COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Columban College, Inc

Barretto, Olongapo CIty

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING NSE 103

LEARNING MODULE CE 10
Week 11

TITLE: Environmental Clearance Certificate

OBJECTIVE: At the end of presenting this module, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss the scope of environmental engineering.

TARGET CLIENTELLE: This learning module is intended primarily for consumption of students in
engineering programs particularly BSCE, BSECE, BSEE, BSCpE, and BSIE.

DURATION: Three (3) hours, 2 hours lecture with exercises, and 1 hour assessment

MAJOR CONTENTS: Environmental Clearance Certificate

INTRODUCTION
What is Environmental Clearance Certificate?

Environmental certification is a form of environmental regulation and development where a company can
voluntarily choose to comply with predefined processes or objectives set forth by the certification service.
Most certification services have a logo (commonly known as an ecolabel) which can be applied to
products certified under their standards. This is seen as a form of corporate social responsibility allowing
companies to address their obligation to minimise the harmful impacts to the environment by voluntarily
following a set of externally set and measured objectives.
Motivation for Implementation
The primary motivations for many companies who choose to implement environmental certification
schemes are, to provide an ethical product for the consumers, increase sustainable development, improve
the image of the company, gain a better relationship with stakeholders and to make a higher profit.
Many companies believe that the implementation of environmental certification programmes can lead to
an improved company image and generate competitive advantage. This is usually achieved through the
use of ecolabels which can be used on the company’s products, allowing the product to stand out as being
produced in an environmentally sound way. The ecolabels associated with environmental certification
inform consumers that the product in question has been verified by a third party auditor as originating
from an environmentally well managed company. Therefore, the certificate gives an indication of good
practice and provides the company a better image. This approach allows consumers to steer their
purchasing behaviour in a more environmentally sound direction. This also means that if environmental
marketing strategies such as environmental certification are to work there must be consumers willing to
purchase the resulting green products.
There are also ethical motivations for a company to improve its environmental performance and move
towards achieving sustainable development. All environmental certification schemes attempt to provide
organisations with an effective environmental management system to help them to achieve environmental
and economic goals. The current high levels of consumption and economic growth often leads to the
degradation of land and pollution of the natural environment. The aim of the move towards sustainable
development is to ensure the availability of natural resources for future generations.[3] Within
environmental certification the life cycle approach is often adopted, where the life cycle of the product
from its production to its disposal are followed to ensure that it is produced, used and disposed of in a
sustainable and environmentally sound way.
There is increasing pressure on companies to respond to environmental pressure from stakeholders,
therefore increasing the use of voluntary environmental regulations such as certification to achieve
sufficient social legitimacy and to protect their profits. This is a relational motivation as the company
feels that environmentally conscious management will help to prevent stakeholder pressures and to form a
good relationship with the socio-economic environment. There are also operational motivations which are
the belief that environmental certification can help to reduce costs and increase productivity and
commercial motivations which are the belief that it can help to increase sales and improve the market
position.
Examples
Carbon Trust Standard
The Carbon Trust Standard is an independent certification scheme from The Carbon Trust, certifying an
organisation’s impact in respect of:
 Energy usage and greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions
 Water usage, management and effluent
 Waste management and disposal.
Its stated aim is to recognize best practice and real achievements in reduction, to help organisations to
measure, manage and reduce their environmental impact, whilst improving their resource management
and operational sustainability. The certification process aims to identify inefficiencies in resource use and
to provide a framework for improving management processes, reducing waste and costs. As of July 2014,
over 1,100 organisations have certified to the Carbon Trust Standard.

EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is the EU’s voluntary environmental resources
management instrument. Environmental Management Systems in accordance with EMAS are used
worldwide by companies and organisations of all sizes and types. EMAS registered organisations commit
themselves to evaluate, manage and improve their environmental performance. EMAS is open to every
type of organisation eager to improve its environmental performance. It spans all economic and service
sectors and is applicable worldwide. Currently, more than 4,400 organisations and more than 8,150 sites
are EMAS registered.[9] Only independent environmental verifiers that are accredited/licensed and
supervised by government authorities (Accreditation or Licensing Bodies) are authorised to validate
EMAS environmental statements. The external and independent nature of the EMAS registration process
ensures the credibility of the scheme and the reliability of the information provided by registered
organisations. The ISO 1400: 2004 requirements are a part of EMAS, but EMAS adds several elements to
these:

1. stricter requirements on the measurement and evaluation of environmental performance against

set targets according to six environmental core indicators, and the continuous improvement of
that environmental performance;
2. compliance with environmental legislation ensured by government supervision: the compliance
check is executed by an independent and external environmental verifier, who is in turn subjected
to quality checks by national government authorities (EMAS Competent Bodies, EMAS
Accreditation Bodies);
3. requirement of employee involvement in the continuous performance improvement process;
4. provision of information to the general public through the obligation to publish an annual public
environmental statement that is independently verified;
5. registration by a public authority after verification by an accredited/licensed environmental
verifier; and
6. registered organisations can use the EMAS logo to communicate their EMAS compliance

More than 80 percent of all EMAS registered organizations are small and medium-sized organisations
(SMEs).[10] EMAS has specific provisions in place to facilitate EMAS registration for SMEs. For
example, EMASeasy, a lean and standardised methodology, has been developed to facilitate the
participation of small and micro businesses in the EMAS Scheme.

MCERTS
Business emissions to air, land and water are regulated under strict European and UK laws, to protect the
environment and human health. If a company in England or Wales needs to comply with these laws it will
need a permission from the Environment Agency to operate. This permission usually comes in the form
of a permit, which usually requires it to monitor its emissions.
Businesses either monitor their emissions all the time, known as continuous monitoring, or at times
defined in their permit, known as spot tests or periodic monitoring. In both cases they must meet EA
quality requirements.
MCERTS is the Environment Agency’s Monitoring Certification Scheme. It provides the framework for
businesses to meet EA quality requirements. If it complies with MCERTS then the EA can have
confidence in the monitoring of emissions to the environment.
MCERTS is used to approve instruments, people, laboratories and Environmental Data Management
Systems (EDMS).

General Process Steps for Environmental Clearance:

Step 1: Submit application with supporting documents.
Step 2: Verification of application and supporting documents by DOE
Step 3: Inspection by the authorized officer after verification of all report and documents.
Step 4: Meeting of Environmental Clearance Committee
Step 5: Decision

The Environmental Clearance Process: (3 Steps)

Getting environmental clearance involves a process covering aspects like screening, scoping and
evaluation of the upcoming project. The main purpose behind environmental clearance is to assess the
impact of the proposed/ upcoming project on the environment and people and, in turn, to try to abate/
minimize the same to the maximum extent possible.
The various steps involved in environmental clearance are discussed as follows:
1. Screening
The process begins with identifying the location of proposed unit by the entrepreneur. If the
proposed location of unit does not agree with the existing prescribed guidelines, the entrepreneur
has to identify some other alternative location for his / her unit.
 2. Scoping
The process begins with identifying the location of proposed unit by the entrepreneur. If the
proposed location of unit does not agree with the existing prescribed guidelines, the entrepreneur
has to identify some other alternative location for his / her unit.
3. Evaluation
The final step involved in the process of environmental clearance is environmental evaluation.
The documents submitted by an entrepreneur are first scrutinized by a multi-disciplinary staff
functioning in the Ministry of Environment and Forests who may also undertake site-visits
wherever required,

Definition of Terms
a. Atomic number.
b.

CONCEPTUAL ASSESSMENT
1. What is environmental clearance certification?
2. What are the sources of noise pollution?
3. What are the types of noise pollution?
4. Name 10examples of noise pollution.
REFERENCES
Davis, Mackenzie. Introduction to Environmental Engineering. McGraw Hill, 2011
Duggal, K.N. Elements of Environmental Engineering Rev. Ed, S. Chand, 2013
Saurab Kumar Soni Environmental Engineering , S.K. Kataria, 2012
Vesilind, P. Aarne. Introduction To Environmental Engineering, 3rd Ed, Cengage Learning, 2013
Davis, Mackenzie. Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science, McGraw-Hill, 2004