What Does Environmental Impact Assessment Entail?

Chances of environmental pollution emanating from business establishments are very high because practically any business activity may end up generating environmental pollution. The problem with environmental pollution is that you are prone to massive lawsuits pertaining the environmental impact of your business' activities if adequate care is not taken. It is for this reason that you should always conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before any project so that you are able to combat those areas in your business that are likely to pollute the environment.

Each country will have its own EIA policy, although the procedure is always the same across the board. In Australia, the governing authority is the 1999 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). If you are worried that your business may cause land pollution, then it is imperative that you have a professional conduct the environmental assessment. Below is the standard procedure that the assessor will follow:

Screening

At this stage, your business will be assessed to determine whether an EIA is needed in the first place. It would be a waste of resources to have a complete EIA done on your business if there is no need. The resulting document will determine whether the business project needs an EIA.

Scoping

Once it has been determined that your business may require an EIA, it has to be determined the exact areas that are of concern. An EIA does not analyse every nitty gritty aspect of your project, but only those areas that are considered risk areas. It is through scoping that those risk areas are identified.

Actual Assessment / Impact Analysis

An EIA is done prior to the commencement of operation of the project. As such, the results of an environmental impact assessment are predictive. It is merely a prediction of what that activity might do to the environment. During the actual assessment, it is predicted how each activity might impact the environment. More often than not, the assessment will also include alternative ways to achieve the goals of your business or project without necessarily polluting the environment. The process of coming up with the alternatives is referred to as mitigation and impact management. After the mitigation measures have been identified, they are incorporated into an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The EMP is project-specific.

Eventually, the EMP is reviewed for viability, and a decision on whether or not you need to go on with your project is made.

Before any project, always remember to conduct an EIA so that you are not faced with unnecessary lawsuits.



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Building a Better Business Hello! My name is Karl and this is my new blog. On this blog, I will be talking about the various ways in which you can grow your business. I should point out that I am not a business-owner myself but I do one day hope to be able to set up my own shop. In preparation, I have been paying a visit to various local businesses so I could find out how they operate and what makes them successful. I have learnt lots of very cool things which I would like to share with you. I hope you find my blog useful.

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