Environmental safety is no longer a secondary concern–it’s already a major focus for more and more organizations across industries. From limits on greenhouse emissions to bans on certain materials, organizations are under increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices.
This guide will explain the essentials of environmental safety, along with the most common hazards and actionable steps businesses can take. By understanding its growing importance and the specific challenges they may encounter, you can stay on top of regulations, meet customer expectations, and contribute to a greener future.
What is environmental safety?
Environmental safety is now becoming a priority for businesses around the world, thanks to more focused regulations and customers who are becoming more aware of environmental issues. These refer to the proactive measures and practices taken to minimize harm to the environment, from global warming to the increase in plastic waste, as well as to protect people’s health and wellbeing.
Many organizations already have formal policies in place for environmental safety, including:
- Storing and disposing waste properly
- Reducing energy and water consumption
- Using renewable energy resources
- Minimizing air pollutants and greenhouse emissions
Since hazards can vary per industry, organizations must first identify and assess risks like pollution and chemical spills, then set control measures for this.
Major environmental safety regulations
To monitor environmental safety, there are already regulations in place to make sure that businesses operate in ways that protect both the environment and public health. These regulations vary across regions. Government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) write and create laws for these as backed by research. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) also sets standards that companies anywhere can follow.
For many of these regulations, compliance is critical. In fact, non-compliance–such as improper asbestos handling or violating water discharge permits–can result in hefty fines, long-term reputation damage, or even your operations getting shut down. Compliance may also require thorough documentation of inspections, audits, and corrective actions taken.
Components of environmental safety
Organizations looking to promote environmental safety and promote sustainability need to take these elements into account:
Risk assessment
Risk assessment and mitigation lie at the heart of any environmental safety plan. This involves pinpointing environmental risks, like chemical spills and oil leaks, then systematically evaluating their likelihood and impact so you can tackle the most pressing issues first.
For example, a manufacturing plant might focus on risks associated with toxic waste. On the other hand, a retail business would pay more attention to the environmental impact of packaging materials.
Compliance with regulations
Complying with environmental safety regulations is essential for businesses aiming to minimize risks and operate ethically. Industries like construction, energy, mining, chemicals, and construction often have the most stringent regulations.
Compliance allows you to avoid penalties–as well as earn the trust of customers, employees, and local communities. For businesses operating across multiple regulations, they must meticulously keep track of changes in regulations in all of these.
Training and education
Employees should understand the importance of environmental protocols, along with how to identify hazards, use equipment safely, and respond to emergencies. Training might include a mix of in-person workshops and online platforms. You can incorporate checklists so employees can follow protocols step-by-step.
Training should also be continuous, with regular refresher sessions and updates about new environmental policies or tools.
Auditing
Another crucial component of an environmental safety program would be regular monitoring and auditing to make sure that protocols are effective and still being followed. You might set KPIs (key performance indicators) like energy usage, waste production, and emissions levels to identify inefficiencies.
You’ll then arrange regular audits, then review findings in team meetings. For example, excessive waste production might mean you’ll need improved recycling programs or process adjustments.
Emergency preparedness
Finally, organizations also need an emergency preparedness plan in case of incidents like natural disasters, chemical spills, and fires. For each risk, there should be detailed response protocols, including steps to contain the hazard, notify relevant authorities, and protect affected areas.
This also includes documentation. Maintain updated emergency plans, contact lists, and compliance records in easily accessible places, both physical and digital.
Most common environmental safety violations
Several mistakes make up common shortcomings that companies neglect to address and which lead them to face repercussions from regulatory bodies. The most typical violations that result in investigations include, but are not limited to:
Improper removal and disposal of regulated asbestos
Although banned in several countries, asbestos is legal in the United States. However, it’s regulated because it does pose a significant health risk. The law includes strict requirements for the removal and disposal of asbestos. Not following those guidelines constitutes a violation of the EPA’s Clean Air Act.
Unlawful pollution of water sources
The Clean Air Act requires plants or facilities to treat wastewater first before flushing it into the sewer system. Skipping this step is harmful to the environment and you can have your operating permit revoked.
Illegally dumping hazardous waste
Hazardous waste comes from different sources, such as harmful chemicals, industrial wastes, and hospital waste. Disposing of hazardous waste inappropriately is not only toxic to the environment, but also to public health.
Organizations must identify these substances using a hazardous waste identification process. That way, they can be disposed of properly.
Unlawfully importing restricted chemicals
Organizations must also make sure that the chemicals they import or use don’t violate environmental laws. These hazardous chemical wastes include:
- Batteries containing mercury
- Pesticides
- Paints
- Fluorescent bulbs
- Industrial solvents
Tampering with drinking water
The penalty for tampering with a drinking water supply is 20-year imprisonment for the EPA. It sets legal limits on more than 90 contaminants that can be harmful to drinking water. These contaminants are divided into three categories:
- Chemical pollutants: arsenic, lead, copper, radionuclides
- Microbial: coliform, disinfectant byproducts, etc.
- Right-to-know: the idea that consumers have a right to know the quality of their drinking water
Having an audit checklist and monitoring compliance regularly helps businesses evaluate their environmental status. It also helps eliminate work hazards and costly penalties.
Using an environmental safety audit checklist
Compliance monitoring is an essential part of environmental safety organizations like the EPA, so they can make sure facilities and organizations comply with applicable regulations.
An environmental safety audit checklist guides organizations through the self-driven audit process, including how to assess whether or not resources and materials comply with environmental laws.
A checklist ensures that you’re ready for any official audits, and ensures you have documentation prepared to show inspectors. Having all your documents gives you confidence in case the inspection is a surprise.
How to prepare your environmental safety audit checklist
According to EPA statistics, companies spend as much as $63 million in combined civil, administrative, and criminal fines, and as much as $9.7 billion in actions and equipment that curb pollution and clean contaminated areas.
Your organization can avoid paying hefty non-compliance fines if you prepare a comprehensive environmental safety audit checklist that covers every regulation.
1. Important documents
Prepare the following information and documents:
- Facility map and description
- Organization’s regulatory history
- Current compliance programs of your organization
- Compliance procedures/process records
- Employee training records
- Medical examination records
- Existing environmental licenses and permits
2. Corrective action plan
A key part of any environmental safety audit checklist is your corrective action plan. You need to be aware of the things that need fixing and the ways you could fix them.
Have a regular schedule for the following tasks:
- Visual inspections of your plant/facility
- Interviews with selected facility personnel
If certain areas in your facility have been flagged for non-compliance during an inspection, acknowledge them. Also, describe the corrective actions you will take to comply.
3. Machinery and equipment records
Identify the following processes, issues, and materials:
- The main operation at the plant/facility, including all applicable codes like the Standard Industrial Classification(SIC) code
- Potential sources of pollution in the workplace
- Raw materials used in the plant
- Waste and pollution control devices and processes
- The installation date of each process
- Accident history
Familiarize yourself with all the machinery and equipment used in the facility. Be aware of any machinery using fluids that have PBCs.
4. Environmental management history
Know your organization’s environmental management history. You should be able to identify all the types of wastes produced by the facility.
Review all records and files related to your environmental management program documents regularly. Find out if any of them are still valid or near expiration. Some of these documents might include:
- Permits and documentations
- Flowsheets
- Sampling records
- Maintenance and operating logs
- Emergency action plan
- Notification procedures
- Analytical inventories
5. Final check
Make sure to address the following questions:
- Is there a written protocol that guides employees on how to respond to an inspection?
- Do you know your organization’s point of contact?
- Do you have all copies of all the required permits, forms, and regulatory submissions?
- Do you have a dedicated place to store all the confidential and privileged documents?
Simple environmental safety checklists with workflow automation software
Ensuring compliance with environmental safety regulations is easier when you use workflow automation software to generate and manage your audit checklists. As opposed to paper-based checklists, automated checklists are digital, meaning they are reusable and don’t need to be stored anywhere.
Lumiform’s app and desktop software store all your inspection data securely and helps you track corrective actions in case any issues are identified. When you start using it to perform internal environmental safety audits, you can:
- Resolve incidents up to 4x faster than before thanks to more efficient team communication and faster incident reporting
- Turn any existing paper checklist into a digital one in minutes using the flexible form builder
- Include photos and comments to improve the quality of your inspections
- Address issues and violations immediately, and assign corrective actions on the spot
- Use automatically generated inspection reports to analyze your audit results and avoid having to enter all that data manually