Learn (outdoor creatures) More About A Career In Environmental Consultancy
No commentsBy Dominic Donaldson
The UK environment industry is estimated to employ 400,000 people in 2007 and is worth approximately 25 billion GBP. Environmental consultancy is a rapidly growing industry sector and is predicted to achieve over 9% growth throughout 2008, due to government legislation that companies must adhere to in their business practices and developments.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was formed in 2001 due to the failure of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) to manage the outbreak of foot and mouth disease which devastated livestock farming throughout the United Kingdom. MAFF was thus merged with the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), creating DEFRA, which states their objective as being ‘to enable everyone to live within our environmental means’.
Environmental consultants provide an essential service in many areas, including carbon foot-printing, environmental planning, environmental economics, local authority waste management, renewable energy sources and sustainability assessment, to name but a few. Much of the environment industry operates on a specialist consultancy basis; however, many companies also have internal departments that offer expertise or which are responsible for subcontracting relevant specialist environmental consultants.
The environment industry is continually evolving, responding to ongoing corporate responsibility, risk and image requirements. Before planning permission can be granted for any given development, there is DEFRA legislation in place to ensure that certain environmental requirements are met. While an environmental consultant’s duties will vary dependent on what specialised sector they are consulting in, some general traits remain consistent.
Environmental consultants generally collate and evaluate information from sources and format this data into scientific policy reports that can support applications for planning permission or any other associated developmental legislation. Environmental consultants will also support the client at any applicable meetings and make presentations of data collated during environmental surveys and research, evaluating any potential environmental risks.
A major role of environmental consultants is to devise and implement practical environmental management systems to ensure that legislation remains adhered to and that the environmental impact of specific activities remains within the limits of any given legislation. Some consultants focus more on the public relations side of environmental development and are vital links for initiating corporate environmental sponsorship agreements.
The current concerns regarding climate change have cemented public interest in the protection of the environment at domestic, industrial and corporate levels and been the driving force behind the continual legislative regulations that have been imposed on the corporate world. The legislative minefield of the environment industry has rendered the role of environmental consultants indispensable and the industry is expected to grow in future.
Dominic Donaldson is an expert on environmental consultants and a regular contributor to trade publications on the subject.
Learn About Outdoor Creatures In Wildlife
Leaving no stone unturned - The new direction in road maintenance
By ASI Solutions ASI Solutions
Massive international growth potential for UK breakthrough in road maintenance
ASI Solutions plc (ASI) the first UK company to develop a fast, low-cost and permanent way to eliminate defects on roads and footpaths is experiencing an unexpected surge in demand to roll out its sustainable, high performance road preservation and repair processes across multiple countries.
To service major market opportunities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, ASI has set up a joint venture based in Hamburg, however the UK parent company is also now being asked to supply its processes into many other regions including Eastern Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. For example, just this week a delegation of around 40 senior road maintenance engineers and contractors from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Russia and Iran visited the company at their own request to discuss transferring these UK innovations back into their own countries. ASIs breakthrough processes have already been used routinely by around half the local authorities in the UK.
Sonia McLintock, sales and marketing director at ASI is delighted with the worldwide interest that the company is currently receiving, Many countries are looking for better, faster ways to repair potholes and improve the condition of their roads and it is not just a case of throwing more money at the problem. Rhinopatch was developed because traditional dig out and replace techniques simply do not work and they are no longer sustainable either financially or environmentally.
Our repair process delivers a joint-free, permanent answer at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches and is completely sustainable as all materials are recycled within the damaged area being repaired. It is also fast enough to allow three or even four times the number of surface defects to be repaired in a working day and thats great news for both road users and tax payers.
The German joint venture company, which is also being announced today, is ASIs first dedicated operation outside the UK although the companys second major move into the European market. In September, ASI confirmed a licensing deal covering Cyprus, Turkey and Greece and further announcements for other regions are expected over the next few months.
Asphalt Strassen Instandsetzung GmbH (ASI GmbH) will introduce the parent companys breakthrough performance processes throughout Germany and is an ASI joint venture with;
LT Linnhoff Maschinenbau GmbH, who design and manufacture the companys patented infrared heaters on a worldwide basis;
and Klingenberg Consulting GmbH, a business development consultancy with strong links into the countrys network of approved maintenance contractors and national/community road authorities.
ASI GmbH is headquartered in Hamburg and will initially supply three of ASIs key processes: Rhinopatch for routine repair of potholes and other road surface defects; Rapidrhino for an ultra-fast response to emergency repairs; and Rhinophalt, an asphalt preservative that prevents surfaces ageing and deteriorating in the first place. The preservative can be re-applied every few years to significantly extend the functional life of new or existing roads and to eliminate the increasing costs, traffic chaos, driver frustration and very high carbon dioxide emissions associated with surface dressing or resurfacing.
All processes are expected to be well received by Germanys road authorities who are urgently looking for better ways of dealing with the poor condition of the nations roads and a growing number of potholes. ASI GmbH is already off to a flying start with two Hamburg-based firms who have signed up to use the Rhinopatch process for all their road repair contracts on the citys roads.
Tim Batzer, managing director of Werner Batzer is delighted with the results his company is achieving, At last we can make a real and long-term improvement to the roads in Hamburg. With traditional techniques the joint between the existing and repaired surface was always a permanent weak point that can open and allow water to penetrate but with Rhinopatch there are no joints. The process is also fast, safer for our road maintenance teams and quiet enough to allow off-peak working.
Rhinopatch is already the UKs most widely specified infrared road repair process and is unique in being both Highways Agency- (HAPAS) and British Board of Agrment approved (BBA). Rhinophalt is currently BBA-approved and in the final stages of receiving full HAPAS-accreditation. ASI and ASI GmbH are also working together to finalise all relevant European and international approvals to further accelerate market penetration and fast uptake.
ASI Solutions plc is author of this article on Sustainable Road Repair .
Find more information about Sustainable Road Repair here.
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under environmental. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
