Unit of competency

Modification History

Application

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to assess the potential impacts of enterprise operations on the environment and implement cost-effective strategies. Management of environmental impact is a priority across all sectors of the industry, which has invested considerably in developing best practice systems for the management and minimisation of environmental impact. The scope of the unit includes water quality, usage and waste, air quality, emissions, noise, odour, and the minimisation and disposal of solid wastes.

This unit is applicable to managers with responsibility for environmental matters, and to enterprise engineers, production managers, feedlot managers, chiller managers and quality managers working in a meat industry context.

At this level, individuals exercise considerable autonomy, responsibility and accountability within enterprise structures and are required to make primary contributions to the values, goals and operations of the enterprise. They will typically have responsibility for establishing and reviewing systems for their site or department. They may be assisted by external experts to develop plans and strategies.

This unit must be delivered using Australian meat industry standards and regulations.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements are known to apply to this unit at the time of publication.

Pre-requisite Unit

Nil

Unit Sector

Elements and Performance Criteria

Foundation Skills

Foundation Skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

Unit Mapping Information

Links

Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=5e2e56b7-698f-4822-84bb-25adbb8443a7

Assessment requirements

Modification History

Performance Evidence

An individual demonstrating competency must satisfy all of the elements and performance criteria in this unit.

There must be evidence that the individual has, on at least one occasion:

• analysed and interpreted current regulatory requirements for environmental management (including local, state, national and international), such as environmental tolerance levels, and their implications for enterprise operations
• assessed viability of gaining commercial value from waste, including the determination of commercial quantities, costs, returns and payback periods
• communicated effectively with internal and external personnel with diverse roles and cultures
• complied with regulatory requirements for managing enterprise environmental impact, including negotiation of agreements, plans, permits and licences with relevant environmental management authorities, confinement of environmental impacts within permissible limits, and preparation of the enterprise for external audit where specified
• consulted with internal/external stakeholders and independent agencies to prepare contingency plans and emergency response procedures for environmental incidents
• developed individual and team capacity to achieve enterprise management policies and goals, including clear communication of individual and team responsibilities for minimising environmental impact, development of consultative processes and strategies to identify and resolve environmental issues, and identification and provision of appropriate training programs
• developed procedures for responding to community complaints and concerns
• evaluated and recommended environmental management systems to meet enterprise needs, including identification and audit of enterprise creation of waste and environmental impacts, and evaluation of control and treatment systems, comparative costs, savings and minimisation of environmental impacts
• identified and applied relevant workplace health and safety, regulatory and workplace requirements
• implemented enterprise environmental management systems to minimise environmental impact, including the establishment of monitoring and testing regimes and record-keeping systems; development of procedures for identifying, reporting and analysing the causes of environment non-conformances and incidents; and development of control measures to prevent recurrence of environmental incidents, hazardous events and non-conformances
• monitored performance of the enterprise environmental management system, including the identification of performance standards based on industry best practice; collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative performance data; benchmarking; and assessment of performance against standards and recommendations for improvement
• prepared and updated enterprise environmental impact statements and management plans
• prepared information about enterprise's environmental management strategy and progress for public release, in accordance with enterprise ethical standards and regulatory requirements
• prepared reports and recommendations for senior management, using complex language analysis and appropriate presentation styles
• presented reports according to legal and enterprise requirements
• used effective communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills in interactions with all stakeholders, including environmental authorities, agencies and community representatives
• used information and communications technology for research and data collection, analysis and reporting.

Knowledge Evidence

An individual must be able to demonstrate the knowledge required to perform the tasks outlined in the elements and performance criteria of this unit. This includes knowledge of:

• potential costs of prevention, assessment and control of environmental impact
• customer and consumer, including importing country, requirements for effective environmental management, and implications for enterprise operations
• enterprise requirements for expert advice, assistance and support
• major air, water and solid waste environmental impacts generated by the meat industry
• relevant environmental authorities and their jurisdictions, powers and implications for enterprise operations.

Assessment Conditions

Assessment of the skills in this unit of competency must take place under the following conditions:

• physical conditions:

• skills must be demonstrated in a meat industry enterprise or an environment that accurately represents workplace conditions

• resources, equipment and materials:

• access to appropriate technology for research and data collection, analysis and reporting

• specifications:

• access to workplace documents such as policies, procedures, processes, forms
• access to specific legislation/codes of practice relevant to enterprise operations.

Methods of assessment must include:

• a third-party referee report of sustained performance at appropriate level of authority and responsibility
• assignment focusing on understanding and applying of principles and theory to workplace operations
• workplace projects with focus on company environment and conditions.

Assessors of this unit must satisfy the requirements for assessors in applicable vocational education and training legislation, frameworks and/or standards.

Links

Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=5e2e56b7-698f-4822-84bb-25adbb8443a7