Environmental management is the process of identifying and controlling activities which effect the environment to achieve year-on-year improvement. This means that activities which can harm the environment are prevented or managed in a way to minimise the damage to an acceptable level. Many of the effects can also harm our health or that of wildlife or habitats. Some activities, for example, handling and disposing of chemicals or waste, are regulated by laws. So, it is important to identify what the council does and the environmental laws that apply and put in place controls so that the council complies with legal obligations as a minimum.
One of the difficult things is knowing whether we are improving our environmental performance. To do this, objectives and targets are drawn up. These are designed to be:
