Environmental Liability: Know and mitigate against the risks to your business

Environmental Liability Directive [ELD] 2004/35/EC came into force across Europe during 2009 where failure to comply with pollution prevention guidelines can result in fines and more significantly reformation / reinstatement costs which can run into many millions of Euro or Dollars.

  • Unlike earlier directives, the EID applies to all businesses large and small alike and owners/Directors who ignore the Directive and cause a major incident can end up in jail.

Environmental liability also arises under other statutory instruments including the EPA Acts and the Water Pollution Acts.

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives, whether positive or negative) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Methods, definitions and goals vary widely according to whether the risk management method is in the context of project and process management, public health and environmental legislation.

The strategies to manage and mitigate against risk typically include either transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect or probability of the risk, or even accepting some or all of the potential or actual consequences of a particular risk.

ECOS works with clients to:

  • Identify potential environmental liability and risk.
  • Develop strategies, procedures and practices to mitigate and manage the risk.
  • Implement actions specific to the clients needs relating to environmental liability and risk
  • Provide technical support and environmental management to mitigate against future environmental liability.

For more information please contact us at 061 633644 or info@ecos.ie.  We would welcome your enquiry.

ECOS Environmental Consultants Limited