Jared Crowley
JC Environmental (JCE)
Jared started JC Environmental (JCE) in 2019, after several years working in Regional Councils in regulatory roles as a compliance officer and investigator.
Jared has extensive experience with compliance monitoring activities in a rural and construction setting, specifically, forestry, earthworks and dairy farming activities.
JCE currently offer environmental regulation services to a range of local government and private organisations across the North Island.
Seeing the wood for the trees - A case study of effective collaboration in forestry
compliance
In late 2024, JC Environmental (JCE) took on a new forestry client that had been issued a series of Abatement Notices (AN), including a region-wide AN that immediately escalated any non-compliance issues identified during future operations.
Faced with a potential prosecution or a series of infringement fines over multiple sites this forestry company made the decision to collaborate with Council regulators to better understand the issues identified and to meaningfully implement companywide change.
Through this collaboration, the company changed remedial processes on site, provided improved training to its staff and contractors, restructured reporting procedures and engaged regular third party auditing of its practices. Alongside these changes on site, it improved its communications and relationships with Council, by providing regular updates and invitations for inspections and over time was able to build a positive compliance history, as the physical improvements on site began to pay dividends.
After two years of diligence and improved relations with Council the company was able to successfully apply for a cancellation of the AN issued under Section 325A of the RMA 1991.
This presentation acts as a case study that explores the dynamics of engagement, collaboration, and trust-building across the compliance divide and how this collaboration let to better environmental outcomes on the ground. Overall, it will share how a forestry company effectively engaged with Council to gain a fresh perspective and had the willingness to do better, morphing from the cross hairs of a possible court date, to now striving to be an environmental leader in the industry.