Single Environmental Licence (LAU, Mexico)

The Single Environmental Licence (LAU), in Spanish Licencia Ambiental Única, is the authorisation issued by Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) for the operation of federally regulated stationary sources in relation to air emissions. Its purpose is to bring together, in a single procedure, the atmospheric obligations of these facilities rather than handling them separately.

A stationary source under federal jurisdiction is any installation at a single location intended to carry out industrial operations or processes that may release pollutants into the atmosphere. Article 111 BIS of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA) requires SEMARNAT authorisation to operate those sources, and the LGEEPA regulation on the prevention and control of air pollution defines the operating licence as the Single Environmental Licence itself.

Who it applies to

Article 111 BIS of the LGEEPA lists the sectors treated as federally regulated stationary sources: the chemical, oil and petrochemical, paints and inks, automotive, pulp and paper, metallurgical, glass, electricity generation, asbestos, cement and lime, and hazardous-waste treatment industries. Stationary sources outside those sectors are regulated by state or municipal authorities.

What the licence integrates

The LAU brings together the facility's air-emission obligations and sets the conditions under which the source may emit, including compliance with the applicable Mexican Official Standards, such as those regulating the maximum permissible emission levels of combustion equipment. Under that same regulation the licence is valid indefinitely, and the authority may set facility-specific maximum emission levels within it.

Relationship with the Annual Operating Report

The LAU is complemented by the Annual Operating Report (COA), the report through which the facility declares its emissions and other environmental data each year, filed between 1 March and 30 June. While the LAU authorises operation, the COA lets the authority track the source's environmental performance over time.

How it fits into a project's life cycle

For new projects, environmental assessment usually begins before the LAU, with the Environmental Impact Statement (MIA), which analyses the impacts of the works or activity before it is authorised. Once in operation, the stationary source must hold its licence and keep its reports up to date. Managing these procedures well is an essential part of environmental compliance and a good starting point for measuring and reducing the activity's impact.

How Manglai can help

Manglai helps companies in Mexico understand their environmental impact and integrate emissions management into a sustainability and decarbonisation strategy. With Manglai's carbon footprint software you can measure your emissions and build a solid reduction plan.