Green pressures

One of the most far-reaching pieces of environmental legislation in recent times, the ELD is based on the “precautionary” and “polluter pays” principles, which means that an operator of any potentially polluting activity will be obliged to take proactive action to prevent, and where necessary, remediate any environmental damage.

That includes any type of damage to protected species and natural habitats, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, damage to water, including the pollution of groundwater and surface waters, and land contamination through pollution that creates a significant risk to human health.

“The ELD places a much higher burden on ports in terms of how they interact with the environment generally, says Mark Taylor of Marsh. “Port projects are particularly affected because they are coastal, with the potential for sensitive environmental habitats, a large amount of traffic movement, and significant potential pollution pressures.”

Marsh is reporting a lot more environment-related enquiries, either leading to consultancy and advisory work, or more interest in environmental liability policies through both construction and operational phases.

“If you disturb a sensitive habitat, you could be forced to reinstate that habitat if you damage it or, if it is physically impossible to do so, you will have to recreate it somewhere else,” says Mr Taylor. “There is a lot of potential risk here.

“Clients are really waking up to the fact that they have this responsibility and they are looking for insurance, advice or solutions that can help them.”