RIASSUNTO
Abstract
Environmental aspects, as defined in International Standard ISO 14001: Environmental Management Systems are activities, products, or services that interact with the environment. ExxonMobil has developed a five-step, risk-based process for identifying activities that present significant environmental aspects. The five-step process is as follows:
Identify and characterize environmental aspects of operating activities
Characterize environmental/social/regulatory context
Consider other applicable and relevant criteria
Identify engineering or operating alternatives
Assess risk-based significance of aspects
Significant environmental aspects identified through this process can then be prioritized based on relative risk.
The process can be applied to environmental management through all phases of the business life-cycle, from initial feasibility assessment, through new facility siting, design, and construction, through the operation and modification of existing facilities, to eventual decommissioning and reclamation.
This paper presents considerations for carrying out the five-step process. Emphasis is placed on successful identification of both episodic and continuous environmental aspects, including both inputs to the environment (releases, discharges, waste disposal, energy emissions, dust, etc.) as well as environmental resource demand (water use, energy use, land conversion, placement of barriers, etc.). The importance of the environmental, social, and regulatory setting in identifying potential environmental impacts is addressed, including consideration of biodiversity and sensitive ecosystems and species. The process incorporates identification of engineering or operating alternatives that can lead to determination of additional environmental aspects through an iterative process. Finally, an approach to assessing potential impact severity and likelihood is presented. Examples are incorporated to illustrate the relative environmental risk of a broad range of potential impact scenarios.
Successful environmental management depends on the appropriate identification of significant environmental aspects. This process facilitates identification and provides a sound business basis for addressing aspects that pose the highest potential risk.
Introduction
ExxonMobil is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner everywhere we do business. This commitment is guided by scientific understanding of the potential environmental impacts of our operations as well as by the social and economic needs of the communities in which we operate. One fundamental element of understanding the environmental impact of operations is the assessment of environmental aspects.