Environmental Risk Management and Assurance

Abstract

Duncan Giddens explores the role and key elements of environmental risk management in securing compliance and improving environmental performance.

In an imperfect world, there is a continuing need for interventions from the state to correct market failures. But regulation—and regulators—must adapt to the ways that organisations operate in the modern world. Regulators—and interventions—may need to ‘nudge’, rather than ‘prescribe’, to change behaviour and achieve desired outcomes.

Management systems can help organisations to make the transition from imposed regulation to proactive management. To be effective, environmental management must take account of economic and social interactions. Each organisation is unique and should decide what works best to manage its environmental, economic and social risks and opportunities.

This chapter covers:

• Compliance as a starting point for effective risk management

• Interventions to achieve better environmental outcomes

• Integrated and innovative management approaches