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When we talk about resource efficiency it means using the Earth’s limited resources in a sustainable manner, whilst minimising impacts on the environment. The resources we rely on are finite, meaning they will eventually run out, and can only be replenished at a certain rate. If we exceed this rate the resource becomes depleted. Resource efficiency is a way to deliver more with less.
The EU Commission defines resources to encompass all natural resources that are inputs to our economy, including both physical resources and eco-system services. They use the following main categories of resources: metals, minerals, fuels, fish, timber, water, soil, clean air, biomass, biodiversity and land and sea.
Good for the environment
Why do we need to be more resource efficient? With 7 billion people (and rising) on the planet the demand on the world’s natural resources is significant. Take water for example, the UN are predicting that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.
Similarly, we are also running out of energy. Global oil reserves are predicted to only last another 45 years if global production remains at the same rate as today.
In 2006, WWF said if everyone in the world lived as we do in the UK, we would require 3 planets to sustain our lifestyles. We need to do more with less, as our planet cannot sustain ever-increasing levels of resource consumption.
Good for business
As well as being good for the environment, resource efficiency is also good for business.
Wasted resources not only cost money (i.e. reduced profits), but also represent lost time, effort, work and missed opportunities. Defra has predicted that UK businesses could save £6.4 billion per year by improving the way they use resources, as well as helping to create and protect jobs.
By using resources such as water, energy and raw materials more efficiently, money can be saved quickly and simply.
Waste
Waste costs money and in some cases up to 4% of a company’s turnover. By finding ways to reduce waste your business could become more profitable. All organisations should aim to be as resource efficient as possible by preventing waste from the outset, but sometimes this isn’t possible. Re-using, recycling or recovering other value, such as energy, are other options to consider. Only after these have been considered should waste be disposed of.
Disposing of waste rather than the other options has the greatest impact on the environment and is the least cost-effective management solution. In order to make savings why not spend some time carrying out a systematic review of your organisation’s waste production? Preventing waste in the first place will help cut costs and allow the business to become more competitive.
Water
Most businesses are on a water meter, this means the more you use the more you pay. Coupled with the rising concern of climate change affecting water abstraction, being more efficient with water can also help to cut costs and reduce your impact on the environment.
Firstly, check your water bills. The effluent and sewerage charge will be based on 95% return to sewer so find out if all your water does actually go down the drain and none is evaporated or is used making products. Similarly, check the standing charge is correct and based on the size of your meter and inlet pipe.
Fixing dripping taps, sorting potential leaks, and fitting water saving devices to toilets are all easy ways to reduce water use. A useful exercise is checking the water meter before and after a weekend or holiday shutdown ‘ if water is being used then this needs investigating.
These are all simple and easy ways to be more resource efficient with water. If your company consumes a lot of water, through a manufacturing process for example, it’ll be worth making further and more detailed investigations into reducing water use.
Energy
Another resource that can be used more efficiently is energy ‘ electricity, gas, diesel, etc. Depending on the type of company, particular areas to focus on could be reducing energy used for lighting, heating and air-conditioning, electrical equipment and refrigeration.
By promoting a ‘switch-off’ culture amongst employees for lighting and equipment, efficiency can be increased by up to 15%. Look into more energy efficient lighting such as LEDs, ensure buildings are well insulated, prevent leaks and draughts and service the boiler regularly. Monitoring energy use will enable you to target specific use and wastage, as well as allow you to set reduction targets.
In summary
Good resource efficiency practices are based around a system of continual improvement, with the aim of saving money and reducing environmental impact. Hopefully you’re ready to identify and develop opportunities within your business to become more resource efficient ‘ the environment will thank you for it!
In the UK, falls from height cause approximately 50 deaths at work each year and a further 4000 injuries. Surely that’s enough information to encourage correct management of the risks from working from height!
What activities involve working at height?
Typical activities include steel erecting, scaffolding, brick laying, demolition and dismantling, roof work and painting or decorating. It’s often assumed that you have to be working over 2 meters to be classed as ‘working at height’, but this isn’t correct. Working at height could in fact be at any place where, if precautions aren’t taken, a person could fall a distance which could cause a personal injury. This could include working above ground level or working close to an edge or opening or fragile surface, including if you are working from ground level and there is a hole in the ground (e.g. a manhole). It doesn’t include slipping or tripping on a level surface.
What are the key pieces of legislation?
The main piece of legislation is The Work at Height Regulations 2005 which consolidated previous working at height regulations and implemented the European Council Directive 2001/45/EC. To support these regulations a British Standard was released in 2005, BS 8437:2005 Code of practice for selection, use and maintenance of personal fall protection systems and equipment for use in the workplace, which can assist in complying with the regulations.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 are also key, as they require risk assessments to be completed.
What do I need to do?
Employers should identify all tasks that involve working at height and plan such work to ensure appropriate precautions are in place. As you would expect, a risk assessment should be completed and it should apply the Work at Height Regulations hierarchy. You should also ensure there are procedures in place for the selection of equipment and make sure that this equipment is actually used.
It’s also important to communicate the risk control measures you have put in place with your employees and make sure that anyone using equipment is competent to do so. Don’t forget to arrange for any equipment to be inspected and maintained too!
Do you think you have employees working from height? Make sure you have measures in place to stay legally compliant and to keep your employees safe when they’re at work!
The Environment Agency’s (EA) definition of waste panel has shut down until further notice.
The panel, which played an important role in English waste regulations, and made decisions about whether a material constitutes waste in England or not, was suspended by the regulator in September 2016.
The announcement from the EA was circulated to industry members via an email on 20th December 2016. The email stated that the panel was closed “until further notice whilst its role and purpose is reviewed in the context of our waste regulation strategyâ€. The email also stated that there is no timescale for any further updates or outcome of the review.
Before its closure the panel received 50-60 enquiries a year from companies seeking guidance around what constitutes end-of-waste and a relatively well-defined process had been developed since a long-running disagreement between a waste oil recycler and the EA was resolved in 2011.
The EA have now directed users to a webpage containing guidance on determining the waste status of materials.
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Air pollution
Air pollution harms human health and the environment. Common air pollutants include nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter and sulphur dioxide. These pollutants are principally the product of combustion from power generation, space heating or from motor vehicle traffic.
According to recent research, an estimated 50,000 Britons die prematurely each year from disease caused by air pollutants, with an economic cost of £24 billion per year. Air pollution can cause both short-term and long-term health effects. People exposed to high enough levels of certain air pollutants may experience irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, breathing difficulties and the worsening of existing lung and heart problems. Some groups are more at risk of the effects of air pollution, including adults and children with lung or heart conditions and older people.
Along with harming human health, air pollution can cause a variety of environmental effects. Air pollution causes damage to plants and animals, affecting biodiversity and crop yields.
Legislation
Action to manage and improve air quality is largely driven by EU legislation. The Ambient Air Quality Directive sets legally binding limits for the concentration of major air pollutants (in outdoor air) that impact public health, including particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. As well as having direct effects, these pollutants can combine in the atmosphere to form ozone which is a harmful air pollutant and a greenhouse gas.
The Ambient Air Quality Directive is implemented in the UK through the Air Quality Standards Regulations. The Regulations establish limit values and, where appropriate, alert thresholds for concentrations of certain pollutants in ambient air (basically the natural state of air in the outdoor environment). These are applied in zones across the country in order to avoid, prevent or reduce their harmful effects on human health and the environment.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) carries out an annual national assessment of air quality using modelling and monitoring to determine compliance with EU Limit Values.
Local authorities are required to review and assess air quality in their area under the local air quality management regime. These reviews identify whether national objectives have been, or will be achieved at relevant locations, by an applicable date. If national objectives are not met, or are at risk of not being met, the local authority must declare an air quality management area and prepare an air quality action plan. The plan will identify measures that will be introduced to meet the objectives.
Under the Environment Act 1995, the UK Government and the devolved administrations for Scotland and Wales are required to produce a national air quality strategy containing standards, objectives and measures for improving ambient air quality.
The UK is failing to meet EU air pollution targets and is currently under threat of legal action from the EU. Other member states, such as Spain, Germany and France, are also failing to meet their targets.
UK-AIR
DEFRA provide air quality information online via its UK-AIR website, at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/. UK-AIR provides forecasts to give advance warning of the expected levels of air pollution for the UK. It also provides summaries of air pollution levels by region and provides information on how air quality is monitored.
The forecasts, latest data and summaries on UK-AIR use the Daily Air Quality Index. The Index covers five pollutants, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and fine particulate matter. The Index uses a scale of 1’10 which is divided into four bands:
Each band is accompanied by a health message for at-risk individuals, such as those with lung or heart problems, and an accompanying health message for the general population. For more information on the Index click here.
Wales, Scotland and Northern have their own dedicated air quality websites:
Improving air quality
Local councils can introduce extra controls on emissions if there are air quality problems in their area. This could include the introduction of road charges, parking restrictions and increased restrictions on waiting and loading times. It may also include prioritising walking and cycling networks in cities and encouraging the use of cleaner vehicles such as hybrid or electric vehicles. These measures aim to reduce congestion and improve air quality.
An example of action taken to address air quality problems is the London Low Emission Zone, a traffic pollution charging scheme with the aim of reducing emissions from polluting heavy diesel vehicles. Vehicles that do not conform to higher emission standards are charged and other vehicles may enter free of charge.
Other measures that can be taken include reducing smokestack emissions and increasing the use of renewable powers sources, such as solar and wind. These measures aim to reduce emissions from power generation and improve air quality.
It is also important that the potential air quality impacts of new developments are taken into account in planning. Concerns could arise if the development is likely to generate poor air quality in an area or the development is likely to adversely impact upon the implementation of air quality strategies/action plans. If the development is likely to cause problems mitigation options will have to be considered and will depend on the proposed development and the location. This may include using green infrastructure, controlling dust and emission from construction, operation and demolition, and contributing funding for measures that improve air quality.
Do you use a fork lift truck in your business? For many organisations, they are an essential piece of equipment that is used every day to move loads around site and to load and offload vehicles, but their use can lead to accidents and injury if the proper precautions are not taken.
On average, fork lift trucks are involved in 24% of all workplace transport accidents. One of the ways to reduce incidents involving fork lift trucks is to carry out pre-use checks to ensure the piece of equipment is safe to use before work using it commences. These don’t have to be time-consuming or complicated and you might find it useful to create a simple checklist to be used and signed off each day to show the checks were completed.
Here are some things you should consider including in your checklist:
Of course, there are many more things you could check, and they might depend on the type of forklift truck you use, such as whether it is battery or fuel powered, and how often you use the truck. How do you make sure your fork lift truck is safe to use, are you going to make a checklist?
Overview
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required, under the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, whenever a property is built, sold or rented. The certificate contains information about the property’s energy use, typical energy costs and provides recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money. The energy performance of a building is rated on a scale of A to G, A being highly efficient, G being low efficiency.
EPC’s apply to all private rented properties which use energy to condition the indoor climate. Services considered to condition the indoor climate include fixed heating, mechanical ventilation or air conditioning. If a building is designed or altered to be used as separate accommodation, i.e. offices, and has separate heating and ventilation more than one EPC will be required (one for each individual accommodation).
In March 2015 the government passed The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. These regulations phase in obligations for landlords of private rented domestic and non-domestic properties in relation to their energy performance.
The Regulations set the minimum energy efficiency rating for all private rented properties and make it unlawful for properties with an energy performance rating of F or G to be let. Essentially a landlord who rents a property with an EPC rating below an E will be required to undertake work to improve its energy performance.
Key dates
The Regulations are being implemented in stages. Detailed below are the 4 key dates on which rights for tenants and requirements for landlords are enforced.
On 1st April 2016 parts 1 and 2 of the Regulations came into force imposing a new right for tenants of domestic private rented property. Tenants can now request consent from their landlords to install energy efficiency improvement in the property they rent. The tenant is required to secure suitable funding for the requested improvements, and, if no exemptions apply, the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse consent.
From 1st April 2018, a landlord of a private rented property with an EPC rating of F or G must not grant a new lease or renew an existing lease of that property until works have been carried out to improve the energy efficiency to a rating of E or above.
From 1st April 2020, a landlord of a domestic private rented property with an EPC rating of F or G must not continue to let the property until works have been carried out to improve the energy efficiency rating to an E or above.
From 1st April 2023, a landlord of a non-domestic private rented property with an EPC rating of F or G must not continue to let the property until works have been carried out to improve the energy efficiency rating to an E or above.
Exemptions
Landlords will be exempt from meeting the minimum standard if they can demonstrate one of the following:
Although the Regulations do not directly mention that listed buildings are exempt from meeting the minimum standard, they do refer back to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The Act states that in order to carry out improvements on a listed building third party consent is needed e.g. you will need to put forward the proposed upgrades to the Local Authority for approval. If the third party refuses the upgrades, or the conditions they set can’t be reasonably met, then the building will be exempt from having to make the changes.
Where a landlord considers an exemption applies allowing them to let their property below an ‘E’ EPC rating, the landlord will have to log this on a centralised register ‘ the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Exemptions Register. Exemptions last for five years.
Penalties for non-compliance
Landlords that rent out a property with an EPC rating below an E after the relevant parts of these Regulations come into force could be fined between £2,000 and £150,000. The size of the fine will be based on the rateable value of the property and depend on the type of property (domestic or non-domestic).
Penalties between £1,000 and £5,000 also apply where a landlord has registered false or misleading information to the PRS Exemption Register.
The Regulations can be viewed here.
When you think of health and safety in the office, you might picture someone falling over stray wires or electronics zapping employees accidentally. However, did you know that another health and safety aspect, which is often overlooked, is having a massive affect on the British economy?
Poor basic hygiene in UK offices cost the British economy £13.7 billion in 2013, due to workers taking time off sick (£4.2 billion) and by affecting their time whilst at work (£9.5 billion). Time wasted as a result of poor hygiene includes time spent washing dirty dishes or going further to find a washroom with suitable facilities, for example.
These findings have come to light through a report conducted by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR). Anyone who works in an office will know that colds and flu wreak havoc across the UK, with people working in close proximity and high humidity levels providing optimum conditions for viruses and bacteria to spread. During the winter months, bugs such as the Norovirus can cause major disruptions to businesses, with the report finding it can affect up to 40% of staff in some cases. The report is based on a study of 1,000 office workers in the UK.
In comparison, the Department for Work and Pensions found more than 130 million days are lost every year to sickness absence in Great Britain, costing the national economy £100 billion a year. Therefore, time taken off sick due to poor hygiene accounts for 4.5% of this figure.
So what can firms do to adopt a better approach to personal hygiene in the workplace? Here are some suggestions:
The research highlighted some unhygienic habits of office workers, with 1 in 10 using their mobile in the toilet and nearly 1 in 20 reading a work document in there. Over a quarter admitted to not washing their hands every time they visit the washroom. Are you guilty of any of these behaviours which greatly increase the chance of bacteria spreading through the workforce?
The hygiene aspect of health and safety usually gets forgotten about, but it’s an important part of everyday office life. After all, it’s actually enforceable by law, with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 stating employers have an obligation to provide suitable waste facilities and means of washing for their staff. Other legislation, such as the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, outlines rules for washrooms in the workplace.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Environment Agency, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have launched a website, named HazDoc, which allows businesses to follow progress and comment on the development of a new electronic consignment note system for hazardous waste.
The four agencies conducted a series of workshops through the summer aimed at informing businesses on their plans for the development of the new system.
HazDoc aims to develop an electronic system for tracking hazardous waste in the UK which is simple to use, removes the reporting burden for businesses, supports effective regulation and provides all parties with good quality data.
HazDoc is the complementary system to eDoc, the electronic Duty of Care, which captures information on transfer of non-hazardous waste.
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Fire presents significant risk to businesses, and can kill or seriously injure employees or visitors as well as damage or destroy buildings, equipment and stock. In 2013-14 there were 22,200 fires recorded in ‘other’ buildings (non-residential) in the UK, killing 17 people and injuring 1083. Around 75% of all fires in other buildings were started accidentally with the main cause being faulty appliances and leads.
Fires are often caused by carelessness, lack of knowledge and faulty equipment/appliances, and in most cases could be prevented. It’s for this reason that businesses should put in place systems and measures to prevent or reduce the risk of fire, as well as procedures and fire safety equipment for real fires.
Fires need three components to start:
1. A risk assessment
It’s the responsibility of the owner/landlord/occupier of a business or other non-domestic premises to carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly.
The following steps should be taken in a risk assessment:
Following a risk assessment the responsible person should:
2. Fire warning systems and raising the alarm
The need for fire warning systems is determined through risk assessments and depends on the features of the premises, the activity carried out there, any hazards present or any other relevant circumstances. In most cases a fire warning system is necessary and therefore the responsible person must ensure that the premises are fitted with fire/smoke detectors and alarms.
A fire warning system in a workplace should typically include the following:
It’s important to make sure fire warning systems are in good working order. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that the responsible person for the premises is to ensure that a Weekly Test of the building’s Fire Alarm System is carried out.
Out of the 22,200 other building fires in 2013/14 it was found that 13% of alarms failed to operate and a shocking 47% (9,300) did not have automatic smoke alarms at all.
If a fire occurs it should be automatically detected by automatic fire detectors, but in some circumstances this may not be the case. On the discovery of an undetected fire the person must raise the alarm. Firstly, the person can shout “FIRE!” in order to alert anyone in the immediate vicinity. They should then activate the nearest break-glass call point to activate the fire alarm sytem manually.
3. Evacuation
It’s vital for workplaces to have a fire evacuation plan to ensure all employees can get out of the building safely.
4. Fire fighting
All workplaces should have equipment for putting out fires. Fire fighting equipment should be located at identified fire points around the premises, and must be suitable for the purpose and size of the fire risks.
Equipment may include:
Fire extinguishers ‘ Portable fire extinguishers allow suitably trained people to tackle a fire in its early stages if it doesn’t put them in danger. At least one person on the premises should be trained in how to use a fire extinguisher.
When deciding on the type of extinguisher to provide, the fire hazards identified by the risk assessment should be considered. There are 4 different types of fire extinguisher which tackle different types of fire:
Fire blankets ‘ Fire blankets are designed to smother and extinguish small incipient fires. They should be kept near the fire hazard they could be used on and positioned where they can be easily accessed.
Sprinkler systems ‘ In larger buildings, or areas which need extra protection (e.g. escape routes) sprinkler systems could be installed. Fire sprinkler systems are activated by individual heat sensors: as the temperature reaches a fixed temperature the sprinkler element is activated and water spray/mist is discharged.
5. Maintenance
All fire safety measures should be in effective, working order at all times. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure risk assessments are kept up to date and equipment is regularly checked, serviced and maintained. Any faults or changes should be put right as quickly as possible and a record should be kept of the work carried out.
Fire drills are also important, they ensure that employees understand how to respond to a fire alarm, and allow employers/management to identify any possible issues with the procedure. Employers may appoint a competent person to act as a fire warden, both during fire drills and in the event of a real fire. This can ensure that at least one person in each area of the building knows exactly what to do in the case of a fire.
6. Housekeeping
Good housekeeping will reduce the possibility of a fire starting. Employers and employees can do a number of things:
Every day businesses across the UK just like yours are throwing away profits due to the waste they produce. It’s not just about final disposal costs, but all those additional costs that went into buying raw materials in the first place, processing activities, staff handling, etc. In fact, when you add in all the ‘hidden’ costs, the real cost of managing your waste could be 5 to 10 times higher than the actual cost of disposal.
Shockingly, it’s estimated that waste costs UK businesses up to 3-4% of annual turnover. Do you know how much your business really spends on waste?
What can you do to reduce the amount of waste you produce and make savings to that bottom line?
Well, there’s something called the ‘Waste Hierarchy’ that’s been developed to help you identify what waste management options there are for your waste.
The Waste Hierarchy is usually presented as a pyramid like this:
It represents an order of preference for taking action to reduce and manage waste. The most preferable option ‘prevention’ is at the top, followed by a range of other options that should be applied where possible, before reaching the least preferable option of ‘disposal’ at the bottom. The aim is to extract the maximum benefits from products and materials and generate the minimum amount of waste.
What does each stage mean?
If applied correctly, the benefits of using the Waste Hierarchy can include helping to:
The Hierarchy is part of environmental law. It was introduced by the European Union (EU) via the Waste Framework Directive to emphasise the importance of waste minimisation. In the UK the requirements of this Directive and the need for businesses to use the Waste Hierarchy have been brought into force through the Waste Regulations 2011.
This means that if your business or organisation (that includes local authorities on behalf of householders) produces or handles waste (including anyone that imports, produces, carries, keeps or treats waste, brokers or dealers who have control of waste, and anyone responsible for the transfer of waste) you must take reasonable measures to prevent waste from occurring in the first place and apply the Waste Hierarchy when you transfer waste. You may have noticed that there’s now a declaration in Waste Transfer Notes and Hazardous Waste Consignment Notes that requires you to confirm that you’ve taken all reasonable steps to apply the Hierarchy.
What does this mean in practice?
Well, you need to address the following:
So hopefully that’s given you the lowdown on what The Waste Hierarchy is and how to apply it within your business. Good luck with reducing your waste and making those cost savings!
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