The webinar covers: • Why emergency preparedness and response is an important component of Environmental Management • “How by using section 6.1 you can avoid the “One size fits all” trap. • The things organisations should do to fully comply with clause 8.2 The presentation includes some case studies based on real and potential scenarios in Perth, Western Australia. Presenter: This webinar was presented by PECB Certified Trainer and CEO of Pirii Australia, Mr. Mike Gray. Link of the recorded webinar published on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Gmqt7bs4olg

1. - why one size will not fit all

2. Mike Gray
Director/CEO Pirii Australia Pty Ltd
Mike is a highly qualified vocational education trainer and assessor and a certified trainer for PECB
delivering training in ISO9001 Quality Management, ISO14001 Environment, OHSAS18001 Health and
Safety, ISO22000 Food Safety, ISO27001 Information Security, ISO28000 Supply Chain Security and
ISO31000 Risk.
+61 (0)419 090 186
mike.gray@mgtdpirii.edu.au
www.mgtdpirii.edu.au
linkedin.com/mike.gray
twitter.com/@mgtdpirii
www.facebook.com/pirii.com.au/

3. A quick introduction
Pirii Australia Pty Ltd is an Australian training organisation (RTO 88194)
trading as MGTD Pirii and Compass Assurance Training.
We deliver vocational qualifications in all areas of Management and
Business including Audit and Risk Management, Project Management,
Work Health and Safety and many more.
Pirii is a training partner with PECB delivering courses in ISO9001
Quality Management, ISO14001 Environment, OHSAS18001 Health and
Safety, ISO22000 Food Safety, ISO27001 Information Security, ISO28000
Supply Chain Security and ISO31000 Risk.

4. What we will discuss
• Why emergency preparedness and response is such an important
component of Environmental Management and yet so many
organisations follow a “one size fits all” plan and then wonder why
things go so badly wrong.
• How section 6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities (especially
6.1.1 General) can be used by the organisation to identify the real
issues and not fall into the “one size fits all” trap.
• The things organisations should do to fully comply with the meaning
of clause 8.2 and what a good ISO14001 Auditor or Implementer
should really be looking for.

5. Where we are!
• Perth, Western Australia
• Most isolated continental
capital in the world
• Closer to Indonesia (Jakarta)
than Sydney!
• Nearly 4,000 Kms from
Australian Capital (Canberra)
• Population of approx. 2.02 M
• Metro Area of 6,417.9 km2

6. Let us look at some context
• Many organisations claim to have an Emergency Response Plan but when it
is examined it is an “off the shelf” product and has not been contextualised
to the business
• In 2014/2015 a review of the emergency plans of 25+ contractors for a
major organisation showed the plans to be almost identical – but they all
had very different risk profiles!
• At a recent audit an organisation dealing almost exclusively in the storage
of rubber products in a major warehouse had not identified fire and
resultant emissions as a significant environmental impact.
• Typically the emergency risk and impacts registers audited by this auditor
rarely consider environment – only Health, Safety and Business cost

7. Chemical fire in area surrounded by homes
Chemical fire in the red shaded area –
note the direction of contaminated
smoke - A theme park is located at the
edge of the area.

8. Fire in waste recycling facility

9. Industrial activity around Perth and its river

10. So what does ISO14001:2015 SAY?
The organization shall implement and maintain the process(es) needed
to prepare for and respond to potential emergency situations identified
in 6.1.1.
Extract from 6.1.1:
“Within the scope of the environmental management system, the
organisation shall determine potential emergency situations, including
those that can have an environmental impact.”
So how can so many emergency management plans be so similar?
What should be happening? What is being missed?

11. Case study – A typical industrial area Note:
• Industrial area
saddles a hill
• Proximity of
businesses?
• Proximity of
homes
• Proximity of
parks and
other water
sources
• Where will
run-off go?
• What about
airborne
contaminants?

12. Size does not always matter – the threat may be
just as great from small facilities…
• Fire in a disused commercial
property near Perth.
• Asbestos roof smouldering with
resultant fall out across residential
area
• Residential buildings nearby the
premises impacted by asbestos
• Residents required to take action
including staying inside and turning
off air conditioning
• Streets in surrounding area closed

13. Identifying the real issues…
• Conduct a full and proper risk management process as required by
section 6.1.1
• Consider the threats and impacts when something is going wrong,
not when it is going right!
• Focus not only on the threats and impacts within the business
premises and grounds – consider the impacts on the neighbours,
environmentally sensitive areas and other businesses.
• Consider the impact of delayed response – After hours and weekends
• Consider the threats and impacts from neighbours. If they have the
emergency – how will it affect you?

14. Consider the Maximum Reasonable Outcome
Always consider the maximum reasonable outcome (MRO).
• The MRO is based on the maximum reasonable consequence (MRC)
and its probability.
• The MRC is the largest realistic or credible consequence from an
event, considering the credible failure of controls.
• It is generally a higher consequence than the ‘most likely’
consequence and less severe than the ‘worst case’ consequence,
which considers the failure of all controls.

15. Develop a meaningful Emergency
management plan…
Unless the requirement of section 6.1.1 have been met then meeting
the requirements of section 8.3 is unlikely because:
• The organisation will not understand the real situations it must deal
with (threats and impacts).
• The organisation will not be able to prevent or mitigate something
that is not identified
• The organisation cannot effectively review, revise and test response
actions without understanding what to prepare and train for
• The organisation cannot communicate to other interested parties,
including workers, neighbours etc.

16. Assessing the requirements of 6.1.1 and 8.3
In order to ensure that an organisation is truly meeting the
requirements for effective Emergency Preparedness and Response the
auditor/implementer must do their homework!
• Fully understand the organisation’s process and seek out information
of similar activities:
• Have there been emergencies in the past – what were the
outcomes?
• Are there known threats to the environment?
• Will the organisation’s locality contribute to additional threats or
impacts?
• Google Earth is a great resource for getting an understanding of
the area of impact

17. Assessing the requirements (more…)
Read any risk register/emergency register in conjunction with the
emergency management plans/procedures
• Are all the identified scenarios addressed?
• Are the Environmental emergency scenarios realistic and are they
fully considered.
• Has the organisation considered the first response needs? Do they
have the necessary equipment and has training been undertaken?
• Is there a process for effective communication to interested parties?
• Is there real evidence of effective testing and review
• Did the testing and review include other interested parties?

18. A conclusion…
There is a great deal more to meeting the requirements of Emergency
Preparedness and Response of ISO14001:2015 than just lip service.
This is nothing new, it was also a requirement of the 2004 standard.
However, on a daily basis, we continue to see poorly prepared
emergency response practices, with OHS and Business focus but little
thought to Environmental impacts (which may well last for years).
By properly considering the requirements of the standard, in the real
context of the organisation, there is an opportunity to practice
responsible environmental management at all levels of the business,
under even the most adverse conditions.

19. CONTACT DETAILS:
MIKE GRAY
Pirii Australia Pty Ltd
PO Box 8
Ballajura WA 6066
Email:
mike.gray@mgtdpirii.edu.au
+61 (0) 419 090 186
Thankyou for attending this webinar

20. ?
QUESTIONS
+61 (0)419 090 186
mike.gray@mgtdpirii.edu.au
www.mgtdpirii.edu.au
linkedin.com/mike.gray
twitter.com/@mgtdpirii
www.facebook.com/pirii.com.au/
THANK YOU