NEBOSH

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

UNIT EMC1:
For: NEBOSH Environmental Management Certificate

Open Book Examination

Available for 24 hours

Guidance to learners

This is an open book examination. It is not invigilated, and you are free to use any learning
resources to which you have access, eg your course notes, or a website, etc.

By submitting this completed assessment for marking, you are declaring it is entirely your own work.
Knowingly claiming work to be your own when it is someone else’s work is malpractice, which carries
severe penalties. This means that you must not collaborate with or copy work from others. Neither
should you ‘cut and paste’ blocks of text from the Internet or other sources.

The examination begins with a scenario to set the scene. You will then need to complete a series of
tasks based on this scenario. Each task will consist of one or more questions.

Your responses to most of these tasks should wholly, or partly, draw on relevant information from the
scenario. The task will clearly state the extent to which this is required.

The marks available are shown in brackets to the right of each question, or part of each question.
This will help guide you to the amount of information required in your response. In general, one mark
is given for each correct technical point that is clearly demonstrated. Avoid writing too little as this
will make it difficult for the Examiner to award marks. Single word answers or lists are unlikely to
gain marks as this would not normally be enough to show understanding or a connection with the
scenario.

You are not expected to write more than 3 000 words in total.
Try to distribute your time and word count proportionately across all tasks.
It is recommended that you use the available answer template.
Please attempt ALL tasks.

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SCENARIO

You are the Facilities Manager of a Golf Club with approximately 1 000 members. The annual
membership fee gives access to an 18-hole outdoor golf course, as well as the other facilities of the
Club. These facilities include a clubhouse building with a restaurant and bar, changing rooms, use of
golf carts, and a small shop selling golf accessories and clothing.

The Club is located on the outskirts of a large town where most of the members live. Most members
drive to the Club, and there is a large car park, with three electric charging points, next to the
clubhouse. The Club was established 45 years ago and the course was constructed on
approximately 150 acres of land. The land was previously a combination of unused land and land
that has previously been built on for light industrial use. The golf course itself has remained largely
unchanged since it was constructed. A stream runs through the site, which has allowed a number of
water features such as ponds to be included into the landscape. Around the course there are
multiple small areas of woodland, most of which were established before the course was developed
on the site. There is a diverse range of plant and animal species present on site, although none are
considered endangered. Some trees on the site are legally protected due to their age and size. The
areas of woodland are managed by a local contractor who removes fallen trees. Waste wood is
taken for sale locally as firewood. Smaller plant waste is composted on site, along with grass
cuttings and suitable food waste from the kitchens.

The current clubhouse was built 40 years ago and has had minor interior renovations since then.
The central heating boiler is supplied with gas from the national supply. The clubhouse has good
natural ventilation so air conditioning is not required.

A substantial amount of water is used in the clubhouse for hygiene, washing and cooking. The
clubhouse uses water from the regional supplier (mains supply). Waste water is removed to the
public sewer. The biggest use of water at the Club is for the irrigation of the golf course itself. The
Golf Club has a permit to extract water from the stream for irrigation. However, it sometimes needs
to be supplemented with mains water. All water use is metered; the mains supply is charged at a
higher rate than the stream. The management team have recognised that the use of grey water (eg
water that is collected from rainwater harvesting) could potentially reduce their annual water bill.

General waste is collected by a commercial waste carrier. Specialist waste contractors are used
when required for any hazardous waste. The site also uses electricity from the national supply. As
well as general use and lighting in the main building, electricity is used to power the fleet of 20 golf
carts, that contain rechargeable batteries.

As Facilities Manager you are responsible for the general maintenance of the entire site. This
includes the golf course, clubhouse and supplementary equipment such as golf carts. You have a
small team consisting of a worker who carries out general maintenance and a qualified greenkeeper.
There are also several registered external contractors who are available for specialist work, such as
the tree surgery work.

Pesticides are regularly delivered in 25 litre plastic containers and stored in the greenkeeper’s tool
shed behind the clubhouse. Approximately 100 litres are used every month. Both you and the
greenkeeper have the required qualifications for pesticide application.

Your responsibilities also include general health and safety for the Club, and you have gained the
NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. You also have a number
of licenses specific to your role, such as for the spraying of fertilisers and pesticides. You are
currently studying the NEBOSH Environmental Management Certificate.

The Club employs around 25 workers in total. Day-to-day operations are run by the General
Manager (GM), who chairs weekly management meetings. You report directly to the GM, as do a
number of other managers who are responsible for functions such as Catering and Administration.
The GM reports to an Oversight Board. The Board is made up of volunteers from the Club members,

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sponsors and local residents. The Board meets on a monthly basis and sets the strategic direction of
the Club.

Health and safety management is an agenda item at the weekly management meeting. Safety is
treated as a high priority, and this is evidenced by a good safety record. Less attention has been
paid to environmental performance, but fortunately the Club has never received any environmental
complaints or faced any legal issues. However, the Oversight Board has recently decided that more
attention needs to be focused on the environmental performance of the Club. This decision has
been reached through pressure from the members. This reflects much greater public awareness of
environmental issues especially energy sources and their costs.

You have been asked to review environmental management at the Club and make suggestions for
improvements. The Board tell you that once you have determined planned actions, they will help
ensure the required resources are in place to support them. Additionally, to support your analysis,
the Board have agreed to fund a one-day external audit by a suitably qualified auditor.

From your initial review of the Club, and the knowledge gained from your NEBOSH academic
studies, you determine that an informal environmental management system (EMS) should be
established. You begin to consider what this EMS will need to include.

The Golf Club has held talks with a golf course architect to transform one of the existing golf course
holes into a ‘landscaped signature hole’ (one that has a special visual impact). The architect works
for an international organisation who oversee such projects. This project will include a new putting
green (the smooth grassy area containing the hole and integral flagstick) and a large pool, crossed
by a new wooden bridge. The pool will be constructed by diverting water from the stream via a new
drain. Surplus water from the pool will be fed back to the stream via another new drain. The pool will
be constructed by excavating soil, that will then be used to form the putting green. The wooden
bridge will be constructed on site. The project will be carried out by a local landscaping contractor
under the supervision of the architect. Lighting for the completed pool will be provided by electricity
from solar panels.

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Task 1: Linking workplace activities to wider environmental issues

1 (a) Based on the scenario only, what are the key environmental issues that
may be affected by the golf course? (10)

(b) What positive changes to the environment might arise from the future
construction and operation of new golf courses? (6)

Task 2: Protection of water sources

2 You identify the risk of uncontrolled leakage of pesticides that could potentially
damage the stream.

What practical control measures could be implemented to reduce the risk of

any pesticide leaks reaching the stream? (14)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

Task 3: Recognising good environmental practices

3 Other than waste management, what is already in place at the Golf Club that
supports the development of an environmental management system (EMS)? (8)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

Task 4: Minimising greenhouse gas emissions and monitoring effectiveness

4 You identify the significant aspect of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles
travelling to and from the Golf Club (both workers and members).

(a) What could the Golf Club do to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from
vehicle use? (6)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

(b) What could the Golf Club do to reduce vehicle use? (8)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

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Task 5: Energy efficiency

5 The Oversight Board has expressed concerns about the effect of rising gas
prices. Gas is used for heating the clubhouse through a gas boiler, and also
for cooking in the restaurant.

What practical measures could the Golf Club take to reduce gas usage in the
clubhouse? (10)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

Task 6: Improving environmental awareness

6 What actions would improve environmental awareness at the Golf Club among

(a) workers? (6)

(b) members? (4)

Task 7: Demonstrate sustainability

7 Comment on how the principles of sustainable development can be included in

the ‘landscaped signature hole’ project. (10)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

Task 8: Minimise use of water

8 The Golf Club uses water (mains water and water abstracted from the stream)
and every litre costs the Golf Club money.

What could the Golf Club do to minimise this water use? (10)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

Task 9: Waste management

9 What additional actions could help minimise the amount of waste the Golf Club
sends to landfill? (8)
Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant
information from the scenario.

End of examination

Now follow the instructions on submitting your answers.

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