If you are involved in the Australian construction industry, there is a good chance that you will need a Construction Environmental Plan. Nowadays, there are tough and strict legislation in place at both the federal and state level that oblige all construction contractors and/or companies to implement measures that minimise the impact of their projects on the environment. This is what is more commonly known as Sustainable Development.
Environmental Management
Managing the environment has become a hot topic in the last decade or so, and as a result, the general population in Australia, has become more environmentally-conscious. The Australian Government has responded accordingly and has over the years passed Environmental Legislation, the main one being the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. In addition, each State Government has its own legislation, which you should take a look at when creating your own Construction Environmental Plan.
Environmental Compliance
The one thing that you do not want to do is not to comply with the legislation in place. The consequences are simply not worth it. The fact that you can potentially get fined thousands of dollars for non-compliance can prove to be a knockout blow especially if you are small or medium construction contractor and/or company. In the most serious cases, you can potentially face prosecution which should be enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
There are 2 ways you can come up with your own Environmental Plan to comply with the law:
- You can write up your own plan by writing one up yourself or by paying someone else to do it for you, or
- You can use a pre-structured and pre-written Construction Environmental Management Plan which can customised to your own plan with some small tweaks
It’s ultimately up to you, but whatever you choose to do, don’t begin a project without a Construction Environmental Plan.
