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On 13th March 2024 we held our environment and health & safety legal update webinar. During the session, we provided an overview of what has changed in environment and health & safety legislation in the past year.
The session started with us taking a look at Assimilated law in the UK.
We then moved on the environment section, where we covered the following:
Following this we took a look at key changes in H&S legislation, including:
Finally, for the first time ever we finished with a live Q&A. The answers to all questions asked are below.
Note to reader: During the webinar, we discussed the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as a key topic and there were plenty of questions about this and its implications for organisations in the UK. As explained in the webinar, the UK will implement its own CBAM scheme in 2027. This week the Government has opened a consultation seeking views on this and providing information on its introduction. You can access the consultation and more details here.
During the webinar, we gathered your questions and have answered them below. If you’d like to know more about our Consultancy Service or the Legislation Update Service, please contact us.
EU CBAM only covers imports into the EU so if you’re only exporting goods to the EU you do not have a duty to report; that would be the responsibility of the EU importer although the importer may ask for information on products being imported so they can accurately report information. Whether goods fall under CBAM or not all depends on the Combined Nomenclature (CN) code for the good(s). In general, finished products do not fall under CBAM, although there are some exceptions such as screws, nuts, bolts, and fasteners.
The EU has published guidance for importers which lists all of the CN codes for goods fall under CBAM. I’d recommend reviewing to determine whether any products you export to the EU may be currently included in the CBAM system. It’s worth mentioning that over time it’s expected that the range of goods covered under CBAM will be expanded.
Placing products into packaging is classified as a packaging activity so it will depend on your company turnover and volume of packaging used (N.B. some packaging is exempt including exported packaging). Small organisations currently only have to record packaging (but will need to report in the future) whilst large organisations must report packaging.
The weight of packaging is calculated as the amount of packaging per calendar year supplied through the UK market or imported and then discarded in the UK.
We have produced simple guidance on Extended Producer Responsibility scheme here and the Government guidance is here which you may find useful.
When calculating headcount for the UK’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, this would include all employees employed or contracted (and subject to income tax in the UK) by a UK organisation or group, irrespective of whether they are based in the UK or overseas.
You may find the Environment Agency guidance here useful; it explains who ESOS applies to and also how the scheme works for more complex organisations such as international groups.
Whilst the requirement to fit a tachograph is mandatory for all vehicles with a gross weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes, the requirement to fit a tachograph for vehicles weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes from 2026 only becomes mandatory based on its usage.
Vehicles weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes will require a smart tachograph 2 from 1st July 2026 if they are used for hire and reward transport internationally (i.e., the use of the vehicle itself is to make money). Such usage would also require an operator licence.
As such, most light goods vehicles in the UK will not require a smart tachograph 2 as their use is not international and/or for hire and reward transport.
The EU’s CBAM system technically could apply to organisations across all industries (if they are importing goods into the EU) but is dependent on the type of goods being imported. In the initial phase of reporting, the only goods which require reporting are highly carbon intensive products namely:
Imported goods where the consignment does not exceed €150 in value are exempt from CBAM.
How the UK will implement its own CBAM system is to be confirmed as it will not start until 2027.
There is a minimum threshold for developments to which biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements apply to. A development is exempt from BNG if it:
As such, very small renovations or extensions may not fall within the requirements for BNG.
Defra have provided guidance on exemptions with examples here which you may find useful.
The use of halons falls under the Regulation (EU) 2024/590 on substances that deplete the ozone layer (the Ozone Regulation) rather than the F-gas Regulation in the EU. Exemptions have been updated relating to the use of halons in aircraft fire-suppressions systems which can be found in Annex V of the Regulation here.
Halon cannot be used in new fire-suppression systems on aircraft with the exception of systems for the protection of normally unoccupied cargo compartments where halon systems can be implemented up to the end of 2024.
Existing halon fire-suppression systems on aircraft can continue to be used until 2040, with the exception of portable extinguishers provided for the protection of cabins and crew compartments, which must be phased out by the end of 2025.
It is yet to be confirmed whether the UK’s assimilated version of the Ozone Regulation will be updated to follow similar changes to the EU version.
We can confirm the Building Safety Regulations mentioned during the webinar as coming into effect on 6th April 2024 are already on LUS (links below).
The UK CBAM is currently at consultation stage and as such there are no duties for UK organisations yet. The EU CBAM, which is now in the transitional phase (2023-2026), requires EU importers of certain goods to report on the GHG emissions of their imports.
If you are only exporting to the Republic of Ireland, the importer may require information from yourselves to help them fulfil their reporting duties. Detailed information on EU CBAM as well as guidance for importers and installation operators can be accessed here.
We can confirm that The Waste Separation Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2023 is already on LUS. It sits as an amendment under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43) and Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c.43) Part II.
If the waste is produced and managed by the contractor, the waste duty of care applies to the contractor directly. However, your staff can exercise due diligence by checking that contractors are following the statutory guidance.
According to the supplementary Government response, the transition period starts from the day when the amending Regulations are made. The amending Regulations are expected to be made this year; however, the release date is currently unknown.
Whether or not building work related to a HRB would need approval will vary depending on the specific nature of the work being undertaken, even if it is not directly affecting the fabric of the existing building. For example, it may result in changes to structural loads or fire loads for the building. We’d recommend getting advice and guidance from the relevant building control body for a project. The HSE provides guidance on this here.
The Regulations around SUP beads apply to products that are intended to be first applied to the human body and then promptly removed from the body (e.g., rinsing off with water). It is not relevant to products that are left to wear off over time.
If this is how the product in question is being used, then the regulations might apply.
You would need to check if the specific hand cleansers being used contain any plastic microbeads as it is these products that the regulation bans from being placed on the market. Some products have switched to biodegradable alternatives to plastics, but without inspecting the specific product in question, I cannot confirm if this is the case here.
You should also be reviewing the register if there are any significant changes (e.g., a new premises or new processes are introduced) as this can expand or reduce the scope that you need a legal register to cover. If you need any help with specific changes to your organisation and how it might impact the scope of your register, please don’t hesitate to get into contact through our helpline service.
While the ISO Standards do not tell us how often your aspects and impacts registers should be reviewed, we do recommend that an annual review is conducted. They should also be reviewed when there are changes within the organisation. The review should check if all the aspects identified are still present, if any new aspects need to be added, and if the scoring of all aspects requires updating. It is also worth bearing in mind that this is just a general rule and a more complex organisation may require a more frequent review.
While we currently do not have a definitive answer to how the revenue generated under CBAM will be spent by individual Member States and the EU itself, it is possible that it will be allocated and spent in a similar way to how EU ETS revenue is spent. This would suggest that most of these revenues will flow back to Member States, with Member States agreeing that this money will be spent on climate-related projects. If this will be duplicated with CBAM is currently unclear.
ISO 50001 certification can be one of the alternative compliance routes for ESOS. Whether or not your ISO 50001 certification will be adequate to fulfil the requirements of ESOS will depend on a range of factors, and I would recommend going through the government guidance on the topic found here. Part 7 and part 9 of this guidance cover available routes to compliance with ESOS (including alternative routes such as ISO 50001) and part 7.1 includes the reduced requirements if your ISO 50001 certificate covers all your energy supplies.
The new fluorinated greenhouse gas regulations will apply to all equipment containing F-gases that are either manufactured or imported into the EU. It is also possible for exemptions to be provided by a Member State of the EU under certain circumstances (e.g., alternatives are not available). If the vehicle chassis in question contain f-gases and they are being imported into an EU member state, then the new Regulations will apply.
Only goods that are released for free circulation into the EU market are subject to CBAM. Goods temporarily transiting in the EU are not subject to the new requirements.
If your organisation is certified, or is aiming to become certified, to ISO 14001:2015 (‘the Standard’) you will have heard the terms ‘environmental aspect’ and ‘environmental impact’. But what do they mean?
‘An element of an organisation’s activities or products or services that interacts or can interact with the environment’.
So environmental aspects are all the things that you do in carrying out you your activities and services that can affect the environment in some way, either positively or negatively, for example:
All of these things will have an impact on the environment, whether that is contributing to global warming and climate change when using electricity, water pollution from discharging dirty water to a local stream, or increasing biodiversity by planting a wildlife area.
Typically, all aspects sit under one of the following categories:
It is important when identifying aspects that you consider all activities within the scope of your environmental management system; keeping these categories in mind during this process can help ensure nothing is missed.
The Standard asks you to identify the environmental impacts associated with your aspects. It defines impacts as:
‘change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, resulting from an organisation’s environmental aspects.’
If an impact is the effect or the result on the environment from an environmental aspect, we can therefore look at an aspect as the cause or reason of this effect.
Examples of environmental impacts include:
You can see from this list that impacts can be either positive or negative and an aspect can have more than one impact. For instance, use of electricity can lead to air pollution, global warming, climate change, and loss of biodiversity.
Luckily, the environmental aspects tool that comes as part of a subscription to our Legislation Update Service provides you with a handy list of potential environmental impacts for you to pick from when you’re recording your aspects within the tool.
No obligation demo to help you understand how it works and how your business can use it
The register should accurately cover all activities, products, and services, i.e. be bespoke to the organisation. It doesn’t need to include anything that isn’t relevant, otherwise you will waste time assessing legislation that doesn’t affect you.
You should be confident that there are no applicable laws missing from your register. Setting up your register correctly is key to ensuring all necessary legislation has been included; that’s why LUS provides a simple set up tool to help you decide what should be in your register.
Relevant Standards requirements:
The register should not only show which pieces of law are applicable but also how each law applies to the organisation, i.e. its compliance duties.
The organisation needs to understand why the legislation applies and what it needs to do in order to achieve compliance.
In LUS, this is achieved by reading the plain English summary and duties provided in every entry.
Relevant Standards requirements:
We’ve translated the original legislation into plain English summaries without the legal jargon to make it easier to understand which parts of the legislation apply to your organisation and why. LUS also has an ‘add your own summary and duties’ section within each entry for you to document how a piece of law specifically applies to you.
This is particularly useful when you have lots of different people viewing your register who need to understand relevance.
Relevant Standards requirements:
It isn’t enough to identify the relevant pieces of law and determine how they apply; you must also carry out an initial compliance assessment (or audit) of your current performance against each law. A legal register should record the results of this initial compliance assessment, as well as link to any supporting information that evidences the level of compliance against each piece of legislation.
LUS provides a section for adding compliance comments and attaching supporting documents to help you with this.
Relevant Standards requirements:
Your legal register should clearly show your current compliance status against each piece of law so you can see where there are any issues that need to be addressed and to facilitate effective communication of compliance status to relevant personnel.
LUS provides a simple visual traffic light function for this.
Relevant Standards requirements:
New legislation is brought into force all the time, as well as changes constantly being made to existing laws. The register needs updating to reflect any new or amended laws that apply to the organisation, as well as anything that has been revoked or replaced.
Within LUS, this happens automatically once a month. You are told about this in two ways; through the newsletter (which is sent at the end of each month) and via the ‘New in Your Register’ section.
Relevant Standards requirements:
A legal register is a live document and should be reviewed regularly and all legislation contained with the register re-evaluated at defined frequencies determined by your organisation. Your legal register should show how often you carry out your compliance evaluations and the results of these.
Within LUS, you have the option to set a review date so you can be reminded when a new compliance assessment is needed. Your compliance comments are time and date stamped providing an audit trail for each piece of legislation in your register.
Relevant Standards requirements:
If your initial compliance assessment or ongoing compliance evaluations identify any areas of non-compliance or opportunities for improvement, the legal register should allow for recording the compliance actions or recommendations that have been identified to address these, as well as being able to track progress against them.
LUS allows you to set actions, assign users and deadline dates for completion. You can then monitor how effectively these are being closed out and update your compliance status as a result.
Relevant Standards requirements:
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Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 1st February 2024
Amends: Value Added Tax Act 1994
Individuals and organisations must pay VAT at prescribed periods. Interest may be charged on the late payment of VAT.
Reduced rate of VAT
A reduced rate of VAT is charged for the products and services listed in Schedule 7A.
Zero-rating
Goods or services may be zero-rated. This means that VAT is not charged for the import or sale of that product or service.
Schedule 8 sets out the list of goods and services that are zero-rated.
Deposit schemes
Operators of deposit schemes under the Environment Act 2021 must pay VAT on unreturned deposits. No VAT will be charged for returned deposits.
Offences
Regulation 72 sets out the list of offences.
Zero-rating
The installation of energy-saving materials* in buildings used for charities is zero-rated until 31st March 2027. This includes the installation of equipment or groundworks necessary to install energy-saving materials.
*Energy-saving materials include:
Reduced rate
From 1st April 2027, a reduced rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) will be charged for the installation of energy-saving materials in buildings used for charities. This includes the installation of equipment or groundworks necessary to install energy-saving materials.
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The next application window for free allocations, as well as for Hospital Small Emitter and Ultra Small Emitter schemes, has been moved to 1st April 2025 – 30th June 2025. Operators not applying for free allocations must also provide information to the UK ETS Authority during this window.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) was introduced by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020, following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. The scheme was designed to maintain continuity with the EU ETS and began on 1st January 2021.
A cap on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases (GHG) that can be emitted by sectors covered by the scheme is set by the UK ETS Authority. The cap is reduced over time, so that total emissions must fall.
Within this cap, free allowances are issued to eligible participants while other emission allowances can be purchased at auction or on the secondary market and traded with other participants as needed. Each year, the participants covered by the scheme must surrender allowances to cover their reportable emissions.
The UK ETS covers greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from:
Simplified requirements apply for:
Phase I of the UK ETS runs from 2021 to 2030 and is split into 2 allocation periods:
Before each allocation period, participants must apply for the relevant scheme, during the specified application window. The application window for the 2026 – 2030 period, was previously set as 1st April 2024 – 30th June 2024.
The next application window for free allocations, as well as for Hospital Small Emitter and Ultra Small Emitter schemes, has been moved to 1st April 2025 – 30th June 2025. Operators not applying for free allocations must also provide information to the UK ETS Authority during this window.
The application window is moved due to an on-going consultation on changes to free allocation policy, opened by the UK ETS Authority. A final decision in response to this consultation is expected by the end of 2024.
Moving the application windows to 1 April 2025 – 30 June 2025 will enable the UK ETS Authority to finalise the policy for the 2026-2030 allocation period.
This will allow operators to determine:
The change to application windows aims to provide certainty to UK ETS operators about what the free allocation rules will be during the allocation period 2026-2030 before they apply.
Detailed guidance on participating in the UK ETS can be accessed here.
Following successful hubs in Blackburn & Burnley, our charity Newground Together has opened a new hub in Halifax.
The ‘Hub @ Bull Green,’ managed by Newground Together teams, offers a welcoming environment for support, workshops, and weekly activities.
The grand opening welcomed local groups, along with Holly Lynch, MP, Deputy Mayor for Calderdale Councillor Sue Holdsworth, and Calderdale Councillors Silvia Dacre and Scott Patient.
At the hub, community members can seek advice from employment and energy specialists on re-entering the workforce, acquiring new skills, and tips for lowering energy bills.
The hub is made up of three one-to-one rooms to offer people direct, in person support.
The hub features a community activity room for Newground Together teams to offer training workshops, advice sessions, craft groups, wellbeing activities, and more.
On top of all this, Newground’s skilled staff, known for helping hundreds secure jobs, find suitable training courses, and offer energy advice, will be available all week.
Emily Pearson, Community Programme Manager for Newground Together said:
“We’re incredibly passionate about providing face-to-face support to the community as much as possible, and having this dedicated hub allows us to do just that. We are eager to collaborate with other local community organisations and host their workshops in this versatile space. So far this year, we’ve helped 50 individuals return to work, achieve 103 new qualifications, and conducted numerous energy advice sessions. But, our ambitions don’t stop there. This hub enables us to continue our work with the community, for the community, and alongside our partners. We’re excited about the possibilities this new space opens up for us to achieve together.”
The hub will be open during the week on Monday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm and on Fridays, 9am to 4pm.
As always, a massive thank you to our customers, as this wouldn’t have been possible without your support.
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 31st March 2024
Amends: The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 establishes a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) covering greenhouse gas emissions from power and heat generation, energy intensive industries and aviation.
Various duties apply.
The next application window for free allocations, as well as for Hospital Small Emitter and Ultra Small Emitter schemes, has been moved to 1st April 2025 – 30th June 2025. Operators not applying for free allocations must also provide information to the UK ETS Authority during this window.
This change was made in order to allow the UK ETS Authority to finalise the policy for the 2026-2030 allocation period. It aims to provide certainty to UK ETS operators about what the free allocation rules will be during the allocation period 2026-2030 before they apply.
Changes to publication dates
The lists of hospitals or small emitters and ultra-small emitters for the 2026-2030 allocation period must be published by 17th October 2025. The allocation table for the 2026-2030 allocation period must be published by 28th February 2026.
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Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland
Commencement: 15th February 2024
Amends: Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022
The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 came into force on 21st July 2022 and applies to Ireland only. It includes various provisions to enable Ireland’s transition to a circular economy.
A circular economy, in contrast with the standard ‘take-make-dispose’ linear economy, is a closed-loop system aimed at tackling global challenges such as biodiversity loss, waste, pollution and climate change, where the focus is on:
Please note that this summary only covers the environmental parts of this legislation that are relevant for organisations.
There are no direct compliance duties for organisations under this Act, however secondary legislation may be applicable.
The following provisions came into force on 15th February 2024.
The sections that are brought into force have no relevance to environmental matters.
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Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Commencement: 23rd February 2024
Amends: Water Industry Act 1991
The Water Industry Act 1991 sets out the main duties and powers of water and sewerage companies. It also establishes that there will be a Water Services Regulation Authority (currently Ofwat) which will carry out functions as described within this Act.
It also requires that premises supplied by a licensed water undertaker must not cause any water fitting to be or remain out of order or in need or repair and establishes the requirement to have consent to discharge trade effluent to public sewers.
Note that the Water Act 1991 was significantly amended by subsequent water legislations including the Water Industry Act 1999, Water Act 2003 and Water Act 2014.
Appointment of water supply and sewerage undertakers
The Act allows for the Secretary of State to appoint a company as a water or sewerage undertaker for an area of England and Wales. Such appointments must be made in writing and describe the area for which they are appointed. Only limited companies or statutory water companies can be appointed as a water undertaker, and only limited companies can be appointed as sewerage undertakers.
The Secretary of State must ensure that appointments are made so that every area of England and Wales has an appointed water undertaker and sewage undertaker at all times. Details of rules and procedures for the termination or varying of these appointments is given in the Act.
Water supply licences
The Secretary of State may also grant a water supply licence. A water supply licence must be held by a company that wishes to supply water to non-household premises. This allows the holder to purchase wholesale water from a water undertaker in order to supply the customers’ premises, and can also allow the licensee to introduce water into the current supply system in order to supply its customers’.
Various duties apply.
Changes are made to Schedule 2 of the Act to enable the transfer of assets by hive-down*, when a failing water industry company is in special administration.
*A transfer by hive-down enables the special administrator to transfer the whole or part of a regulated business to a wholly owned subsidiary before the securities in that subsidiary are transferred to new owners.
This amendment has no direct relevance to environmental matters.
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Jurisdiction: Scotland
Commencement: 1st April 2024
Amends: The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (Scotland) Regulations 2023
The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 are in force from 28th February 2023.
Duties are imposed on producers* in Scotland to collect data on the amount and type of packaging** they put on the United Kingdom (UK) market from March 2023 (or from January 2023, if they have this data). The data is required to calculate the fees that producers will have to pay from 2025 as part of the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The new EPR system aims to deliver a more circular economy by charging producers to cover the collection and disposal costs of their packaging once it becomes waste.
*Producer, for the purposes of these Regulations, means an organisation operating in the UK as:
**Packaging is any material that is used to cover or protect goods that are sold to consumers and includes anything that is designed to be filled at the point of sale, e.g. coffee cups.
Exempt packaging
The following types of packaging are exempt from the requirements of these Regulations.
N.B. These Regulations will be replaced by The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Waste) Regulations 2024, which will include provisions for the introduction of the EPR.
Various duties apply.
Definitions and responsibilities for reporting packaging waste have been updated.
Drinks
For the purposes of defining packaging, where a drink container is made up of multiple components made of different materials, the drink container is to be treated as being made of the same material as the component which is predominant by weight, unless the predominant component is made of glass. In that case, each component of the container has to be treated separately.
Household packaging
The following types of primary or shipment packaging are not classed as household packaging.
Producers
A packer / filler, or importer is classed as a producer of filled packaging if the packaging they fill or import:
Where different individual products are grouped together to be sold as a single sales unit, the producer of the following must be determined.
UK owners
A first UK owner is a producer of packaging where:
A first UK owner is classed as a supplier for packaging which:
An importer is to be treated as “supplying” packaging or packaging materials which the importer imports into and discards in the United Kingdom.
Data reporting
Where a large producer is also a first UK owner, they have obligations to report the data listed in regulation 17.
Data recycling
Where data has already been reported under The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 a large producer may choose to submit a supplementary report identifying the proportion of packaging that has already been reported on.
Reporting period
Producers must ensure that data submitted for the period between 1st January 2024 to 30th June 2024 complies with the requirements in regulation 17.
If a producer does not have sufficient data to report from the period 1st January 2024 to 1st April 2024, they:
Monitoring
SEPA is required to publish a list of large producers and produce guidance in relation to the definition of “household packaging”.
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