Recently, I have been reflecting on the emphasis on risk management in the revised ISO 14001:2015 & researching the available resources to assist in the development of the risks and opportunities for my clients.
One resource that I draw upon is the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office document: National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies.
The National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies (NRR) is a reference document for individuals and organisations wishing to be better prepared for emergencies. The Register is the unclassified version of the National Risk Assessment (NRA), a classified assessment of the risks of civil emergencies facing the UK over the next five years (2015 – 2020). The NRR is a public resource for individuals and organisations wishing to be better prepared for risks and emergencies that will impact on their organisations.
For some organisations, such as the utility sector or emergency services, the Register together with other Governmental dialogue and information will form their risk management strategies in the event of a civil emergency & how they will react to maintain or realign the delivery of their vital services.
For most organisations, the Register will still provide valuable insight into potential risks from civil emergencies that may impact upon their business delivery.
The latest edition (2015) covers the following categories of risk:
| Highest priority risks | · Pandemic influenza · Coastal flooding · Widespread electricity failure · Catastrophic terrorist attacks |
| Newly assessed risks | · Poor air quality events · Major transport accidents · Major industrial accidents risk |
| Updates to existing risks | · Widespread electricity failure · Effusive volcanic eruptions · Severe space weather · Severe wildfires · Disruptive industrial action risk |
A number of the identified risks, such as flooding and air quality, will be readily recognised by environmental practitioners but they would do well to incorporate the additional risks from pandemics, the impact of terrorist attacks (such as recently occurred in France and Germany) and industrial / transportation accidents.
Indeed, there is much in the Register that will benefit Quality Managers in their development of risks impacting on Quality Management Systems (QMS) based on ISO 9001:2015.
Additionally, the Register highlights a number of key information resources on risk registers development and for further resources on each of the individual risks.
A copy of the latest (2015) edition of the National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies can be downloaded here
I welcome your feedback on whether you found this article useful in identifying the environmental risks for your EMS or have other resources that you can share with this community.