For eco-enterprises or a traditional business: a risk assessment to become more environmentally friendly & why it’s important!
Eco-enterprises are businesses which help support sustainability in some way. The main aim is to reduce the environmental impact of the business, and other businesses. Sustainable businesses need to consider how climate change, resource depletion, and ecosystem destruction can impact the overall organisation and what they can do to help.
Today more and more businesses are looking for ways to be more eco-friendly, and there are different ways they can achieve this. It won’t be long until all businesses become eco-enterprises in some capacity.
They will also need to focus on the wellbeing of their employees. Caring for the safety of your staff is one of your biggest responsibilities as a business owner or manager. Following the right health and safety processes is paramount for this as well as being a legal obligation.
Risk assessments often form an important part of a business’s approach to health and safety, although they are often seen as tedious and time-consuming. They are definitely worth doing properly especially as a sustainable business, or a business looking to be more sustainable. Keep reading to learn more about risk assessments.
What is a Risk Assessment?
A risk assessment is often thought of as a document, which is a part of it, but a risk assessment is actually a process. The time is taken to identify, analyse and catalogue all of the potential risks for a space or an activity.
The necessary steps can then be taken to lessen those risks. It needs to be carried out by the right person; the person needs to be competent and educated in how to carry out a risk assessment properly. Sustainable businesses may have quite a few things to consider when it comes to risk assessments that other businesses do not.
Businesses looking to be more sustainable will need to consider how they can operate with as little disruption as possible. There are ecological surveys that can be conducted to help find out what the impact of any project will be.
This is a specialised type of risk assessment that not all businesses will look to complete. This could be conducted internally or a sustainable business could look to do this on behalf of local projects from other businesses.
Why Are Risk Assessments Important?
For most businesses, especially those operating as eco-enterprises, it tends to be a legal requirement. Risk assessments often form the cornerstone of a business’s health and safety approach. They help to keep the people on site safe. It allows you to assign the best working practices, including personal safety equipment and processes needed.
There are a lot of guidelines out there that can help you when it comes to carrying out a risk assessment, depending, of course, on the purpose of the risk assessment. For example, HS Direct has a number of templates, including a COSHH risk assessment which you can use when creating your own risk management processes.
In Conclusion
Carrying out a risk assessment is a legal requirement for most industries. Businesses looking to be more green should look to conduct more eco-surveys and risk assessments that have a focus on sustainability.
They are an important tool in your business’s approach to health and safety. Your employees directly impact the success of your business. Therefore, it makes sense to ensure that their health and well-being are catered for.
Think about whether your approach to health and safety and risk assessments mirror this or not and look at how your sustainable business can change its approach when it comes to risk assessments.
