<p>The forests are essential for healthy environment. Trees which are part of the</p><p>forest help to stabilize the forest soil, improve soil fertility, reduce the velocity of</p><p>wind, protect watershed and reduce the amount of carbon released into the</p><p>atmosphere. Many industries use trees as raw materials and in most cases impact</p><p>the environment, but there are great differences in the impact they make. There is</p><p>a need therefore to continually evaluate the operational activities of these</p><p>industries to ensure that the environment is protected. The use of environmental</p><p>management systems like ISO and EMAS standards has helped in the evaluation</p><p>of organizations and industries.</p><p>In this thesis, two sawmills Iretunde and Irepodun in Etsako-West local</p><p>government area Edo state Nigeria were evaluated with the aim to determine their</p><p>operational activities and how the environment is being affected by them. Subaims</p><p>were to determine the most significant environmental aspects of the sawmill</p><p>and their organizational structure. In actualizing the aim of this thesis, literature</p><p>review, site investigation as well as oral interview of the staff and management of</p><p>both sawmills were conducted. In the evaluation of the environmental aspects, the</p><p>detailed method of environmental impact evaluation by Ammenberg (2004) was</p><p>used were each environmental aspect that was weighted against nine identified</p><p>criteria.</p><p>The result obtained from the environmental aspect evaluation of both sawmills</p><p>shows that the use of raw materials and emissions to air are the most significant</p><p>environmental aspects. In conclusion, it was observed that the both sawmills are</p><p>well structured and carry out their operational activities effectively. Neither of</p><p>them has registered under any environmental management system but there is a</p><p>need for them to do so in order to help check their operational activities in order to</p><p>reduce their environmental impact.</p>

The forests are essential for healthy environment. Trees which are part of the forest help to stabilize the forest soil, improve soil fertility, reduce the velocity of wind, protect watershed and reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Many industries use trees as raw materials and in most cases impact the environment, but there are great differences in the impact they make. There is a need therefore to continually evaluate the operational activities of these industries to ensure that the environment is protected. The use of environmental management systems like ISO and EMAS standards has helped in the evaluation of organizations and industries. In this thesis, two sawmills Iretunde and Irepodun in Etsako-West local government area Edo state Nigeria were evaluated with the aim to determine their operational activities and how the environment is being affected by them. Subaims were to determine the most significant environmental aspects of the sawmill and their organizational structure. In actualizing the aim of this thesis, literature review, site investigation as well as oral interview of the staff and management of both sawmills were conducted. In the evaluation of the environmental aspects, the detailed method of environmental impact evaluation by Ammenberg (2004) was used were each environmental aspect that was weighted against nine identified criteria. The result obtained from the environmental aspect evaluation of both sawmills shows that the use of raw materials and emissions to air are the most significant environmental aspects. In conclusion, it was observed that the both sawmills are well structured and carry out their operational activities effectively. Neither of them has registered under any environmental management system but there is a need for them to do so in order to help check their operational activities in order to reduce their environmental impact.