Evaluating the significance of

environmental aspects and impacts:

effective tools

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What are Aspects and Impacts?

ISO 14001 requires organisations to identify aspects associated with

activities, products and services that it can control or influence and
determine those aspects that can have a significant impact on the
environment.

Any alternative definitions?

What does this mean?

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What are Aspects and Impacts?

Consider the following - Aspects or Impacts?

Vehicle Emissions from Transport Fleet

Ozone Layer Depletion

Waste Generation

Electricity Consumption

Global Warming

Spillage of Chemicals

Use of Ozone Depleting Substances

Water Pollution and Death of Fish

Disposal of Waste to Landfill (Ground Pollution)
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Aspects and Impacts

Aspects

Impacts

Vehicle Emissions

Waste Generation

Global Warming

Disposal of Waste to
Landfill

Electricity Consumption

Use of Ozone Depleting

Global Warming

Spillage of Chemicals

Water pollution

Substances

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Ozone layer depletion

The ISO 14001 Definition

ASPECT

element of an organizations activities or products or services that

can interact with the environment
ISO 14001:2004

IMPACT

any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial,

wholly or partly resulting from an organizations environmental
aspects
ISO 14001:2004

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Significance Evaluation

Why do it?

What do we need to think about?

Normal, Abnormal, Occasional or Emergency

Direct or indirect

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Significance Evaluation How?

No fixed approach

Meet your needs

Keep it in perspective

Sift out the obvious

Means to an end

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Aspect Assessment Approaches

Risk Based Scoring Methodology
Using a numeric cut-off value
Likelihood of Occurrence (A)
Criteria

Severity of Environmental Impact (C )

Rank

Criteria

Rank

Certain

Very High

10

Very Likely

High

Likely

Moderate

Unlikely

Low

Very unlikely

Minor

None

Significance = A x C = (Figure between 1 and 50, >20 = significant)

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Aspect Assessment Approaches

Key to Traffic Light scheme

Environmental and
Commercial Qualitative

Red Aspect is controlled weakly and poses great threat (or opportunity)
to the environment and/or the organisation.

Amber Aspect is controlled but poses great threat (or opportunity) to the
environment or the organisation.

Green Aspect is controlled and poses only a moderate threat (or

opportunity) to the environment or the organisation.

Blue Aspect requires further research to establish the true extent of any
threat or opportunity.

Blank

Corporate
Image

Notes

No control over
electricity use and
costs.

No control over gas

use and costs.

Requirement to
monitor water
treatment plant.

Electricity
Gas

Customers
Views

Cost Savings

Taxes & Legal

Costs

Legal
Requirement

Environment

Aspect

Blank Aspect poses little or no threat (or opportunity) to the

environment or the organisation.

Water

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Aspect Assessment Approaches

Criteria Based

Simple approach using questions

When is an aspect consider significant

Criteria-Based Question
1

Does any current legislation apply?

Do any contractual requirements apply?

Is it likely that any further legislative or contractual

requirements will apply in the future?

Can the techniques and controls applied to the

relevant activities, products, and services be
improved to reduce the impact on the environment?

Are large amounts of resources consumed on a

regular basis?

Are large amounts of solid waste produced on a

regular basis?

Is it likely to have a major negative impact on the

environment or local community?

Can the organisation exert direct control over it?

Is it of major concern to key interested parties?

10

Are corporate values likely to be contradicted?

Yes has been answered to at least one

question.

The largest number of yes responses

represents the highest significance.

Options: Weighting

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Aspects Assessment Approaches

Question Number
Aspect

Notes
1

10
Total

Efficiency improvements
can be made.
Electricity

Efficiency improvements
can be made.
Gas

Water treatment plant is

well controlled.
Water

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Workshop

Consider the Case Study provided

Evaluate the Aspects and Impacts identified as instructed

 Group : Risk based Scoring Methodology

 Group

2: Environmental and Commercial Qualitative

 Group

3: Criteria Based

You have 20 mins

Present your results what did you rate as being significant

Identify positives and negatives related to your approach
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Conclusion and Discussion

Group discussion

Which is the preferred option?

Why?

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