Corporate Directors And Officers Can be Culpable for Environmental Harm: In-House Counsel Can Help Implement Policy and System Safeguards

Originally published in Canadian Lawyer InHouse, April 2010

So, just how much environmental 'hot water' might directors and officers of your corporation find themselves in? This is not a rhetorical question. The answer has real world implications for you, your company and those in charge at the highest ranks.

Environmental law comes in the form of statutes and regulations passed at the federal, provincial and local levels of government, case law, environmental orders, approvals and permits, and standards, guidelines and policies that are adopted by reference into law.

Some of these laws set out requirements aimed directly at corporate directors and officers. They include environmental offences for causing pollution, failing to report discharges and spills, non-compliance with orders, approvals and permits, obstructing the regulator and providing the regulator with false information.