Every company has a duty to comply with environmental regulations and requirements. They need to adhere to the local or national environmental regulatory requirements in all aspects of their business, including their operational activities, and the products or services that they offer.
Many organizations choose to work alongside environmental compliance and consulting services to ensure they comply with the legal regulations. Since environmental compliance can be complicated, gaining help from an expert company can be helpful.
Who Defines Environmental Compliance Regulations?
Ultimately, environmental compliance lays out a set of rules that every company must follow to reduce the negative impacts that their operations might have on the environment. These rules are determined by regulatory bodies, such as:
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces many federal environmental laws and regulations for environmental and community benefits.
- Department of the Interior implements federal laws that are associated with public lands management, conservation regulations, mining, and natural resources.
- Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulates the transportation of hazardous materials, such as radioactive substances, oil, and natural gas.
There are many more regulatory bodies, all of which are involved in creating the laws around environmental compliance.
Creating an Environmental Compliance Report
Larger organizations can hire a team of staff dedicated to generating environment compliance reports. Smaller companies may outsource their environmental compliance reports to a third-party company or an environmental regulator.
The following information may be included in an environmental compliance report:
The overall impact of the business on the environment
- Strategies and policies that the business plans to implement to reduce or eliminate their environmental impact
- Any relevant permits or licenses
- Details of when and where the business has handled hazardous materials
- Details of how the business disposes of hazardous waste materials
Why is Environmental Compliance Important?
Companies have both legal and ethical responsibilities to protect the environment in as many ways as possible. By implementing policies to be compliant with environmental regulations, businesses can also gain a positive reputation and widen their customer base.
More customers are now searching for organizations and brands that are making a conscious effort to protect the environment. Consumers are now choosing to support brands that are trying to mitigate harm to the environment over companies that aren’t making the same efforts.
There are several additional benefits of environmental compliance. It enables a company to:
- Identify the environmental issues that are impacting business operations or stunting business growth
- Identify where their current business operations might be negatively impacting the environment
- Create and implement strategies or policies to mitigate any negative environmental impacts and reduce the environmental footprint associated with their daily operations
- Mitigate the risks of non-compliance
- Recognize the required environmental permits and licenses, and apply for them if necessary
- Identify the most cost-efficient and resource-efficient ways of maintaining environmental compliance
- Define the process of getting rid of hazardous waste materials or substances
