 1 High 8
Moderate 3 Moderate 2 Moderate 6
Low 2 Low 3 Low 4
Very low 1 Very low 4 Very low 2
None 0 None 5 None 0
For example, a poorly maintained chemical storage tank near a storm water drain,
with no emergency preparedness and no leak detection would rank the following
scores.
Chance of occurrence — very high = 5.
Chance of detection — very low = 4.
Severity of consequences — very high = 10.
The risk rating of the storage tanks would be 90 using FMEA, or high enough to place
remedial actions high up on the objectives and targets (/topics/objectives-targets-and-
programmes/quickfacts).
Following remedial actions — which might include secondary containment, leak

detection, better procedures for managing chemical storage and handling, and
provisions for emergencies such as spill kits — the rating would change as follows.
Chance of occurrence — very low = 1.
Chance of detection — certain = 0.
Severity of consequences — very high = 10.
The risk rating is therefore reduced from 90 to 10, so the environmental aspect falls
dramatically in significance.
Regulatory Tools for Environmental Risk

Assessment
The Environmental Agency’s (EA) operator and pollution risk appraisal
(/topics/environmental-aspects-and-impacts/indepth#DCAM-932397) (OPRA)
methodology is a systematic tool for assessing operator hazards and the risks these
pose to the environment. Since the EA developed OPRA, the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a similar scheme
(/topics/environmental-aspects-and-impacts/indepth#DCAM-932397) for local
authorities for use on industrial processes regulated under the UK environmental
permitting (/topics/environmental-permitting-programme/quickfacts) regulations.
Both these methodologies assess the environmental sensitivity, the environmental

hazards of the installation being considered, and how operators manage and control
these risks.
As the approaches have many parallels with the requirements of ISO 14001
(/topics/ems-standards/quickfacts) and EMAS, both OPRA and the local authority
methodology can be useful for assessing both aspects and impacts, and the risks that
they pose.
Compiling a Register of Significant Aspects

and Impacts
The register should be documented in a way that external assessors can read and
understand. The register should explain:
what the aspect and related impact is and how it arises from the organisation’s
activities.
the process or method used to determine significance, and the scores or

values attached to the impact (perhaps by reference to supporting documents).
details of the department and the position of the person responsible for the
activity or process in an organisation which generates the aspect and impact.
how the organisation manages or controls the impact, ie through linkage to the
rest of the management system (such as the company policy, objectives and
targets, the register of regulations, and operational control procedures).
The procedure used within the EMS to ensure that the Register of
Environmental Aspects and Impacts is kept up to date, such as a defined
review period.
A register of environmental aspects and impacts provides an essential reference for

prioritising objectives and targets to improve overall environmental performance.
Format of the register

The register may be presented in a variety of formats.
A preferred approach might be a register containing the full range of identified aspects
and impacts, highlighting those assessed as being significant. This would facilitate
periodic reviews and updates which might reveal, for example, some impacts not
previously considered to be important becoming significant because of changes in
legislation or scientific knowledge, or through increase or change in production
methods.
A hard copy of the register should be maintained as the primary copy. For updating
procedures, the register could either be computer-based or a paper document. See a
template of a Register here (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-
impacts/resources#DCAM-1605700).
Additional Sources of Information

There are various sources of information which may be available and useful to an
organisation in determining the significant environmental impacts, such as:
information contained in waste transfer notes
conditions for process authorisations under the Environmental Protection Act

1990
effluent consent conditions
information gathered during applications for legal consents and authorisation
information compiled for the purposes of the Control of Substances Hazardous

to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002, eg safety data sheets
information gathered during environmental assessments for new projects,

where relevant
industry Codes of Practice.
Communications
EMAS requires organisations to establish mechanisms to control communications
with interested parties. Similarly, ISO 14001 also outlines certain requirements for
communicating, both internally and externally, an organisation’s environmental
aspects and its EMS. Guidelines on how this can be achieved are contained in the
recently updated ISO 14004 EMS guidance standard.
It is important for an organisation to be aware of the concerns and requirements of

interested parties and to ensure that communications are dealt with in the most
appropriate and efficient way possible. Depending on the nature of the
communication, this may need to be passed on to the appropriate person within the
organisation who is able to deal with it.
In all cases, there should be records which detail the correspondence which occurs.
List of Relevant Legislation
EC Regulation No. 761/2001 (http://europa.eu.int/eur-
lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32001R0761:EN:HTML) allowing
voluntary participation by organisations in a Community Eco-management and
Audit Scheme (EMAS)
Further Information
Publications
British Standards
The following are available from BSI (http://www.bsi-global.com).
BS EN ISO 14004:2016 Environmental Management Systems. General

Guidelines on Implementation
BS EN ISO 14031:2013 Environmental Management. Environmental

Performance Evaluation. Guidelines
BS EN ISO 14040:2006 Environmental Management. Life Cycle Assessment.

Principles and Framework
BS EN ISO 14044:2006 Environmental Management. Life Cycle Assessment.

Requirements and Guidelines
BS EN ISO 14047:2012 Environmental Management — Life Cycle Assessment

— Illustrative Examples on How to Apply ISO 14044 to Impact Assessment
Situations
PD ISO/TR 14032:2000 Environmental Management. Examples of

Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE)
Defra Publications
The following is available from Defra
(https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-
affairs).
LAPC + LAPPC Risk Method
Organisations
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-
ru... (http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-
food-rural-affairs)
Defra is the government department that deals with waste, water and other
environmental issues. It consults on new regulations and provides guidance on
legislation and best practice.
Environment Agency
http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
(http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency)
The Environment Agency is the national environmental regulator in England,
with specific responsibility for waste regulation.
United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)

http://www.ukas.com (http://www.ukas.com)
UKAS is the national accreditation body which assesses and accredits
organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration
services against internationally agreed standards.
Last reviewed 19 December 2018
Features
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impact-assessment)
 Case report: Appeal rejected for agricultural development (/feature-articles/case-report-appeal-rejected-

agricultural-development)
 Case report: Appeal rejected for mineral processing facility (/feature-articles/case-report-appeal-rejected-

mineral-processing-facility)
 Case report: Appeal rejected for renewable energy plant (/feature-articles/case-report-appeal-rejected-

renewable-energy-plant)
 Cutting car use: can it be done? (/feature-articles/cutting-car-use-can-it-be-done)
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Environmental Aspects and Impacts - In-Depth - Croner-I

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8/16/2019 Environmental Aspects and Impacts: In-depth | Croner-i

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Environmental Aspects and Impacts: In-

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use of resources (eg, water, fuel and natural resources).

product design — to improve environmental performance or extend life of

packaging — to minimise the use of material resources and energy

performance — of contractors (on site) and suppliers of goods and materials

land use — improve biodiversity and wildlife habitats on site.

What is an Environmental Impact?

those associated with outputs, eg emissions to air, discharges to water and

those associated with on-site activities and processes, eg storage, cleaning,

Requirements of ISO 14001

determine the environmental impacts of each aspect (/topics/environmental-

assess the significance (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

An organisation must also consider:

aspects which are under direct management control

aspects which can be influenced (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

past, current and future aspects

actual and potential aspects

linkages between environmental aspects and legal or other requirements.

Processes, Aspects and Impacts

Example of Processes and Related Aspects and Impacts

Process Aspect Impact

Generation of Extraction of coal Unsustainable

Emissions of acidic gases Creation of

Emissions of carbon dioxide Climate change

Process Aspect Impact

Generation of Zero emissions during Reduction of

Location on hills Visual impact

Noise when turbines are Noise nuisance

Paint spraying Consumption of paints and Unsustainable

Emissions to air of solvents Creation of

Capture of overspray, Air emissions from

Emissions of carbon dioxide Climate change

Emissions of particulate Impact on human

Positive and negative impacts

If the disposal route for the sludge is incineration (/topics/incineration-and-energy-

air emissions from the incineration of sludge.

Direct and Indirect Environmental Aspects

Examples of upstream environmental aspects include:

extraction of raw materials and resources

sources of energy production

packaging used by suppliers

chemical content of a product

manufacturing processes used by suppliers.

Examples of downstream environmental aspects include:

energy use of products

use of product by a customer

disposal processes for by-products

end-of-life issues of products.

An organisation cannot always control indirect environmental aspects, such as those

Ways to Influence the Control of Indirect Aspects and Their Impacts

Process Indirect aspects Influencing mechanism

Generation of Releases of air Changing to suppliers who use a higher

Transportation Releases of air Requiring suppliers to increase fuel

End-of-life of Waste disposal Offering incentives to send spent toner

Manufacturing Multiple direct Requiring suppliers to reduce their own

Suggested Approach — Aspects and

A suggested approach to determine aspects and impacts, according to their

1. Identifying activities (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

2. Determining their environmental aspects (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-

3. Determining the impacts (/topics/environmental-aspects-and-