Environmental Management & Compliance Consultancy

Environmental Management

Assurity Consulting is a long-time certified ISO 14001 organisation, with a range of specialist skills across environmental compliance and management. Our environmental consultants understand how to audit, what companies need to do and the structure they need to take. We can be bespoke and flexible to your needs – we collaborate and work together for the right solution. We have also spent years as active members of groups such as the EIC, IWFM, and the BCO, working with them and various government departments and looking at what the real issues are.

The environment is the main agenda topic for most stakeholder groups. Your activities in this area should fit with your business needs, be coordinated, and seek to add value – no easy task.

As with all elements of corporate responsibility, what you must have is accurate and verifiable information. Without it, knowing what environmental issues are most relevant to your organisation and how they should be effectively managed can be very difficult.

Services

Strategic-level and operational-level environmental management reviews
Environmental policy review or creation
Creation of bespoke environmental management systems, manuals and procedures
ISO 14001 consultancy and training: our team has been through the application process and has vast experience in all relevant areas
Environmental awareness training
Environmental compliance audits
Water continuity management reviews
F gas management reviews
Oil and fuel storage management reviews and risk assessments
Topic based training such as waste management

Benefits

Real experience

Our consultants have been through the application process for ISO 14001 certification themselves and can advise you on all aspects of the undertaking.

Comprehensive services

We can offer you a full range of environmental consultancy, analysis and training services, so that no matter what the scale of your ambitions, we can add value to the process and guide you through to a successful conclusion.

Peace of mind

Environmental issues are assuming greater and greater importance and profile. Know that you have your organisation’s needs covered in this area by retaining an expert environmental consultancy such as Assurity Consulting.

With environmental considerations high on the agenda for most stakeholder groups, your activities need to be credible, effective and fit the business need. The best organisations recognise this and base their management on the reality of their environmental impacts, not the perception.

When considered as a whole and properly assessed and managed, good verifiable environmental management can also add value by complementing your risk and business continuity processes too.

Read our independent guide on ISO 14001

Specifics

Strategic Level Environmental Management Review

Environmental Management Policy Review/Drafting

Environmental Management – Water Continuity Management Review

Environmental Management System – ISO 14001 Consultancy and Training

Environmental Awareness/Management Training

Environmental Management – Oil Storage Risk Assessment

Strategic Level Waste Management Review

Waste Management Training

Environment and Sustainability FAQs

How do I go about reviewing my environment policy?

Over the last decade, we have seen sustainability develop from primarily an environmental topic to cover areas as diverse as health and safety, wellbeing, social value, modern slavery and the living wage. The nature of the organisation will dictate how each element interacts, the significance it has and so the profile it presents. Understanding this is fundamental to successfully implementing and delivering on your policy aims.

Your environmental policy must address the following:

Demonstrate commitment by getting it signed, dated and endorsed by senior management.
Include a description of your organisation and the activities which may impact on the environment.
Include a commitment to education and training of employees, particularly those responsible.
State how progress will be monitored, and environmental performance reviewed.
Document realistic, achievable and relevant targets to your organisation's environmental impact.

A strategic level management review is an ideal step in gaining that understanding. It provides a clear picture of your current position, the information you have/are reporting and so where your resources can be deployed to best effect for your department and your organisation.

My building could be at risk of flooding, what do I need to do?

Floods over the past few years have highlighted the urgent need for long-term business continuity planning.

Flooding also has secondary problems as it can cause travel problems, power cuts and water supply disruption.

We can carry out a flood risk assessment to see where your biggest risks are and help you to minimise the impact to your organisation.

How can my organisation become ISO 14001 certified?

ISO 14001 is an internationally recognised environmental management standard that specifies the requirements for an effective Environmental Management System (EMS). The ISO 14001 standard provides a set of standards and guidelines that define the core EMS itself and the auditing procedures necessary for verification. The standard gives guidance on what you need to do structurally but does not define the specific environmental performance goals and the core requirements of an EMS are applicable to organisations of all sizes, types and locations.

What are the stages involved in becoming certified?

The first step in working towards certification involves carrying out an Environmental Management Review. The review process provides a comprehensive analysis of the environmental performance, issues and impacts related to your business activities. The process involves drawing a list of all those aspects at the site which could have any effect on the environment and identifying any gaps in current environmental management. From here specific environmental aspects of an organisation can be prioritised to set clear objectives and define the scope of the Environmental Management System.
All employees should be provided with training on what ISO 14001 is and why your organisation is looking to become certified.
Once an EMS has been developed and documented, employees will follow procedures, collect records and make improvements to the system. This collection of records will be required during an audit to show that your processes meet the requirements set out for them and that improvements are being made. Different certification bodies will identify a certain length of time in which this needs to be carried out, to make sure that the system is mature enough to show compliance.
Internal audits should be carried out to gain an understanding of how your system is working. This will allow you to find any gaps where processes are perhaps not doing what was planned and allow you to make necessary improvements.
A management review meeting should then be carried out to make sure that processes have adequate resources to be effective and improve.
Finally, when your organisation is fully prepared, the external certification body will audit your organisation in two stages. The initial stage reviews documentation to verify that your organisation is meeting the necessary requirements of the standard and then this will be followed by an on-site audit.

Related services: Environmental Management

What is an environmental management system?

An environmental management system (EMS) helps an organisation achieve environmental objectives through consistent review, evaluation, and improvement of its environmental performance and is based plan, do check, act methodology. The system consists of policies, processes, procedures and records and document how your organisation meets regulatory requirement by assessing and monitoring interactions with the environment and helping to prevent negative environmental impacts and improve environmental performance.

Related services: Environmental Management