The Environment
Introduction
Businesses tend to have a negative impact
on the environment
 All businesses require energy to operate
 In the past this has been from fossil fuels
although increasingly businesses try to
use sustainable fuels such as solar power,
wind power, tidal power etc
 Most of these alternative fuels are in their
infancy and as such tend to be more
expensive than fossil fuel alternatives
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Introduction
Manufacturing businesses use energy to
create their products and this process
often releases pollutants into the
atmosphere
 Transportation of goods also uses scarce
resources and has an impact on the
environment in terms of pollutants
 Noise and light pollution are also a factor
when businesses operate
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The major pollutants: air pollution
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The release of pollutants into the
atmosphere can occur at power stations
chemical works etc
Pollutants also occur from transport-carbon
monoxide and lead poisoning is a concern
here
Their pollution is regulated by the
Environmental Protection Act of 1990
The Pollution Prevention and Control Act of
1999 covers new areas such as energy
efficiency and the minimisation of use of
resources
The major pollutants: noise
pollution
Noise pollution is often a forgotten pollutant
Excessive noise can be enough to simply
irritate you, to noise which keeps you awake
and in extreme circumstances damages your
hearing or health
 The most obvious example are airports,
where noise levels can be extremely high
particularly in the flight path of a plane
 Environmental Protection Agency 1990
 The Noise Abatement Act
 European Directive
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The major pollutants: water
pollution
This occurs when hazardous or
undesirable items are discharged into the
sea, lakes and rivers
 Contaminants can come from run-offs
from agricultural waste, or from industrial
plants when chemicals are discharged
 The Control of Pollution Act 1974 and
The Groundwater Regulations Act of
1998 restrict this pollution
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Wasteful use of resources
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Resource management and waste minimisation is now
a high priority
Businesses are encouraged to minimise their waste
and to recycle
Environmental audits are common to show
businesses where improvements can be made
Packaging Regulations, EC Directive on Packaging and
Packaging Waste (50% of packaging must be recycled),
and the European Union Landfill Directive, all help
control wasteful use of resources
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and various
other Acts, ensure that businesses store and dispose
of their waste appropriately