All kinds of commercial and industrial activity result in the release of pollutants into the atmosphere. In the main, these emissions are waste products such as:
- emissions from fossil fuel combustion in power generation;
- exhaust gases from vehicles;
- emissions from gas, oil or coal-fired heating systems;
- waste solvents from painting, coating, printing and materials processing;
- contaminants from processes emitted via local exhaust ventilation;
- waste gases from all kinds of materials processing, e.g. metal smelting; and
- non gaseous emission such as dust, grit, fumes and vapours.
Indirect emissions
Some of the emissions above are released from a company’s own premises. Some are emitted ‘off site’ by service providers doing work on the company’s behalf (e.g. power station emissions, vehicle exhaust fumes). These are often referred to as ‘indirect emissions’.
By definition, a company will have more control over its direct rather than its indirect emissions. However, environmental legislation also ensures that a company has more obligations regarding its direct emissions.
With indirect emissions, a company can choose to purchase services from suppliers who can show that they minimise their emissions. For example, when purchasing electricity supplies, a company can buy from renewable or combined heat and power sources which emit less greenhouse gas (and do not attract the Climate Change Levy or ‘carbon tax’).
Also, some haulage contractors use energy efficient vehicles and train their drivers to minimise fuel consumption.
Many suppliers have adopted environmental management systems (EMS). If these are certified to a recognised standard such as ISO14001, then this can provide reassurance to customers (see environmental management systems).