30-Aug-2011 - Environment
Agency officers will be visiting 43 companies
on the Dunkirk industrial estate near Nottingham
to carry out pollution prevention and hazardous
waste visits on 7, 8 and 9 September 2011.
The main aim of these
visits is to work with the companies on
the Dunkirk Estate to prevent any pollution
incidents such as oils going down the surface
water drains and ending up in the nearby
Tottle Brook.
Tottle Brook has also
suffered from various other environmental
incidents in the past which have included
fly-tipping and illegal waste.
We will be visiting 43 companies in total,
who have all been made aware of our visit
and the reasons behind this. We will also
be working with the local council, Health
& Safety Executive, Environmental Health,
Police and Fire service by passing any relevant
information on to them.
The visits will also be an important opportunity
for businesses to ask us for information,
help and guidance and for us to advise on
environmental regulations and best practices.
Environment Agency officer Becky Stewart
said: “The agency is looking forward to
working with businesses to create a better
place locally for them to work and live.
We hope that ultimately this will be an
example for other areas that are suffering
from similar pollution.”
+ More
Environment Agency cuts
environmental footprint and encourages greater
action by large organisations
18-Aug-2011 - The Environment
Agency has announced that it has cut its
CO2 emissions by almost a fifth since 2006/07.
And it urged other large organisations to
improve their environmental reporting and
performance.
The organisation measures
its environmental performance in five key
areas, with ambitious 2015 targets set for
each. New figures, in the Environment Agency’s
first internal environment management update,
show that the 2006-2011 performance on each
is:
Office waste – reduced by 18 per cent, 66
per cent less to landfill;
Mileage – reduced by 33 per cent, 19 million
fewer miles per year;
Carbon dioxide – a 17 per cent reduction
in emissions;
Buildings’ energy – a 15 per cent reduction
in use;
Mains water – an 18 per cent reduction.
Organisation estimates
reveal that the programme has already reduced
its costs by more than £6 million
a year.
Companies urged to go
further on environmental reporting
The majority of Britain’s biggest publicly-listed
businesses are now disclosing some information
about their environmental performance on
an annual basis. But a recent Environment
Agency study of more than 500 FTSE All-share
companies showed that not enough companies
are providing environmental statistics in
line with Government guidance and that the
quality of information is still very varied
and in some cases basic. The agency urged
companies to go further on environmental
reporting following publication of the report.
Environment Agency Chief Executive, Dr Paul
Leinster, said:
“Big organisations often
have a big environmental footprint. Transport,
energy and waste all contribute and need
to be managed, measured and reduced. Those
that do so effectively will reduce costs
and improve their reputation.
“In the future, we’ll see higher energy
prices, more carbon reporting and greater
competition for resources. Good environmental
management helps address each and also helps
to reduce our running costs. Our own experience
shows that focusing on a few important measures,
embedding them into every team and reporting
to the Board each year are key to success.”
Large companies and
public sector organisations have recently
submitted their first CRC Energy Efficiency
Scheme annual reports to the Environment
Agency, summarising their energy efficiency
performance. They will be compiled into
a league table and published in the Autumn.
The Environment Agency's efficiency measures
The Environment Agency’s internal environment
management update shows the ways in which
the reductions have been made. Cleaner vehicles
have been introduced which has helped contribute
to the reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
Also, water saving technology has been installed
in many of the agency’s buildings and this
has resulted in 12,000 m3 less water being
used than five years ago.
Vehicle mileage was reduced by helping staff
make more sustainable travel choices. Office
waste has been reduced through a combination
of improved recycling facilities and awareness
raising with staff.
Various other technologies
have been introduced across the Environment
Agency to reduce energy. Voltage optimisation
is being used across 40 Environment Agency
sites cutting energy use on average by eight
per cent at those sites. This energy saving
technique brings UK electrical equipment
down to 220 Volts which it is designed for
and this also improves the life of the equipment.
Automatic Meter Reading
is being used at 500 sites which accounts
for around 90 per cent of total consumption.
The new system allows for better real time
energy monitoring and management, reduces
staff time in taking readings at remote
sites and results in accurate billing by
our energy suppliers.
At Red Bridge Pumping
Station near Blackpool, the Environment
Agency has installed its first direct drive
wind pump – replacing an energy intensive
electrical pump . The new pump can operate
during low wind speeds and is used to prevent
flooding. The electrical pumps now don’t
need to run as frequently, therefore saving
energy, reducing both electricity bills
and maintenance costs.
Calverton Fish Farm,
in the Midlands, will be installing a 60
Kilowatt biomass boiler to provide heating
and hot water for the canteen, washrooms,
student accommodation block, three drying
rooms, laboratory and site office.
The Environment Agency
has its own strict target – to reduce CO2
emissions by 33 per cent by 2015 from 2006/07
levels and this puts it at the forefront
of the public sector’s sustainable operations
programme.
