NZ By the Numbers – Your Bottom Line – Good environmental management makes you money from:
Your bottom line
Good environmental management makes you money from:
● reduced use of materials, water and energy
● re-use of materials or wastes
● sale or exchange of re-useable or recyclable wastes
● lower waste disposal fees
● improved staff morale and productivity gains
● improved shareholder confidence and favourable consumer perceptions
Bad environmental management costs you money in:
● downtime for clean up or injury
● product loss from leaks and spills
● liquid, solid and hazardous waste disposal charges
● charges by the Auckland Regional Council and other regulators
● charges for consultants and contractors to organise clean up
● legal costs, court costs and fines if your firm is convicted of pollution
● consumer avoidance and damage control costs of PR to regain your lost ground
Business benefits of legal compliance
The Resource Management Act penalises polluters by:
● infringement and abatement notices
● enforcement orders
● prosecution (fines and imprisonment)
● cost recovery by enforcement agencies for site time, costs and pollution clean-ups
Once the Regional Council has a record of a pollution incident at a site, that
incident is recorded against the property and the information will be relayed to potential purchasers should they request any information about the site as part of their pre-purchase due diligence process.
But there are many benefits from complying with the law: insurers, lenders, buyers and share-holders are increasingly reluctant to get involved with properties or businesses with environmental liabilities. These organisations now routinely check with many agencies, including the ARC, that the businesses they deal with are free of environmental risk and operate in an environmentally responsible manner.
Clients and consumers are also moving towards environmentally responsible purchasing.
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