To ensure that it delivers its services with a focus on quality, experience and competence in an ever-changing professional and regulatory environment, environmental management company I-Cat Environmental Solutions’ environmental management division attended an environmental law update workshop, in September, hosted by Imbewu sustainability legal specialists.

“Our clients’ needs form the heart of our operations and empower I-Cat to be a market leader in the field of environmental consulting,” says I-Cat environmental manager Rachelle Stofberg.

I-Cat is committed to assisting clients with their air emissions reporting, following the publication of the National Atmospheric Emission Reporting regulations, which were promulgated in April.

The regulations require persons classified as data providers to register on the South African National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory System (NAEIS).

Persons required to register include anyone who holds a mining right or permit in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, any person that undertakes a listed activity in terms of Section 21(1) of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEM:AQA), any person that undertakes a listed activity in terms of Section 21(1) of the NEM:AQA and uses an appliance or conducts an activity which has been declared a controlled emitter in terms of Section 23(1) of the Act or any person that operates facilities which gene- rate pollutants, and has been identified in accordance with the applicable municipal by-law.

The NAEIS is an online national reporting platform that will store South Africa’s air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions inventories. The system offers innovative ways to report emissions, as is required by the NEM:AQA.

The objective of the system is to provide all stakeholders with relevant, up-to-date and accurate information about South Africa’s emissions, creating a comprehensive profile for informed decision-making.

Imbewu, which hosted the environmental law update workshop, works on sustainability, legal and policy issues for a range of clients, including a number of environmental consultancies, large industrial and mining clients, small to medium-sized industrial operations, foreign embassies, nongovernmental organisations, international agencies and government departments.