The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is the tool used as the plan of action to mitigate environmental risks and impacts. The EMP also contains environmental objectives and targets which the project needs to achieve in order to reduce or eliminate negative impacts. The EMP document is used throughout the project life cycle. It is regularly updated to be aligned with the project progress from construction, through operation to decommissioning
The project EMP will include robust methods for impact mitigation and will include sustainable principles to ensure a reduced ecological footprint.
As a minimum the EMP will:
- Obtain a comprehensive understanding of the activities and associated impacts of all the phases of the project.
- Identify specific environmental risks and issues.
- Develop the suite of environmental controls. These environmental controls will include the mitigation measures, management controls, and environmental standards to be met
- Design the EMP with practical and implementable, smart solutions
- Ensure that the mitigation measures are cost efficient and sustainable
- Develop method statements for the contractor to specify how mitigation actions will be implemented
- Identify and allocate roles and responsibilities for specific actions associated with mitigation, monitoring and performance assessment
- Establish a monitoring programme
- Specify the mechanisms for achieving compliance (i.e. rewards and penalties).
- Develop an environmental awareness programme
