Environmental Management Guidelines

The Small Firms Association and AIB have complied these easy to read guidelines to provide small businesses with practical advice and assistance across the environmental legislation spectrum. Click on each button to read the relevent chapter.

Waste Management

Waste management has become a significant business issue for small business in recent years. The Waste Management Act, 1996, as amended, regulates all waste management activities. There is a general duty of care on business to manage the waste streams generated on-site correctly and to ensure that waste is only transferred to appropriately licensed or permitted waste management contractors for off-site treatment.

Chemicals

A number of regulations are in place to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of dangerous chemicals. Legislation provides for the proper management of chemicals by preventing, minimising and controlling the environmental impacts.

Water and Wastewater

All businesses consume water, either directly as part of their production process or indirectly, e.g. the provision of drinking water to staff. Having consumed this water the resulting wastewater - arising directly from the production process or indirectly, e.g. canteen/kitchen waste - must be dealt with.

Energy Efficiency

Significant rises in energy prices have focused the attention of the business community as to how to better manage and reduce their energy consumption. In many small firms, energy is one of the largest controllable costs and considerable scope exists for reducing usage.

Carbon Footprint

While meeting the challenge of climate change clearly needs a long term global solution, which includes all countries and regions, each and every Irish business, irrespective of size, sector or location, can play a positive role. By firstly measuring and then reducing their individual emissions, small business can reap both economic and environmental benefits.

Noise Nuisance

Environmental noise is generally regarded as unwanted sound. The existence of a noise nuisance can be difficult to establish but it usually refers to a situation where a person considers a noise to be so loud, so repeated, of such duration or pitch or occurring at such times that it gives them reasonable cause for annoyance.

The below guide details how you can act to reduce noise polution in your business

Environmental Management Systems

All business, regardless of size and activity, has some impact on the environment. An Environment Management System (EMS) is a tool that allows a company identify and address their particular environmental impacts. Environmental issues should not be considered in isolation to other management issues. By adopting an EMS a company is making a commitment to incorporate environmental issues into existing management systems.

Raising Environmental Awareness

For owner-managers of small businesses, raising environmental awareness among staff and involving them in achieving the organisation's environmental objectives are significant challenges. In addition, a further challenge for small businesses is to communicate the company's efforts to improve environmental performance, to customers, suppliers, regulators and other external stakeholders, as appropriate.

Who are the Regulators?

The local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate the impact of small business on the environment. They are the principal regulators.