Environmental risk management
The environmental risk management is a function and organizational unit in companies that the management is entrusted to the environmental risks.
General
In particular, industrial companies emit through their production of environmentally harmful pollutants such as vapors , compressed , gases , sounds , smells , noise , smoke , soot , rays or heat , resulting in the air , the ground ( soil contamination or vibration ), or into the water have spread. This is countered by the Environmental Liability Act (UmweltHG) by stipulating no-fault liability on the part of the owner . If someone is killed, his body or his health is injured or something is damaged by an environmental impact caused by a system , the owner of the system is obliged to compensate the injured party for the resulting damage in accordance with § 1 UmweltHG . It defines the causes of damage in § 3 UmweltHG.
The corporate goal of environmental risk management is therefore to either completely eliminate these emissions or, in cases where this is technically not possible or uneconomical, to minimize them to a just acceptable limit risk by adhering to limit values . The focus of environmental risk management is therefore less on risk management than on environmental management . Risk management takes on the tasks of risk perception , risk identification , risk analysis , risk quantification , risk aggregation , risk assessment and risk assessment, including environmental risks.
Environmental risk
As environmental risk refers to all the dangers caused by environmental effects of a jammer on the environment out. These are economic risks, through which assets are subject to a decrease in value or become completely worthless, have to be disposed of at high costs or can only be returned to a usable condition at high costs . In addition, environmental risks can kill people or injure a person's body or health. Harmful environmental impacts within the meaning of Section 3 (1) BImSchG are immissions which, in terms of type, extent or duration, are suitable to cause dangers, considerable disadvantages or considerable nuisance for the general public or the neighborhood.
These environmental risks can be caused within the scope of the operational risk by the ongoing production process , but above all by operational disruptions. From a technical point of view, environmental risks are only spoken of when prescribed limit values or guide values are exceeded, because exceeding them results in predefined consequences. Measured values within the limit values are to be tolerated and accepted. Compliance with the limit and guide values is referred to as a just acceptable limit risk .
Types of environmental risks
In order to make it easier to identify and assess environmental risks, a general distinction is first made between internal and external environmental risks. External environmental risks can be storms or floods. Internal environmental risks are justified in the company and can be technical, technological or organizational damage. There are three types of environmental risk:
- Risks to human health and the ecosystem,
- financial risks for a company resulting from changes in the environment or the environmental awareness of society and
- Risks of personal liability of companies for environmentally relevant activities of the company.
Environmental risk management objectives
The protection of the company is seen as the primary goal of environmental risk management. It is important to avoid costs that arise from industrial accidents , consumer boycotts or environmental lawsuits. Good risk management can also be a long-term success factor for competitive advantage if it is integrated into corporate strategy . In general, it is important to use corporate environmental risk management to positively influence a company's risk situation.
Another goal is to protect the environment. This goal is often stipulated by laws and ordinances, in Germany for example by the Major Accidents Ordinance . Due to chemical accidents , environmental risk management has developed, especially in the chemical industry .
Process steps of the operational environmental risk management
The risk management process in environmental risk management can be divided into separate procedural steps; This involves environmental risk analysis, environmental risk assessment, environmental risk management, selection of measures and monitoring of the effectiveness of measures.
Environmental risk analysis
As part of the environmental risk analysis, the environmental risk is to be recognized and systematized through a diagnosis and prognosis of the operational activities and the operational environment. According to the law on control and transparency in the corporate sector , one should strive for the most complete possible recording of risk potential. However, this is problematic due to the diverse degrees of efficiency, the temporal discontinuities and the complex causalities of environmental risks. The result of an environmental risk analysis is the risk profile.
Instruments for the identification of environmental risks
The identification tools for recognizing environmental risks are divided into collection methods and analytical methods.
- Collection methods: process flow analysis, general document analysis, analysis of relevant laws and regulations, interviews, checklists of disruptive objects and causes, inspection analysis, evaluation of communication data, evaluation of waste balances;
- analytical methods : event tree analysis , fault tree analysis , strategic early education, FMEA , organizational analysis, substance analysis, location and environment analysis
Since the methods described often only show individual manifestations of the environmental risk of a company, it is advisable to use a combination of several methods in order to identify all manifestations of the environmental risk if possible. The risk identification should be repeated at regular intervals, because the factors that can determine a risk change.
Environmental risk assessment
After an environmental risk analysis has been carried out beforehand, it is important to assess the risk, i.e. estimate its level and, if possible, evaluate it financially. For all risks, the possible damage must be determined and assigned a respective probability of occurrence. This results in a redistribution of damage that indicates the probability of damage exceeding a certain value. Because the extent of environmental damage is difficult to predict, these considerations often run into difficulties. The important question is which information should be collected. These factors are the decisive starting points for risk management. Good risk management is characterized by the right mix of insurance, damage redistribution and information acquisition.
Environmental damage is often characterized by a high potential for damage, but at the same time by a low probability of occurrence. The most important environmental aspects should be presented in the environmental management process. In order to determine this, criteria such as stakeholder interests, environmentally relevant criteria and laws should be used. The assessment instruments are usually also those listed under risk identification. The environmental audit can also be used as an assessment tool.
Environmental Risk Management
Environmental risk management can be done in a number of ways by the company. Environmental risks can be managed through risk avoidance , risk reduction , risk transfer and risk self-assumption.
Risk avoidance
The first thing to do is to examine whether the environmental risk can possibly be avoided. Risk avoidance therefore means giving up or changing economic activities that are associated with an environmental risk. This can be done, for example, by changing production processes or by replacing environmentally harmful substances in use with harmless substances. If a maximum level of safety measures is considered as the goal of environmental risk management, then risk avoidance measures must also be introduced, even if this is associated with high costs for safety measures.
Risk reduction
If the environmental risk cannot be completely avoided or if a high level of safety is not sought, an attempt can be made to reduce the environmental risk. Either the probability of damage occurring or the possible amount of damage must be reduced. Damage prevention measures are used to reduce the probability of damage.
Passing on risk versus risk self-absorption
On the one hand, the risk of the financial consequences of environmental risks can be passed on to other economic agents instead of avoiding or reducing them. On the other hand, a company can also bear the risk itself. This can be done voluntarily or involuntarily. The company can take risks and then face the consequences, or it can allocate resources so that it can bear the damage on its own.
Selection of measures and effectiveness control
The measures listed in the risk management process step must then be checked to determine whether they are suitable and feasible for dealing with the specific environmental risk. Whether measures to deal with an environmental risk are to be used in a company depends on company-specific criteria. After the risk management measures have been carried out, a check should be made as to whether the objectives of the operational environmental risk management have been achieved.
See also
literature
- Edeltraud Günther : Ecology-oriented management. Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8282-0415-7 , pp. 27/28. (UTB, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8252-83-83-4 )
- Edeltraud Günther, S. Kaulich (Hrsg.): Development of a methodology for an integrated management system of environmental, quality and occupational safety aspects with special consideration of risk management. In: Dresden contributions to the teaching of corporate environmental economics. ISSN 1611-9185 , p. 65 f.
- Robert Grasser: Corporate environmental risk management . Kovač, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-86064-928-0 , p. 17 f.
- FL Reinhardt: Down to Earth. Applying Business Principles to Environmental Management. Harvard Business School, Boston 2000, ISBN 1-57851-192-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden (ed.), Kompakt-Lexikon Management , 2013, p. 383
- ↑ Renate Mayntz, Decision-Making Processes in the Development of Environmental Standards , in: Die Verwaltung , 1990, p. 140
- ↑ Jan Seidel, Grenzwerte im Bodenenschutz , 2009, p. 42
- ↑ Risk management in the chemical industry , in: www.euroforum.de, September 28, 2011
- ↑ Frank M. Rauch: Risks in the storage of chemicals from the point of view of pollution control in: Zeitschrift für Immissionsschutz , issue 3/2016, pages 119 ff.