BE THE COMPANY THAT GETS REWARDED FOR EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Our Services

WE HAVE PIONEERED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK THAT IS DESIGNED TO HELP BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRIES PROACTIVELY MEET AND EXCEED ENVIRONMENTAL management RESPONSIBILITIES, WHILE ALSO HELPING TO PRIORITIZE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AS A HIGH-PRIORITY BUSINESS strategy

Proactive Environmental Management Framework
(as an effective strategy for business and industry)

Using our framework, we will develop and help implement a comprehensive environmental management framework at your business or organization.
This framework will provide the mechanism to effectively comply with relevant or complex environmental rules, regulations and policies while also anticipating and meeting growing environmental performance expectations, obligations and cost savings.

Proactive Environmental Justice Commitment
(as a high-priority strategy for business and industry)

Business has an important role to play in helping to bring environmental justice front and center while shifting the financing for this transition.
Business action, supported by government oversight, investments and incentives is absolutely critical for transitioning to proactively addressing the environmental justice challenges.
Achieving this not only addresses the environmental justice crisis at large, but it also improves local partnerships in communities in which businesses operate.

Environmental / Insurance Cost Recovery
(as a strategy for finding resources to address environmental cleanup or getting reimbursed for historical cleanup)

The phrase “environmental cost recovery” refers to the process of recovering the costs associated with performing environmental investigation, remediation and restoration activities at a once-contaminated property or area of concern.
Environmental cleanup cost recovery is also a phrase used to refer to the type of lawsuits that may be filed against parties potentially responsible for the contamination, their successors or insurance carriers by those persons or organizations who incur environmental cleanup costs in the first instance.

gap analysis as the first
step in developing an environmental framework

We perform environmental gap analysis as a part of the first step in the development of an environmental management framework.
This process includes comparing the state of the company or organization’s environmental compliance practices and establishes the framework for improved environmental performance going forward.

Strategies in Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting

Develop tools that will enhance the ability of overburdened communities to participate fully and meaningfully in the permitting process
Develop tools to assist permitting authorities to meaningfully address environmental justice in permitting decisions
Implement these tools at your company and work with others to do the same

The Critical Asset of Insurance Policies

Environmental claims may seek to recover millions of dollars either for alleged contamination from operations over decades or from new risks arising from federal or state enforcement actions that address soil, air or water pollution.
Insurance policies can be a critical asset to protect against the increasingly expensive costs of defending against those claims and paying any resulting settlements or judgments.

PROACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
AS AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS STRATEGY

HELPING COMPANIES COMPLY WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
AND NOT BE SUBJECTED TO UNNECESSARY FINES AND PENALTIES

Purpose

A Proactive Environmental Management Framework is a structured mechanism for managing a company or organization's significant environmental impacts. The latter vary between organizations, but typically will include waste, emissions, energy use, transport and consumption of materials. Climate change factors are increasingly prominent as are legacy issues such as contaminated land. Wider factors can also be included, such as impacts on wildlife (biodiversity) and use of materials (such as embodied water). In implementing a proactive environmental framework, a company will identify the significant effects relevant to its business. For maximum effectiveness, a framework should not be set up as a stand alone system, but built into the existing management structure. Adopting a Proactive Environmental Management Framework can help an organization to:

Manage and improve its environmental performance (managing negative impacts) and helping to increase resource efficiency (e.g. cutting waste and energy use);
Comply with environmental laws and regulations;
Generate financial savings through well-managed use of resources and efficient practices; and
Improve its standing and reputation with staff, client companies, partner organizations and wider stakeholders;
Adapt to a changing environment (either its operations or its products/services).

Our environmental management framework will encourage your company to continuously improve its environmental performance.
The framework follows a repeating cycle.
The company will first commit to an environmental policy, then use its policy as a basis for establishing a plan, which sets objectives and targets for improving environmental performance.
The next step is implementation.
After that, the company evaluates its environmental performance to see whether the objectives and targets are being met.
If targets are not being met, corrective action is taken.
The results of this evaluation are then reviewed by top management to see if the framework is working.
Management revisits the environmental policy and sets new targets in a revised plan.
The company then implements the revised plan.
The cycle repeats, and continuous improvement occurs.
Environmental Strategies Group will guide your company through the process from beginning to end.

Taking Your Environmental Obligations to the
Next Level

Environmental Strategies Group (ESG) recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship and commitment to environmental compliance and can help you take your environmental obligations to the next level.
In doing so, we recommend an environmental management framework to meet certain goals as explained above.
A management framework is a proven mechanism for managing and continually improving a company or organization’s policies, procedures and processes.
The framework is built around the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” model.
A fundamental part of an environmental management framework is the comprehensive and systematic control of all documents including policies, procedures, training, records, reports, permits and all other relevant information.

The Main Stages of a Proactive Environmental Management Framework

Commitment and Policy: Top management commits to environmental improvement and establishing the company's environmental policy. The policy is the foundation of the framework.
Planning: A company first identifies environmental aspects of its operations. Environmental aspects are those items, such as air pollutants or hazardous waste that can have negative impacts on people or the environment. A company then determines which aspects are significant by choosing criteria considered most important by the company. Once significant environmental aspects are determined, a company then sets objectives and targets.
Implementation: A company follows through with the action plan using the necessary resources (human, financial, etc.). An important component is employee training and awareness for all employees.
Evaluation: A company monitors its operations to evaluate whether targets are being met.
Review: Top management reviews the results of the evaluation to see if the framework is working. Management determines whether the original environmental policy is consistent with the company's values. The plan is then revised to optimize effectiveness.
Environmental Strategies Group will work with you to sort it all out.

Some Key Elements of A Proactive Environmental Management Framework

Environmental gap analysis
Environmental policy development
Identifying environmental aspects
Identifying legal and other environmental requirements
Establishing environmental objectives and targets
Environmental management program development
Training, awareness and competence strategy
Documentation and document control
Monitoring and measurements
Corrective and preventive action
Continuous improvement audit
Senior management review

The Benefits of Implementing a Proactive Environmental Management Framework

Help identify environmental challenges and reduce financial risk
Using a proactive environmental management framework can save money. It can help identify and address the causes of environmental challenges and then eliminate the root causes. This saves money in actual and potential fines and liabilities. A proactive environmental management framework helps identify potential non-compliance practices that can be changed or eliminated.
The company or organization saves money by adopting better rules and not paying for non-compliance or scandals. Improved quality and efficiency can result from the planning process and the corrective action associated with a proactive environmental management framework.

Additional Primary Benefits of A Proactive Environmental Management Framework

Reduce potential for risks, scandals and noncompliance
Improve environmental and other regulatory costs
Reduce exposure to environmental liabilities
Improve demonstration of environmental due diligence
Minimize impacts of environmental activities
Reduce environmental legal liability
Enhance public image vis-à-vis the local community, EPA, and the environmental industry at large
Increase competitive advantage for prospects who wants to be employed with a company or organization that is not in the news too frequently due to noncompliance issues or lacks environmental integrity

PROACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE COMMITMENT
AS A HIGH-PRIORITY BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR ENTITIES
OPERATING IN DISADVANTAGE COMMUNITIES

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS NOW BEING INCORPORATED INTO FEDERAL PERMITTING AND RULEMAKING PROCESS... LET US HELP YOU PIONEER AND DEMONSTRATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST HOW YOUR COMPANY IS PROACTIVELY ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONCERNS USING A PROACTIVE FRAMEWORK APPROACH!

a quote from former EPA administrator

"CLEAN WATER AND CLEAN AIR DON'T JUST HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY IN LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY COMMUNITIES. THESE ARE ESSENTIAL RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE TO INVEST IN PROTECTING AND THAT STARTS WITH COMMUNITIES, CITIES, STATES AND TRIBES. THIS PROBLEM ISN'T EASY. WE WON'T FIX IT OVERNIGHT. IT'S ONLY WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO DELIVER THESE BASIC RIGHTS TO EVERY AMERICAN, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY LIVE, OR HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAKE. EVERYONE DESERVES TO HAVE THEIR HEALTH PROTECTED FROM ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES."

WHILE BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRIES ARE NOT MENTIONED IN THE ABOVE QUOTE, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROBLEMS CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY SOLVED WITHOUT PROACTIVE ACTIONS AND COMMITMENTS BY THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, FREQUENTLY SEEN AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE FOR MANY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROBLEMS IN COMMUNITIES... THE FRAMEWORK DEVELOPED BY ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES GROUP CAN HELP SOLVE MANY OF THESE PROBLEMS

Environmental justice
as evolved

The new administration envision an EPA that integrates environmental justice into everything it does, cultivates strong partnerships to improve on-the-ground results, and charts a path forward for achieving better environmental outcomes and reducing disparities in the nation’s most overburdened communities. Achieving this vision will help to make their vulnerable, environmentally burdened, and economically disadvantaged communities healthier, cleaner and more sustainable places in which to live, work, play and learn.” Businesses must be a partner in this effort, and this is where Environmental Strategies Group can help.

EPA’s National Environmental Justice Challenges Include:

Lead Disparities
Drinking Water
Air Quality
Hazardous Waste Sites

Our pioneering approach can help you prioritize environmental justice in ways that are economically and operationally beneficial

The EJ movement has gained new momentum - EJ refers to the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
As natural disasters ravage minority, low-income communities, global climate justice campaigns demand equitable solutions, and members of Congress underscore the importance of ensuring environmental protection for our most vulnerable communities, EJ principles are given a leading role in the conversation about environmental policy.
Many companies have taken a leadership role in this respect, and companies can balance the achievement of EJ principles with proactive, informed business decisions and effective risk management. Indeed, when well-informed by communities, industry stakeholders can make EJ a priority in ways that are economically and operationally feasible. Environmental Strategies Group through its management system approach will help companies develop a framework to achieve its EJ mission and commitments.

AS A MEASURE OF A COMPANY'S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMITMENT, A COMPANY COULD CONSIDER INVESTING IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS/CHEMICALS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY IN COMMUNITIES IN WHICH they OPERATE

Taking a proactive approach to solving environmental justice problems... here's a sampling of our framework

Environmental justice gap analysis
Environmental justice policy development
Identifying environmental justice aspects
Identifying legal and other environmental justice challenges
Establishing environmental justice objectives and targets
Training, awareness and competence strategy
Environmental justice communication strategy
Environmental justice documentation and document control
Monitoring and measurements of environmental performance
Environmental justice corrective and preventive action
Continuous environmental justice improvement audit
Senior management review of environmental justice progress

ENVIRONMENTAL / INSURANCE
COST RECOVERY
AS A STRATEGY FOR PAYING FOR COSTLY ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
OR GETTING REIMBURSED FOR SIMILAR HISTORICAL PROJECTS

FEDERAL LAW FORCES PEOPLE OR BUSINESSES RESPONSIBLE FOR CERTAIN CONTAMINATED PROPERTIES TO CLEAN UP THE SITE OR AT LEAST PAY FOR IT. THOSE PEOPLE OR BUSINESSES ARE CALLED "POTENTIALLY RESPONSIBLE PARTY" OR PRP. ANOTHER OPTION IS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES TO USE INSURANCE POLICIES TO PAY FOR THESE CLEANUPS OR GET REIMBURSED IF THE CLEANUP HAS ALREADY OCCURRED. WE CALLED THIS "FOUND MONEY" BECAUSE NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE OR COMPANIES ARE FAMILIAR WITH HOW IT WORKS. WE CAN EXPLAIN!

Found Money

Understanding the Comprehensive General
Liability Insurance Policy

A typical CGL policy insures against third party liability for bodily injury or property damage resulting from an “occurrence,” provided the claim is not otherwise specifically excluded by the language of the policy.
CGL coverage also typically obligates the insurer to defend the policyholder in the event of a third-party claim. By its inherent nature as liability insurance, CGL excludes coverage for losses to a policyholder’s own personal or real property, as well as risks pertaining to employee and automobile liabilities, and separate lines of coverage are available for these specific risks.
Beyond these exclusions, however, policyholders might expect that a “general” liability policy would cover, among other things, liability related to environmental contamination.

Our Services

Environmental Strategies Group, LLC provides services to assist clients recover monies spent to clean up contaminated property at the urging of the government.
We do this by engaging attorney’s we have relationships with who are experts in insurance cost recovery matters.
Environmental Strategies Group can prepare historical insurance research to determine which insurance companies to file claims against.
Again, to be clear, claims do not have to be filed against your current insurance policy.

Environmental Insurance Policy

Environmental risks have two basic components:

The policyholder's obligation to clean up contaminated property; and,
The policyholder's potential liability to third parties injured by the environmental hazard.

These risks lead to financial damages in the form of environmental cleanup costs, third-party bodily injury claims, third-party property damage claims, regulatory fines or diminished market share due to lack of environmental stewardship.

Finding needed monies for cleanup:

During the past several years, most property managers or business owners have been faced with environmental conditions that translate into cleanup costs and even lawsuits. Meeting these financial obligations and dealing with legal disputes can be devastating.
Lately, however, many property managers and business owners have sought and won indemnification from their insurance carriers for a variety of environmental claims.
Environmental Strategies Group can help you recover these costs through it's partnership with insurance archeologist.

Policies covering environmental claims

Three basic types of insurance provide coverage for environmental claims:
Comprehensive General Liability insurance (or CGL);
First-party property; and,
Environmental impairment liability (or ELL)
Excess liability policies also may provide coverage beyond the limits of these primary insurance policies.
The scope of environmental claims coverage afforded by each type of insurance varies significantly.
A CGL policy traditionally provides coverage for:

Damages caused to a third party’s property;
Bodily injury to a third party arising from the use or condition of the policy-holder’s property; or,
Injury that results from the operation of the policyholder’s business.

A typical CGL policy will have an “owned property” exclusion that may preclude the policyholder from obtaining indemnification for damages to his or her own property. For example, if hazardous waste generated and stored by Company A on its property migrates to neighboring land owned by Company B and Company B in turn seeks compensation from Company A for the damages caused, Company A may seek indemnification under its CGL policy for Company B’s damages.
To date, courts have disagreed as to whether Company A may recover costs to remediate damages suffered on its own property.

Environmental / Insurance Cost Recovery

In partnership with attorneys we work with, here are what to expect:

Policies will be reviewed as part of the first step

All the policies will be reviewed
If the cleanup is historical in nature, policies going all the way back to the opening of the facility may apply
EPA does cost recovery, but it’s different from what we do
Lost policies are no problem, we will find them
First party coverage for environmental losses will be reviewed

BE THE COMPANY THAT GETS REWARDED FOR EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Our Services

Proactive Environmental Management Framework (as an effective strategy for business and industry)

Proactive Environmental Justice Commitment (as a high-priority strategy for business and industry)

Environmental / Insurance Cost Recovery (as a strategy for finding resources to address environmental cleanup or getting reimbursed for historical cleanup)

gap analysis as the first step in developing an environmental framework