PSI current research

Regulatory Relief and Certified Environmental Management Systems

Project Leader: Jim Skea

Sponsor: Environment Agency

Period: February 2002-September 2002

Background

The aim of the proposed work is to assess whether companies with accredited environmental management systems (EMS), such as EMAS or ISO14001, could be given "regulatory relief" in the form of reduced inspections, or even no inspections at all. The objectives are:

1. to identify, with stakeholders, the key environmental and other outcomes which should be considered in assessing the case for "regulatory relief";
2. to identify, with stakeholders, the degree of correlation between the procedures, processes and skills associated with regulatory inspection and those linked to the operation and verification of EMS;
3. to collect and analyse data which will shed light on the degree to which reduced regulatory inspection would promote or inhibit identified outcomes; and
4. to consult with stakeholders on the results of the data collection/analysis to develop options/recommendations for a way forward.

Study Design

The work would proceed in three stages:

1. scoping stakeholder workshop;
2. data collection/analysis; and
3. synthesis stakeholder workshop.

The data collection would involve gathering together "administrative" and other data from Agency sources regarding, for example, prosecutions, infractions, progress in reducing releases etc. This would be complemented by information held in IEMA databases on sites registered under EMAS and certified under ISO14001. The aim would be, using simple statistical techniques, to relate desirable outcomes identified in the scoping workshop to the circumstances of regulated companies. Following analysis, we would carry out semi-structured interviews with relevant players to further findings of data analysis.

Importance

Due to the increasing volume of environmental regulation, the Environment Agency increasingly needs to target its resources more effectively in dealing with regulated companies. It has been suggested that lighter regulation might be appropriate for companies with certified environmental management systems (EMS) such as ISO14001 and EMAS. However, there is a countervailing view that these systems do not necessarily guarantee environmental performance or prevent companies from breaching environmental limits. This work will clarify, through stakeholder workshops, what types of outcome are being sought through "regulatory relief" and gather evidence as to whether companies with EMS are more likely to deliver these outcomes.