As a large and complex sector, the construction industry faces many challenges in minimising its impact on the environment, whether it is by waste minimisation, preventing pollution, protecting wildlife and habitats or avoiding disturbances to local communities.

Pressure is being applied by a variety of stakeholders including regulators, local residents, non-governmental bodies and clients who are keen to enhance the industry’s environmental performance. Effective planning and management is not only a means of avoiding such negative consequences, but is also increasingly becoming a condition of project approval.

An effective environmental management plan will identify appropriate mitigation measures to reduce environmental impacts, helping to ensure the environmental commitments made in the design phase are followed through during construction, and beyond.

This guide provides a clear, easy-to-follow overview of environmental management plans. It highlights key features, provides notes on key pitfalls to avoid and examples to follow and, most importantly, demonstrates how environmental management plans can be used as a flexible framework for mitigating environmental impacts throughout the project.

The addition of this guide to the IEMA Practitioner series provides a valuable resource for all stakeholders wishing to gain an overview of environmental management plans.