Environment Agency
launch partnership with Football League
Trust
Funding from the Football
League Trust to all seventy-two Championship,
League One and League Two clubs across England
and Wales will now be partially linked to
improvements in environmental performance.
The Football League
Trust is launching a partnership with the
Environment Agency to improve environmental
performance such as cutting energy, water
and waste, and to promote green issues with
local communities.
The Football League
Trust, which oversees Community and Youth
Development activities at Football League
clubs, currently work with supporters and
local communities across four main issues:
social inclusion/community cohesion, health,
education and sports participation. The
environment has become the fifth issue.
Football League Trust
North West Regional Manager Dean Grice said:
“Football clubs are at the heart of many
communities and we want that heart to be
green. Clubs can set a great example to
other small and medium sized businesses
in their local community by improving their
environmental performance.
“The funding a club
receives from the Football League Trust
will be linked to the work they do to reduce
their environmental impact such as cutting
energy, water and waste and their involvement
in promoting green issues in their community.
“Improvements won’t
happen overnight, but some clubs like Oldham
Athletic have already made great strides
by introducing environmental initiatives
such as donating old football kit to community
teams in the Oldham area, changing to paper
produced from more sustainable sources,
including healthy environment messages in
their healthy living education programme
with local schools and organising community
clean-ups of neglected public land in the
vicinity of the ground.”
Oldham Athletic Chief
Executive, Alan Hardy said: “It’s important
for everyone to consider the impact they
have on the environment, and football clubs
are no exception. By looking at ways we
can reduce our carbon footprint, Oldham
Athletic is not only acting responsibly
but is saving money too.”
Football League clubs
will focus on four environmental themes:
• Environmental Policy
– aims, objectives and commitment to the
environment
• Resource Management – reducing waste,
water and energy use
• Transport Planning – reducing the impact
from club staff and supporters
• Community Engagement – promoting awareness
of environmental issues
Environment Agency North
West Regional Strategy Manager, Steve Moore:
“Football clubs are a business – and it
makes business sense to cut costs on waste,
water and energy use.
“The Environment Agency
will provide environmental advice and guidance
to all
72 Football League clubs in England and
Wales. This is good for football clubs and
good for the environment.”
Community schemes play
an influential role in clubs helping ‘their’
communities, which include supporters, businesses,
local agencies and schoolchildren to understand
and make positive contributions to a subject
that is becoming a major global issue especially
climate change.
Clubs will be encouraged
also to sign up to the Mayday network and
START programme pioneered by the Prince
of Wales and his Business in The Community
charity ( BITC).
Other clubs in the North
West that will be introducing green measures
include (see more below):
• Tranmere have carried out a waste audit
and are increasing their recycling rates
for each waste type across club activities
• Crewe Alexandra have installed water saving
devices in their changing rooms and visitor
toilet facilities
• Carlisle have swapped from plastic sacks
to recyclable paper sacks for their fertiliser
deliveries to reduce waste
• Stockport County run education campaigns
to encourage healthy lifestyles through
walking and cycling rather than relying
on the car.
Please confirm your
attendance by contacting the Environment
Agency’s regional press office on 01925
542621, out of hours on 07776 497255 or
marianne.webb@environment-agency.gov.uk
Background to partnership
The Football League Trust was set up to
oversee community and youth development
activities at the 72 Football League clubs
in the Championship, League 1 and League
2. Each club runs a community programme
to help broaden their relationship with
their local communities. These activities
are funded by the Football League Trust
through donations from the FA, PFA, Premier
League and Football Pools. Approximately
1.5million people get involved in these
programmes each year.
The initial aim of the partnership with
the Environment Agency is to develop a baseline
of the current environmental impact of these
football clubs and look at ways of improving
the club and community team's environmental
impact in a measurable and long lasting
way.
Examples of Environmental initiatives underway
Waste
• Scunthorpe United – ‘Go Green Bags’ pilot
scheme (reusable & biodegradable plastic
bags for club shops & kit bags for holiday
clubs)
• Swindon Town, Oldham Athletic, Brentford
– donating unwanted kit to local schools
or charities
• Sheffield United, AFC Bournemouth – local
litter pickers rewarded with match tickets
• Mansfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion
– community recycling facilities at ground
• Tranmere Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Colchester
– carried out waste audits
Energy
• Huddersfield Town – renewable energy pilot
project at community sports facilities
• Middlesbrough & MK Dons – bidding
for funding for low carbon communities projects
with their local authorities
• Barnsley, Huddersfield, Sheffield United,
Coventry, Middlesbrough, Southampton – carried
out energy audits
• Scunthorpe United, Coventry, Lincoln,
Swindon Town, Ipswich Town, MK Dons – installed
motion sensor lights
• Leyton Orient (CHP) – new energy efficient
boiler
• MK Dons – low energy floodlights
• Doncaster Rovers, Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe
United – energy efficient laundry equipment
Water
• Exeter City, Colchester – rainwater harvesting
for pitch irrigation
• Ipswich Town – recycling pitch irrigation
water for reuse on pitches
• Leyton Orient, MK Dons – waterless urinals
• Plymouth Argyle, Reading, Crewe Alexandra
– reduced water to flush loos
• Plymouth Argyle, Colchester, Ipswich,
Crewe Alexandra, Southampton – push control
taps
• AFC Bournemouth, Bristol City, Swindon
Town, Colchester – replacing bottles of
water with jugs to reduce waste
Green Purchasing
• Oldham Athletic – changing to paper products
from sustainable sources
• Carlisle United – swapping to fertiliser
delivered in paper sacks rather than plastic
to reduce waste
• Bradford City – drinks bottles & lunch
boxes branded with club logo to encourage
reuse
Green Transport
• Brighton & Hove Albion – promoting
park & ride schemes
• Bristol Rovers – charter a train to take
supporters to away matches
• Southampton – discounts on bus travel
with match ticket
Community Engagement
• Newcastle United, Swindon Town – Environment
Week activities
• Stockport County, Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield
United, Bradford City – projects on healthy
environment
• Bristol Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion
– Sustainable Schools initiative
• Norwich City – 'Yellow
and Greener' community recycling initiative
• Southend United – 'Going Green with the
Blues' programme for 9-11 yr olds
• Colchester – member of Young Essex Assembly
(signed their Green Pledge) and runs own
'War on Waste' campaign
+ More
Tackling environmental
crime at root and branch
Environment Agency campaign
tackles illegal scrap metal sites
A campaign by the Environment
Agency to tackle illegal scrap metal activity
in the North West has led to over 20 prosecutions
and 18 formal cautions in under two years.
Operation SCRAP (scrap
cars require a permit) targeted illegal
operators to bring sites into compliance
with environmental regulations, or take
enforcement action where serious and repeated
breaches were found.
Some scrap metal operators,
wanting to keep costs low and profits as
high as possible, have caused risks to the
environment by illegally disposing of oil
down drains, and burning waste. They either
do not hold a permit to carry out these
activities, or are breaching the conditions
laid down by the Environment Agency.
Using an intelligence
led approach, targeted action was taken
in the north west to visit sites which were
believed to be acting illegally. During
site visits officers were able to give advice
on how a site operator could became compliant,
as well as gathering evidence to take enforcement
action where necessary.
The Environment Agency
also targeted those who supply sites through
a series of road side stops across the region.
These resulted in six prosecutions, and
14 formal cautions being issued. Over 36
stops were carried out in 2008/9, with around
a thousand vehicles stopped. Officers checked
whether the vehicles were carrying any waste
as part of their business activities and,
if so, that they held a waste carriers licence
to do so.
Lisa Whelan, Operation
SCRAP manager at the Environment Agency
said, “Illegal scrap metal operators can
have a real impact on our local environment,
through oil being leaked into drains or
toxic fumes being released during burning.
In the north west we have been tackling
the illegal activity on sites, as well as
clamping down on those who illegally feed
the sites with scrap vehicles and metal.
By tackling the suppliers and those who
process scrap metal we are cutting out the
root and branch.”
Ends
For media enquiries please contact the press
office on
01925 542621 or 01925 542201
Out of hours please call 07776497255 and
ask for the duty press officer
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Note to Editors
1. The campaign has
led to:
• 21 prosecutions
• 18 cautions
• 22 warnings
Enforcement action is
being considered on a number of other cases.
2. Case studies
A&B Car Breakers
had been operating a car dismantler’s yard
in Blackpool. The owner, David Burill admitted
to dismantling cars for three years and
was fined 7,000 GBP in September 2008 at
Blackpool Magistrates. The site has now
closed.
Oldham Van Breakers,
Mumps, Oldham, pleaded guilty at Oldham
Magistrates in September 2009 to operating
a waste vehicle dismantling facility without
the required Environmental Permit, and were
fined 5,000 GBP, and ordered to pay costs
of 2,462.84 GBP.
Breaking Toyotas Ltd,
Pimhole Road, Bury, pleaded guilty in September
2009 to operating a waste vehicle dismantling
facility without the required Environmental
Permit at Bury Magistrates. The company
were fined 3,000 GBP, and ordered to pay
costs of 2,306 GBP.
Alliance Mill (Chris
Adamson) were operating an illegal scrap
yard and was prosecuted in September 2008.
The owner of the company (Chris Adamson)
was required to undertake 120 hours of community
service and pay 1,400 GBP in costs.
+ More
Environment Agency closes Thames Barrier
for fifth time in three days to protect
London from flooding
The Environment Agency will close the Thames
Barrier for the fifth time in three days
this morning at 11.30am to protect London
from a combined high tide and tidal surge
in the Thames estuary.
There are currently
20 Flood Watches in force across the Thames
Region.
For up to date information for each flood
warning area dial the Environment Agency
Floodline on 0845 988 11 88.
The Environment Agency will close the Thames
Barrier for the fifth time in three days
this morning at 11.30am to protect London
from a combined high tide and tidal surge
in the Thames estuary.
The heavy rainfall over the weekend has
meant there are large flows coming down
the Thames as the land drains, at a time
when there are normally high spring tides
for the month. The combination of these,
and some surge activity in the North Sea,
means that the Thames Barrier will close
to keep the tide from entering the capital
city and maintain the tidal River Thames
to a safe level.
The Environment Agency currently has 20
flood watches in force across London, Hertfordshire,
Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the Thames Valley.
The Thames Barrier will reopen again at
approximately 4.30pm. After it has reopened
the Environment Agency will continue to
monitor the weather, river levels and tides
closely.
Martin Moore, duty controller at the Thames
Barrier, said: “This is the fifth time we
have closed the Barrier in the past three
days, which only serves to reinforce just
what a vital asset it is in combating the
risk of tidal flooding in the capital. We
monitor the risk of flooding constantly,
and the forecast levels require us to close
the Thames Barrier to perform its role of
preventing London from flooding.
“This is the 119th time we have closed the
Thames Barrier, and it serves as an important
reminder to us all that living in the flood
plain is never without risk.”
Members of the public can check their level
of risk and find out what they can do to
protect themselves from flooding by visiting
www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
Details on all flood watches/warnings in
force can be found at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
However, to obtain local river level information
please phone the Environment Agency Floodline
0845 9881188 and enter the appropriate Quickdial
number.
Flooding information
Floods can kill. Do not try to walk or drive
through floodwater - six inches of fast
flowing water can knock you over and two
feet of water will float your car. Manhole
covers may have come off and there may be
other hazards you can’t see.
Boaters
Customers and boaters can also check for
the current river conditions at www.visitthames.co.uk/riverconditions
There are strong steam conditions throughout
much of the River Thames. Boaters should
check river conditions via the Environment
Agency Floodline on 0845 988 1188. When
prompted, press 1 for Thames Navigation
and then Quickdial 011131 for river conditions.
There are several steps that people can
take to protect themselves or reduce the
impact of flooding. This advice could apply
to people who are flooded from any source.
Phone the Environment Agency Floodline on
08549 881188 or visit our website www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
Floodline Warnings Direct is a service that
members of the public can register for to
receive flood warning when flooding is likely.
Floodline Warnings Direct online is accessed
through the Environment Agency website (home
and leisure section) or direct through the
following web addresses:
English service http://fwd.environment-agency.gov.uk
Welsh service http://fwd.environment-agency.gov.uk?lang=cy
The latest weather forecasts are available
from www.metoffice.gov.uk
Ends
All media enquiries: 0118 953 5555
Outside office hours 0118 953 5581
Please ask for the duty press officer
Environment Agency news releases, both national
and regional, can be found on its web site:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
