Environmental Management

1. Environmental Management – discussion of different approaches and their environmental and economic impacts.
2. Waste Minimisation, Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention – definitions, assessment of cleaner production opportunities, methodology for implementation in companies, environmental and economic benefits. Circular economy and resource efficiency. IPPC – principles, Best Available Techniques (BAT), BAT Reference Documents (BREFs), Czech and European legislation.
3. Environmental Audits and Environmental Management System Audits – definitions, principles and related regulations, types of audits, common features and differences, audit procedures, participants and formation of the audit team, auditor competence and qualification requirements, internal and external audits, use of audit results. ISO 19011, as currently amended.
4. Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Services (LCA) – definition, methodology, phases of LCA, interpretation of results, benefits and applications. ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, as currently amended.
5. Environmental Labels, Claims and Declarations – principles and types of environmental labels and claims, environmental product declarations, national and European environmental labelling schemes. ISO 14020 series, as currently amended.
6. Environmental Management Systems (EMS) – implementation of EMS in accordance with ISO 14001, as currently amended; context of the organisation, environmental policy, environmental aspects, compliance obligations, risks and opportunities, environmental objectives and planning to achieve them, employee competence and awareness, communication, operational control, environmental performance evaluation, internal audit, management review and continual improvement. Involvement of consultants, teamwork and project management. EMS certification – requirements, options, reasons and costs. Accreditation of certification bodies.
7. EMAS and Other Voluntary Environmental Management Instruments – EMAS principles and requirements, relationship and differences between EMAS and EMS according to ISO 14001, as currently amended, environmental statement, verification, qualification requirements for environmental verifiers, registration of organisations and competent bodies, Czech and European legislation.
8. Integrated Management Systems – links between environmental management and quality management, occupational health and safety management, energy management and risk management; principles and possibilities for the integration of management systems.
9. Environmental Performance Evaluation – environmental indicators, their selection, evaluation and use in organisational management. ISO 14031, as currently amended. Eco-efficiency and its assessment, ISO 14045, as currently amended.
10. Environmental Reporting, Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility – environmental reporting and communication with interested parties, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and ESG, environmental and non-financial information.
11. Environmental Risks, Climate Change and Emergency Preparedness – the role of risk assessment in environmental protection, identification and management of environmental risks, environmental impacts of industrial accidents, prevention and emergency preparedness. Climate change mitigation and adaptation, greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint; related standards of the ISO 14000 family, as currently amended.
12. Environmental Management of Cities and Regions – environmental management at municipal and regional levels, Local Agenda 21, sustainable development indicators – purpose, selection and application; climate change adaptation and territorial resilience.
13. Environmental Information, Environmental Assessment and Public Participation – access to environmental information, the Aarhus Convention, public participation, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Unified Environmental Statement (JES), Czech and European legislation.