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ASPECTS AND IMPACTS

Defining Aspects and Impacts

An important stage in improving the company’s environmental management performance is the
preparation of the aspects and impacts analysis arising from an assessment of the company’s activities
and processes. The identification of the environmental impacts arising from the environmental aspects
will form the foundation of the targets and objectives for the corporate environmental plan.
The completed aspects and impacts analysis sheet will provide a record of the environmental effects of
operating procedures, incidents, accidents, and potential emergency situations that may arise. This will
assist in the monitoring of their effects on the environment and the development of any necessary
remedial actions and procedures. The aspects and impacts analysis provides a positive and negative
record of all business activities that are environmentally significant (Pillai & Tinsley, 2012).
Aspects and impacts are defined as follows (Sheldon & Yoxon, 2006):
• Aspect or cause. It pertains to an element of the organization’s activities, products, or services
that can interact with the environment. For example, using energy means burning fossil fuels and
ultimately contributing to global warming and climate change.
• Impact or effect. It relates to any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial,
wholly or partially resulting from an organization's activities, products, or services. In the example
above, the impact of the burning of fossil fuels will also create resource depletion and negative
effects on local air quality.
Table 1 presents several examples of environmental impacts or effects along with their corresponding
aspects or causes.
Impacts Aspects
The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon
dioxide. This can be traced to heating/cooling
Global warming
systems, electricity use, transport fuel, among
others.
Pollution from toxic releases; increasing the
biological or chemical oxygen demand through
Groundwater contamination
discharges; increasing the temperature of
waterways; among others.
Development of new buildings, civil engineering,
Species loss/habitat destruction
etc.
Processes that involve incineration, release of
Air quality volatile compounds, release of toxic compounds,
among others.
The operation of plant and equipment, transport
Noise pollution
issues, and so on.
Contaminated land Historical activities on the site (mining)
Table 1. Aspects and impacts
Source: Environmental management systems: A step-by-step guide to implementation and maintenance (3rd ed.), 2006, p. 59

Clearly, this table is incomplete, and there are many more categories of environmental impacts. Think
about how an organization’s activities might impact air, water, land, biodiversity, visual intrusion (land
degradation), noise, and so on. It is worthwhile considering a company’s situation and brainstorming the

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environmental impacts that the organization may be capable of producing in normal, abnormal, and
emergency situations; then analyzing what aspects of the firm’s activities, products, or services are or
could be the root cause/s of these possible impacts.
Identifying Aspects and Impacts
The first step in conducting an environmental review is simply about identifying aspects and impacts. The
interpretation of what they mean for the organization and what to do about them in the context of the
environmental management system (EMS) comes later. In reality, all the activities within an organization
– from sourcing of raw materials and the actual manufacturing of a product or the delivery of a service –
will have some form of impact on the environment. Figure 1 illustrates the basic process of identifying
aspects and impacts (Sheldon & Yoxon, 2006).

Figure 1. The basic process of identifying aspects and impacts

Source: Environmental management systems: A step-by-step guide to implementation and maintenance (3rd ed.), 2006, p. 60

1. Data. Gather the relevant information about the organization.

2. Processes. Understand the activities of the organization.
3. Evaluation. Identify significant impacts of the firm’s activities on the environment.
Three (3) tools and techniques help in identifying an organization’s aspects and impacts: organizational
analysis, life cycle assessment (LCA), and issue by issue.
Organizational Analysis
This involves assessing the value-chain of a firm and identifying which activity contributes to the
environmental impacts. Value-chain represents the internal activities of a firm when transforming inputs
into outputs.
Value-Chain Analysis (VCA) is a process that involves identifying the primary and support activities of a
particular organization or industry. The following is a sample illustration of an industry’s value chain and
a company’s value chain in manufacturing (Bamford et al., 2018):

Figure 2. Industry value chain

Source: Strategic Management and Business Policy (15th ed.), 2018, p. 172

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Figure 3. Company’s value chain in manufacturing

Source: Strategic Management and Business Policy (15th ed.), 2018, p. 173
Primary Activities
• Inbound logistics. It involves raw materials handling and warehousing.
• Operations. It involves machining, assembling, and testing.
• Outbound logistics. It involves warehousing and distribution of finished products.
• Marketing and sales. It involves advertising, promotion, and pricing channel relations.
• Service. It involves installation, repair, and parts.

Secondary Activities
• Firm infrastructure. It involves general management, accounting, finance, and strategic planning.
• Human resource management. It involves recruiting, training, and development.
• Technology development. It involves research and development and product or process
improvement.
• Procurement. It involves purchasing raw materials, machines, and supplies.

Based on the identified primary and support activities, a detailed analysis of the possible environmental
impacts can be documented. Table 2 presents an example of organizational analysis.
Activities Environmental Aspect Environmental Impact
Operations Toxic waste and discharges from Water and land pollution
product manufacturing
Inbound logistics Transport issues that contribute to Global warming and climate
greenhouse gas emissions change
Marketing and sales Excessive leaflets, brochures, and Environmental waste
product packaging
Table 2. Example of organizational analysis

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

A product’s life cycle details the milestone of a particular product/service from when it is launched to its
ultimate downfall or termination.
The following are the stages of the product life cycle (Myerson, 2015):
1. Introduction. This stage involves the launch of a new product or service.
2. Growth. This stage involves a strong growth in sales and profits.

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3. Maturity. This is the most challenging stage for businesses since they have to maintain their
business position in order to remain relevant in the market.
4. Decline. This stage involves the downfall of the product or service brought by multiple factors
such as intensified competition or market saturation. Eventually, the product may be
discontinued.
The idea of life cycle analysis can be illustrated by considering a disposable ballpoint pen. Many raw
materials are used in its manufacture, for example, those derived from chemicals to produce synthetic
pen casing. In addition, energy is needed for its manufacturing process. For each input to the pen, there
is an environmental link. The extraction of oil and its eventual reprocessing into plastic feedstock has an
environmental impact. More fuel is used to transport the pens to the market. The use of fossil fuel and
transport vehicles may pose environmental impacts such as resource depletion, greenhouse contribution,
and local air quality. Finally, the pen is consigned to the bin and probably a landfill site where its
environmental impact (a small but cumulative one) is in terms of waste burden (Sheldon & Yoxon, 2006).
See Table 3 for the comprehensive life cycle assessment of the given example.
Activities Environmental Aspect Environmental Impact
Obtaining the raw Extraction of oil Natural resource depletion
materials Potential water contamination
Ecological habitat damage
Obtaining the raw Extraction of metals Natural resource depletion
materials Potential water contamination
Ecological habitat damage
Change in a land form (visual
intrusion)
Manufacturing the plastic Energy consumption Greenhouse effect
feedstock Local air quality
Noise
Manufacturing the plastic Use of chemicals, solvents, etc. Potential air and water
feedstock contamination
Local air quality
Manufacturing the pen Energy consumption Greenhouse effect
Paper and card Local air quality
Noise
Packaging the pen(s) Energy consumption Greenhouse effect
Paper and card Local air quality
Ecological habitat damage
Transporting the pens Energy consumption Greenhouse effect
Local air quality
Noise
Disposal of the pens Landfill Ecological habitat damage
Visual intrusion
Waste burden
Table 3. Life cycle assessment (disposable ballpoint pen)
Source: Environmental management systems: A step-by-step guide to implementation and maintenance (3rd ed.), 2006, p. 63.

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Issue by Issue
In the previous discussion, the initial environmental review (Pages 5-6 of 03 Handout 1), 15 key
environmental issues were examined, ranging from management issues to stakeholders. The next step in
the identification of environmental aspects and impacts is to map these key issues against the
organizational analysis. This will complete the picture of the organization’s environmental aspects and
impacts. Table 4 shows an example of issue analysis.
Environmental
Activities Environmental Impact Control Measures
Aspect
Obtaining the Extraction of Natural resource depletion Conduct oil and metal extraction
raw materials oil and metals Potential water contamination at minimum levels of production
Ecological habitat damage requirements and look for
alternative raw materials.
Manufacturing Energy Greenhouse effect Produce pens in batches and
the pen consumption Local air quality install noise minimization
Paper and Noise equipment in the production
card facility.
Disposal of Landfill Ecological habitat damage Design a proper waste disposal
the pens Visual intrusion technique that will minimize
Waste burden waste burden and land pollution.
Table 4. Issue analysis

Assessing Environmental Impacts (Sheldon & Yoxon, 2006)

Environmental issues can be both internal and external to the organization. Some issues are under the
direct control of a company (i.e., how a firm operates its production processes), while some are beyond
its control and influence (i.e., sourcing of raw materials from suppliers and how customers use and dispose
of the product).
The purpose of the environmental management system (EMS) is to manage the environmental aspects of
a business effectively. An analysis of findings from the environmental review can be carried out in two (2)
steps as follows:
1. Assessment of the potential environmental impacts. This can be executed by considering
three (3) evaluation criteria below.
o Problem size. This measures the intensity of damage an impact can cause to the
environment. For example, an oil spill in a yard next to a stream could potentially have a
significant impact on the ecosystem. Occasional flushing of paint thinner down the toilet,
although having some impact, might be relatively small.
o Likelihood. This measures the probability of a problem occurring. For example, an oil spill
is likely to occur in isolated cases resulting from human error or machinery-related causes.
o Hazard. This measures the potential risks arising from an environmental impact. For
example, a spill of organic solvents may not only damage the local ecosystem by
contaminating drinking water it may also threaten workforce health.
2. Detailed evaluation. This can be performed by adding criteria in assessing the environmental
impacts. For each identified environmental impact, a number of factors must be considered to
form a judgment on its significance. These fall into three (3) main groups:
1. Environmental factors. These relate to the actual or potential effects of an
‘environmental impact’ on the ecosystem and the society.

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2. Internal business concerns. These relate to the firm’s compliance to regulatory

requirements, health and safety protocols, industry practices, production concerns, and
staff morale and commitment.
3. External business concerns. These relate to the perspectives of external stakeholders
(creditors, customers, media, and the general public, among others) in relation to the
environmental impact/s of the business.

References:
Bamford, C., Hoffman, A., Hunger, D., & Wheelen, T. (2018). Strategic management and business policy:
Globalization, innovation, and sustainability (15th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
Pillai, I. & Tinsley, S. (2012). Environmental management systems: Understanding organizational drivers
and barriers. Taylor & Francis.
Sheldon, C. & Yoxon, M. (2006). Environmental management systems: A step-by-step guide
to implementation and maintenance (3rd ed.). Earthscan.

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