There are many challenges which are posed by the construction projects and these relates to completing the project within the time frame set and the cost but the biggest challenge faced to the construction projects is minimizing the hazardous environmental impact. According to Hendrickson and Horvath (2000), a small impact on the natural environment can be disastrous. Many companies do not follow an environmental management system (EMS) because there is either lack of knowledge or lack of standards available. ISO 14001 is a complete guideline for the companies to implement an EMS.

The company selected for this report is Persimmon Plc. This is a British House Building company and is located on York, England. The name of the company is after a horse that won St. Leger and Derby in 1986 for the Prince of Wales. The company is listed on the London Stock exchange and the FTSE 100 index. Although there are sustainable practices followed by the company. Yet, there is need to adopt a complete environmental management system,

The main aim of the assignment is to identify the management compliance system through which the IS0 14001 standards can be implemented smoothly. Another aim of the assignment was to identify significant environmental aspects and then develop objectives, targets and environmental programs that can be adopted to improve the environmental impacts of Persimmon Plc. In the end of the assignment the recommendations and conclusion is given.

1.1.Introduction

ISO 14001 is one of the most applicable set of laws and regulations which are applied and adopted by the companies in order to protect the environment. These standards focus on the environmental aspects and the regulations are the key to manage the application as well as they lead the organisation in the right direction as according to Oakland (2003). The compliance with the standards is very important for the company not only when they are adopted, but also to stay registered with the standards because omitting implementation of any of the standards can cancel the certification. When one the compliance starts smoothly, then a need of its management arises because of the consistent application of the laws and regulations of the standards.

1.2.Ways of Managing the Successful implementation of ISO 14001 Standards

The management can be done by various means as explained in the following figure.

Figure 1: Managing the Compliance with ISO 14001 standards (Self Developed)

This can be done by various means which is explained in the forthcoming sub-headings.

1.2.1.Internal auditing:

When once the ISO 14001 standards are adopted, it it important to have an auditing system which monitors as well as evaluates the environmental performance of the company. According to Shanska (2002 a and b), it was identified that the internal management system helps in not only identifying environmental impacts, but also define targets and objectives to reduce significant impacts on the environment. This ultimately develops a management system through which implementation of environmental management system is possible in a smooth manner without causing disturbance in day to day organisational activities.

1.2.2.Senior and Top management participation:

Whenever change is implemented, it cannot be smoothly run without the support of the top and the senior management (Tam et al., 2002). It is important that the top management is fully involved in the implementation process because they are the shareholders of the company and any negative impact on the image of the company can cause serious threats to the profitability and image of the company.

1.2.3.Employee Engagement:

Employee engagement is one of the significant concerns of the organisation, whether it is any area of business unit, or any decision making the company is going. When implementing environmental standards and after their implementation, in order to effectively run the legislations and to manage them, it is important that employees are engaged. Their point of view and opinion must be given importance (Christini, 2003).

1.2.4.Commitment:

Top management commitment and employee commitment to the legislations of ISO 14001 standards can help in managing the whole implementation and then monitoring the whole process (Pun et al., 2001). When the employees and management is committed towards environment, it will be easy for the company to manage ISO 14001 standards.

1.2.5.Employee training and creating awareness:

Employees should be trained and awareness should be given to them regarding the laws, legislations and regulations of ISO 14001 standards. This helps in managing the whole process. On - the - job and off - the - job training must be conducted to educate employees about the process. Employees should be trained to provide their input in the ISO 14001 standards application (Mathews, 2001).

1.2.6.Translation of the Legal requirements:

The legal requirements of the ISO 14001 standards should be translated such that the company be able to review, which one is relevant to the company and which is not. The certification body should play role in this because it can help in future management of the adopted standards as according Uren and Griffiths (2000).

1.2.7.Relevant standards that strategically fit:

Strategic fit of the standards is very important for effective management of the legislations and clauses mentioned under ISO 14001 principles and standards. Uren and Griffiths (2000) has identified that the certification body helps in providing information about which of the clauses are relevant and fits strategically and which are not.

1.3.Conclusion

The management of ISO 14001 standards is very critical because when any negligence is seen on the part of the company, the certification is cancelled. It is an integrated process and there is a need to involve everyone associated with the organisation, from top to bottom. Literature analysis and identification of management methods has revealed that communication, employee participation and top management support are one of the strongest methods through which ISO 14001 standards can be managed effectively.

3.1.Introduction

Any product, service or an activity which has direct impact or interaction with the environment and they exert certain environmental impacts, then it is called as environmental aspects as according to Pinero (2005). The environmental aspects must be examined periodically by the organisation and there should be a list that must be created out of it (Lupo, 2002). In this task, the environmental aspects of Persimmon Plc are discussed in detail and their significant impacts are mentioned. In addition to this, the actions which company can take are also identified.

3.2.Significant Environmental Aspects of Activities of Persimmon Plc

3.2.1.Significant Environmental Aspects of Persimmon Plc

The significant aspects of the activities performed by Persimmon Plc are shown in the following figure

Figure 2: Environmental Aspects of Persimmon Plc (Self Developed).

3.2.2.Explanation of Significant Environmental Aspects of Persimmon Plc

The explanation of these activities is mentioned in the following points

• Disposal and generation of water: The water used for the construction activities should be disposed off after treatment because it contains chemicals. In addition to this, construction activities of Persimmon Plc utilises large amount of water.
• Consumption of Electricity: The electricity consumption on the building sites is a significant environmental aspect of the company.
• Chemical Spillage: The chemical waste from the construction plant or the construction activities in the water or on land causes contamination.
• Ozone Depleting Substances: Use of chloroflorocarbons, generators and vehicle emissions causes the release of harmful chemicals in the air that results in ozone depletion and become a reason of global warming.
• Energy consumption and consumption of natural resources: The consumption of natural resources such as land, water, trees etc should be reduced by the Persimmon Plc.
• Noise pollution: The construction activities create lots of noise pollution. Since, Persimmon plc basically builds homes, therefore the issue of noise pollution becomes very important to be handled.
• Construction waste: The on the site construction waste is an environmental impact because the company builds homes in the residential areas. The waste disposal can cause harmful diseases to the general public.
• Storm water Runoff: Removing plantation and building homes becomes reason for storm water runoff.

3.3.Nature of Effects and Significance on the Local and Global Environment

The nature of the effects and the significance of the activities on the local and global environment are mentioned in the following table in a brief manner.

No.	Activities	Impact on Local and Global Environment
1	Disposal and generation of water	The water used on the construction sites must be used properly and disposed off after treatment. This will ensure water quality, but this water can then be used for other purposes.
2	Consumption of Electricity	Most of the work on the construction site be completed in daylight during the sunlight, solar energy should be used to save electricity consumption.
3	Chemical Spillage	Proper treatment of the chemicals should be performed so that it is not disposed off in the construction area because company is involve in house building and chemical spillage can cause threats to human beings but also is harmful for biodiversity.
4	Ozone Depleting Substances	Activities through which there are chances of ozone depletion should be replaced by techniques such as waste management, water management and using geopiers must be employed.
5	Energy consumption and consumption of natural resources	Sustainable business practices be used for consumption of natural resources and energy consumption so as to save energy for future generations.
6	Construction waste	Placing of approved landfills, reusing, recycling, returning or reselling can help in disposing of the waste in the proper manner. This will impact positively on the local as well as global environment.
7	Storm water Runoff	Planting trees in the areas where construction activities take place can help in not only improving environmental conditions of local and global environment but will also improve issues related to global warming.
8	Noise pollution	Minimizing the source, shielding through noise barriers and fill embankments, engineering controls on the equipment can reduce the casuses ultimately minimizing noise pollution due to construction activities.

Table 1: Nature of activities adopted and their impact on global and local environment

3.4.Conclusion

In this part of the assignment, an assessment of the activities having environmental impact is done. In addition to this, the environmental impact of the activities is identified. Moreover, a complete plan of what can be performed by the company has also been discussed.

4.1.Introduction

This is a section, in which the objectives for some of the important aspects of environment has been developed and then afterwards the targets to accomplish these objectives are given. The environmental management programs which are suitable for these aspects are also mentioned.

4.2.Suitable Objectives, Targets and Environmental Management Programs

The objectives, targets as well as environmental management programs for Persimmon Plc are mentioned in the following table. The objectives relate to the environmental plan. Targets are developed on the basis of SMART objectives in which each target is concrete meaning thereby that it can be measured and completed in a specific time. The environmental management program is typically linked with the ISO 14001 standards but still there are some interventions made because there are some areas where there is a need to bring some alteration as Permisson Plc cannot use that program due to the cost incurred on them.

No	Objectives	Targets	EM Programs
1	Water and waste management	To reduce the water usage on the construction site to 25% in next 3 months To properly disposing off the construction waste in 1 month to 5 % To manage chemical spillage in 1 year time to 30 %	Water Treatment Plant Laboratory management system / Water and waste treatment plant Return / resell Recycle / reuse Proper storage
2	Consumption of Electricity	To reduce electricity usage in 6 months to 5 %	Using Solar energy LED light usage
3	Ozone Depleting Substances	To adopt a Green business practices	Cleaner burning diesel technology Carbon management plant
4	Energy consumption and consumption of natural resources	To reduce consuming natural resources and energy consumption to 10 % in 3 months time	Planning a Renewable energy program Energy Generating system Using alternate fuel sources
5	Storm water Runoff	To plant trees in the public parks and residential areas in next 1 year	Plantation of Trees
6	Noise pollution	To reduce noise pollution in 3 weeks to 5 %	Material Stockpiles Noise barriers Fill embankments Engineering controls on equipment should be enhances

Table 2: Objectives, Targets and Environmental management programs for Persimmon Plc

The above – mentioned environmental programs need proper planning and implementation and this is only possible when there is support from the management and employees of the organisation. In this case the employees on the site are required to provide their input to these programs because these are the people who are directly involved in the operations of construction.

4.3.Conclusion

In this section of the report, several mitigation methods have been proposed to Persimmon Plc so as to manage their activities which are having environmental impacts. All of these activities, management interventions and environmental management programs are linked with the ISO 14001 standards.

The recommendations for the implementation and adoption of environmental management systems and ISO 14001 standards is given in the following points

• Key Performance Indicators: Persimmon Plc should adopt key performance indicator technique through which the company can review the performance of the environmental standards adopted.
• Management support system: A support system should be devised by the management through which assistance to the employees be given about the adopted ISO 14001 standards and environmental programs.
• Training: Employees should be trained about the adopted system.
• Leadership and Team working: Persimmon Plc should develop a culture of leadership and team working because through which employees and supervisors work together and better results are obtained.
• Cost and Benefit analysis: Before the implementation of whole process and system intervention, it is very important for Persimmon Plc to conduct cost and benefit analysis because environmental management system is a costly procedure.

Persimmon Plc is a house building company which is operating well and is listed in FTSE index. According to the analysis of the environmental standards, it has been revealed that there is a need to develop a system through which environmental aspects can be minimised. Although company is adopting sustainable business practices, but still a whole system of environmental safety was lacking. The assignment was divided into three sections, each of which identified a plan for the company through which the environmental impacts can be lowered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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