Environmental Compliance for Construction Companies
Practical environmental compliance guidance for construction companies, from resource consents and CEMPs to sediment control, waste management, and subcontractor responsibilities.
Construction is one of the most environmentally regulated industries in the world, and for good reason. A single project can disturb large areas of land, alter drainage patterns, generate significant waste, and create dust, noise, and contamination risks that affect neighbouring properties and waterways.
This page brings together everything ORDUM has published on environmental compliance for the construction sector. Whether you’re a principal contractor, project manager, or business owner managing your own site, you’ll find practical guidance on the obligations that apply to your work, and the documentation you need to demonstrate compliance.
Key Resources
Getting the fundamentals right
Environmental Compliance for Construction Companies: What You Need to Know
New to environmental compliance for construction? Start here.
This comprehensive guide covers the full scope of construction-specific obligations, from resource consents and permit conditions through to subcontractor responsibilities and what happens when things go wrong. It’s the best starting point for understanding how compliance applies across a typical construction project.
Read the Environmental Compliance for Construction Companies Guide
Environmental management risk areas
Earthworks and land disturbance
Any project involving significant earthworks is likely to trigger consent obligations before a spade hits the ground.
The Earthworks and Vegetation Clearance Guide will help you to understand the thresholds, documentation requirements, and pre-works obligations before you mobilise.
Stormwater and sediment control
Sediment runoff is consistently the most common cause of environmental enforcement action on construction sites
Getting your controls right, and keeping records of inspections and maintenance, is your first line of defence against regulatory attention.
Read Stormwater and Sediment Control on Construction Sites: A Practical Guide (coming soon) –>
Read Setting Up a Construction Site Drain: What You Need to Know (coming soon)
Dust and noise
Construction generates dust and noise that affect neighbours and can trigger complaints and regulatory investigations.
Most jurisdictions set limits, and expect you to use best practicable means to minimise impact even below those limits.
Read Dust and Noise Management on Construction Sites: Compliance Without the Headaches (coming soon) –>
Read How to Handle an Environmental Complaint on a Construction Site –> (coming soon)
Waste management
Construction generates significant waste volumes, including potentially hazardous materials.
Correct classification, licensed disposal, and proper record-keeping are legal requirements in most jurisdictions,not optional.
Read Construction Waste Management: How to Classify, Track, and Report Your Waste (coming soon) –>
Working with Subcontractors
Subcontractor compliance
Principal contractors retain overall environmental responsibility for their site, including for work carried out by subcontractors.
Managing that obligation requires more than passing a scope of work down the chain.
Read Managing Subcontractor Environmental Compliance: A Guide for Principal Contractors –> (coming soon)
Read What to Include in a Construction Environmental Site Induction –> (coming soon)
Permits and Plans
Resource consents and permit conditions
Many construction projects require one or more resource consents before work begins.
Once granted, compliance with consent conditions is a legal obligation, and if you’re contracting on a consented project, those obligations apply to your work too.
Read Resource Consents for Construction: What Triggers One and What It Means for Your Project (coming soon) –>
Read How to Read and Comply With Your Resource Consent Conditions –> (coming soon)
Construction Environmental Management Plans (CEMPs)
A CEMP is the master document that describes your project’s environmental risks
It includes the controls you’ll implement, and how you’ll monitor compliance throughout the work. Some consents require one before work begins. Even where it isn’t mandatory, having one demonstrates due diligence and gives your team a clear reference point.
Read How to Write a Construction Environmental Management Plan: What It Needs to Cover (coming soon) –>
Read Pre-Construction Environmental Checklist: 10 Things to Do Before You Break Ground –> (coming soon)
Environmental Incidents
Incident response
Environmental incidents on construction sites require a fast, documented response.
Incidents could include sediment control failures, fuel spills, contamination events. How you respond in the first hours of such incidents matter as much as the controls you had in place.
Read Environmental Incidents on Construction Sites: How to Respond, Report, and Recover –> (coming soon)
Ongoing Compliance
Ongoing compliance through the project lifecycle
Environmental obligations don’t end once construction begins.
Understanding what’s required at each project phase, from pre-construction through to completion and reinstatement, helps you stay ahead of your obligations rather than catching up to them.
Read Construction Site Environmental Compliance Calendar: Ongoing Obligations by Project Phase –> (coming soon)
Need Complete Implementation Templates?
Ready for step-by-step compliance templates?
Our Environmental Compliance Starter Kit includes everything you need to implement a complete compliance system: Environmental Management Plan, Risk Assessment Template, Incident Response Plan, and more.
Coming Soon: Construction Environmental Compliance Kit
We’re currently developing a sector-specific documentation pack built specifically for construction projects. It will include:
- Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) template and guidance document
- Erosion and sediment control plan template
- Construction waste management register
- Environmental site induction checklist
- Subcontractor environmental requirements template
- Pre-construction environmental site assessment checklist
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