Archives by Month:
Wales - Call for evidence: Ensuring the planning system delivers
Posted on: November 21, 2011
An Independent Advisory Group, chaired by former Welsh Director of the Planning Inspectorate John Davies MBE, is now asking businesses, organisations and people across Wales to provide their own views and evidence around how the current system can be improved so it better serves the needs of Wales
More details on the consultation can be found here
11 out of 10 for the Welsh Government in reducing carbon emissions
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The Welsh Government has reduced its carbon emissions by 11% in a single year, beating the 10:10 target to reduce emissions in key areas by 10%.
In December 2009, the First Minister confirmed the Welsh Government’s commitment to the 10:10 campaign, which asked organisations to reduce their emissions in certain areas by 10% within an ‘action year’ that started in 2010.
This reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions has been influenced by a number of actions in the last twelve months, including:
the rationalisation of our administrative estate: During the 2010/11 period we were able to capitalise on a substantial amount of estate rationalisation opportunities, allowing us to vacate a total of 18 buildings, making a significant contribution towards reducing our emissions;
enhancement of our Low Carbon Management Programme and the implementation of our Managing with Less agenda, which has led to a significant reduction in the resources we use;
reduce the number of journeys made for meetings, by using video conferencing and other alternatives;
further reducing the carbon usage of our ICT infrastructure by reducing the number of IT servers we had.
These measures mean we were able to make a total carbon saving of 1643 tonnes of carbon in the areas covered by 10:10, equivalent to approximately 39,400 single car journeys from Cardiff to Westminster.
First Minister, Carwyn Jones said:
“As a government which is fully committed to sustainable development, we need to lead the way for others in tackling the causes and consequences of climate change. These results show we are doing just that. But clearly, we can and will do more.
“Whilst the 10:10 campaign was a great way for us to achieve a one-off reduction, we are still committed to achieving at least 3% emissions reduction from 2011 onwards, in line with our Climate Change Strategy. This will support our wider efforts to achieve a 40% reduction in emissions by the year 2020 compared to figures from 1990.”
The Welsh Government’s Permanent Secretary, Dame Gill Morgan added:
“This is an excellent achievement and the result recognises our commitment to sustainability and the efforts taken over the past few years to improve the management of our emissions. However, it is important that we don’t become complacent and continue to work to deliver our commitments in the Climate Change Strategy.”
In a separate announcement, the UK Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency (CRC) Scheme report, published on 08 November 2011, ranked the Welsh Government in the top 6th of participating organisations finishing 320th out of a total of 2103.
ECL - Client Feedback
Posted on: November 17, 2011
After completing Local Exhaust Ventilation Testing, our client, Marathon Belting, provided us with some positive feedback.
“We have worked with Environmental Compliance for the past 2 years. They have carried out our Local Exhaust Ventilation testing which has been very thorough. Their reporting is informative and easily understood. They recently undertook our Workplace Noise assessment, the consultant was extremely thorough and pleasant to work with.
We would recommend Environmental Compliance for workplace assessments and surveys.”
UK Air Pollution - Environmental Audit Commission
Posted on: November 14, 2011
The government’s failure to meet EU standards on air pollution is “putting the health of UK residents at risk”, says the Environmental Audit Committee.
Bad air quality costs the nation £8.5-20bn per year via poor health, it says, and can cut life expectancy by years.
Continued failure to meet EU standards could result in swingeing fines.
The committee says ministers’ “apparent tactic” to avoid fines is to ask the European Commission for repeated extensions rather than curb pollution.
Please click on the following link for the full article :
Air Quality in Europe - 2011 Report
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The annual report ‘Air quality in Europe’ summarises the most recent evaluation of Europe’s air quality status. It is mainly based on air quality measurement data that have been made available officially by 32 EEA member countries as well as 6 EEA cooperating countries.
Please click on following link for the report :
http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2011
RPTI - Planning Reception Briefing
Posted on: November 9, 2011
Environmental Compliance Ltd were one of only two consultancies in Wales invited to attend a Planning Reception hosted by John Griffiths AM, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development at the Welsh Government’s offices in Cardiff Bay
The aim of the meeting was to raise the profile of planning and develop contacts between AMs and the planning community, particularly at this time with the upcoming development of the Welsh Planning White Paper. Many influential AM’s attended the reception , including Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, who was the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales until 2011, and the former MP Julie Morgan.
The Reception focussed on the planning system in Wales and allowed planning professionals and other stakeholders to discuss issues of interest, including: spatial planning, delivering quality housing, tackling climate change, creating the conditions for sustainable growth, and empowering communities to take charge of their local environment and realise the aspirations for it.
Please contact Clare Taylor 01443 841760 for further updates on the progress Planning White Paper for Wales and any other forthcoming planning legislation for Wales.
Wales - A strategic monitoring framework for the planning system: Measuring progress towards a sustainable Wales
Posted on: November 8, 2011
This consultation is about a strategic monitoring framework to measure the contribution the planning system makes to people’s vision of a sustainable Wales.
http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/planning/monitoringframework/?lang=en
Wales - Consultation on Local Authority Environmental Regulation of Industrial Plant: 2012/13 Risk Based Fees and Charges
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Local authorities recover their costs for regulating industry to prevent or reduce pollution to acceptable levels through fees and charges for Environmental Permits. This consultation is about these fees and charges in Wales.
http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/environmentandcountryside/industrialplant/?lang=en
ADBA Delivers Action Plan Documents
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The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) has published two key documents which were promised in the AD Strategy and Action Plan to support the industry. The Due Diligence template, developed in association with WRAP, offers a simple way for developers to check they have provided all the information which investors need to carry out due diligence on projects. A list of current financial schemes available to AD projects has also been published. Collating these into one accessible document gives developers a signpost to such schemes and where they can find more details.
Gregory Barker MP Written Ministerial Statement on Feed-in Tariffs Scheme
Posted on: November 7, 2011
Please click on the following link for the full Ministerial Statement.
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/gb_fits/gb_fits.aspx