Consumer of Goods and Services

Forest Heath District Council

Corporate Environmental Charter

March 1999

FOREST HEATH DISTRICT COUNCIL

CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER

CONTENTS

1) INTRODUCTION

2) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE

3) OUR OBJECTIVE AS A CONSUMER OF GOODS AND SERVICES

KEY ACTIONS

4) OUR OBJECTIVE AS A USER OF ENERGY

KEY ACTIONS

5) OUR OBJECTIVE AS PRODUCER OF WASTE

KEY ACTIONS

6) OUR OBJECTIVE AS A PROVIDER OF SERVICES

KEY ACTIONS

7) OUR OBJECTIVE AS A EMPLOYER

KEY ACTIONS

8) OUR OBJECTIVE AS A EDUCATOR AND OPINION LEADER

KEY ACTIONS

9) SERVICE PLAN OBJECTIVES

(TO FOLLOW)

FOREST HEATH DISTRICT COUNCIL

CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER

INTRODUCTION

Forest Heath District Council is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its organisation and to improve the local, national and global environment. It has the power to both control its approach to the environment through the management of its organisation and by using its opinions and by example.

Critical to this approach is the incorporation of environmental factors into all Council procedures and decisions. However, this can only be of real benefit if the Council recognises how its policies and action impact on the environment and by working in partnership with other organisations. The future quality of life for us all depends on a sustainable approach to the environment. It is for the District Council to be a leader in adopting this approach.

A key element of the strategy will be the implementation of Corporate Environmental Charter, which is intended to direct the District Council in its role as a large organisation and a major employer.

The corporate Environmental Charter will look at the various ways in which the actions of the District Council, as a large organisation, can adversely affect the environment.

The District Council is a - Consumer of goods and services

User of Energy

Land and property owner

Producer of waste

Provider of services

Employer

Opinion influence

The Charter will require the District Council to look in detail at all the different aspects of its work to ensure that the environmental implications of its procedures and its actions are fully taken into account before a decision is made. The Environmental Charter will require the following issues to be considered at all levels of the organisation: -

· An Energy Policy, based on energy conservation and clean technology.

· A published Purchasing Policy, which will ban the use of environmentally damaging products, where an alternative is available, and promote the use of the least environmentally damaging products.

· An Environmentally Impact Assessment, where new facilities are planned, or internal re-organisations are taking place.

· Regular environmental awareness training for all staff, so that they recognise the importance of the environmental issues.

· High standards of energy efficiency in all buildings owned and rented by the District Council.

· Agreed environmental criteria for all tendering specifications.

· The management of the Council offices in an environmentally sustainable way.

· Regular assessment of the environmental implications of the procedures for the management and maintenance of the Council's housing stock.

· An Environmental Development Plan for the Leisure and Recreation Services.

· A waste Minimisation and Recycling Policy for its own in-house activities.

· A Transportation Policy for staff and members that minimises its environmental impact.

Environmental sustainability should be a key element of all the policy areas of the Council. Having agreed to the Charter, this should be communicated to all staff, elected Members, and contractors and be central to the management of the Council.

CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE

FOREST HEATH DISTRICT COUNCIL

Criteria for determining significant environmental impact

A key starting point is the systematic analysis of the District Council's main environmental impacts.

An impact is considered to be significant if it fulfils one or more of the following criteria:

a) A large impact in terms of size, quantity or toxicity on the quality of life of local people or that local people perceive the impact to be large.

b) A large impact on the local visual amenity or something of particular local distinctiveness - in particular, do any council activities impact on visual amenity from key vantage points, or in areas of special local distinctiveness and value?

c) A large impact on local wildlife habitats including water habitats - do any council activities damage habitats, or affect the ecological balance of an area? In particular, it is important to think about designated wildlife sites and other areas of particular local value.

d) A large impact elsewhere in East Anglia - do any council activities have significant impacts elsewhere in the region but outside the boundary of the District?

e) A medium to large impact outside the boundaries of East Anglia whether the impact be on a national, European or global scale - some impacts, especially water and air pollution may have effects that are well beyond the boundaries of the region. If this is the case, then the impact need not be large at any one point for the overall effect to be significant.

f) An impact that will continue for a significant time into the future - if the impact is likely to continue over a long period of time, then even if the impact at any one time does not seem significant, the impact could be considered significant due to its impact on future generations.

g) A potential impact which could involve a breach of environmental legislation and regulations.

h) A potential impact which could be significant if an accident occurs or under abnormal or emergency circumstances and which therefore requires careful day to management.

i) An impact which is growing much faster in comparison with other impacts.

j) Any activity which could conflict with the Council's adopted Environmental Policy, with the environmental aspects of other Council policies or with codes of practice to which the Council subscribes.

REGISTER OF SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Part 1: Direct Effects

Significant Activity/Aspect / Nature of the Significant Effect

Human Resources

Information Dissemination to Council staff and Members / Staff and members have significant environmental impacts in their day to day duties. Information to raise awareness about the nature, scale and solutions of these issues is essential.

Waste & Pollution

(a) Paper and paper products / A high percentage of the waste arising from the Council's offices is paper. This has potential environmental impacts in taking up landfill space, pollution, and waste of important natural resources.
(b) General Office Waste / A large quantity of miscellaneous waste is disposed of from the offices. This has impacts in taking up landfill space, pollution, and waste of natural resources.
(c) Batteries / The Council disposes of a number of batteries used in portable electrical equipment. These contain heavy metals, which can cause pollution in landfill sites.
(d) Items falling under COSHH / Many substances which are controlled by COSHH legislation are potentially damaging to the environment as a waste. Their disposal therefore requires careful management.
(e) Waste handling and disposal / The Council has a responsibility to ensure that it meets the Duty of Care in the handling and disposal of waste. Failure to do so could have significant environmental effects.
(f) Management of miscellaneous emissions from Council Offices / Various activities which take place produce emissions which could have an effect on Health and Safety of Staff and the environment as a whole, if not properly managed.

Energy and Water

a) Public Offices / The Council offices are significant users of water and energy - lights, computers, heating, WCs etc. This has an impact on atmospheric and air pollution, use of finite resources, and watercourses and supply.
b) Public conveniences / Energy and water are used in significant quantities in public conveniences. The consequences are the same as above.
c) Car Parks / Lighting car parks is a significant energy user. Consequences as above.
d) IT Equipment / It is thought to be the fastest growing area of energy consumption by the Council and is the responsibility of a separate department. It has therefore been treated as a significant effect.

Part 1: Direct Effects

Significant Activity/Aspect / Nature of the Significant Effect

4. Purchasing

a) Paper products / The amount, source and kind of paper the Council buys has potentially significant environmental impacts on habitats, and pollution.
b) IT and other electrical equipment / Computers, photocopiers, printers, and other electrical equipment and significant purchases of the Council. The quantity and type of the goods can have significant potential impacts on the amount of energy we use (see 3 above) and on paper consumption (see 4a above).
c) COSHH items / Substances which are hazardous to health if carefully stored and used have little environmental impact. However, misuse, spillages or abnormal circumstances could lead to situations where COSHH substances have a significant environmental effect.
d) General Purchasing / Whatever the Council buys, even if quantities themselves are not significant, environmental impacts can arise from the place that the products originate (transport impacts) and from the quantities purchased.

Transport

a) Use of vehicles on Council business / Many staff have to use their vehicles to carry out their duties. The mileage undertaken to do this, combine with the fuel consumption and the type of fuel used has a significant environmental impact in terms of atmospheric and air pollution, and noise as well as (less directly) on wildlife and visual amenity through the pact of roads.
b) Travel to and from work / All staff have to travel to and from work. The Council has an impact on this in terms of the provision of parking for bikes and cars, and information/awareness about the impacts which journeys can have. The effects have the same impacts as 5a above.
c) Council Fleet and lease Vehicles / The Council owns vehicles directly and leases a number more. Failure to maintain these vehicles properly could lead to increased emissions and possible breaches of vehicles emissions limits. The environmental effect is therefore a potential one, relating to a possible breach of regulations.

6. Contracts

a) Refuse collection contract / Direct effects include the fuel emissions from the refuse collection vehicles (see 5 above for effects).
b) Leisure Management / Leisure centres use substantial amounts of energy and water (see 3 above for impacts) and chemicals (which have potential pollution impacts).

Part 1: Direct Effects

Significant Activity/Aspect /

Nature of the Significant Effect

c) Street Cleansing / The street-cleansing contract has impacts through vehicle emissions.
d) Building Cleaning / The contract to keep the Council offices clean has impacts through the quantity and types of cleaning products used.
e) Grounds Maintenance / The maintenance of parks, gardens and open spaces uses chemicals (potential pollution effects), water and involves emissions from the fleet of vehicles used in the contract.
f) Compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements / Contractors should comply with all environmental legislation, but failure to do so, potentially could have a significant environmental impact.

Part 2: Service Effects

Significant Activity/Aspect / Nature of the Significant Effect

Corporate Matters

a) Public Information dissemination and communication / Raising awareness, and providing information to the public could have significant environmental effects. Likewise the need to respond to communications from the public about the environment is an important factor in the Council's environmental performance.
b) Support, awareness raising and education about Local Agenda 21 and environmental issues / The Local Agenda 21 is an important element of raising awareness and engaging other organisations and the public in environmental action.
c) Environmental Implications of public emergencies / The Council has a role in emergency planning, and to ensure the potential environmental impacts of emergency situations are minimised, it is important that emergencies are well managed.

Development & Planning

a) Land use Strategy / The land use strategy determines population distribution, and the size, location and movement of people and housing, education, employment, retailing, and recreation. It therefore has impacts on the environment through influencing energy and water consumption, transport, natural habitats, and the build environment/heritage.
b) Transport / Transport influences the destination and means of the movement of people. It therefore has environmental impacts on pollution, natural resources and habitats and the built environment/heritage
c) Research and Information / Monitoring environmental information and making it available to the public is important in raising environmental awareness.

Part 2: Service Effects

Significant Activity/Aspect / Nature of the Significant Effect
d) Conservation / The conservation function has significant effects on the environment through its influence on visual amenity and habitats and heritage.
e) Implementation Projects / Management of projects within the Planning Department can have significant impacts in many ways, depending on the nature of project.
f) Development Control / Development Control is one of the key tools for implementing all the strategies listed above. It therefore has potential environment impacts as above.
g) Enforcement and compliance with Environmental Legislation / A significant part of the Planning Department's work involves the enforcement of environmental legislation. Failure to do so could have significant environmental impacts. So whilst the Council may have little discretion about dealing with, say planning applications, this is still a potential significant effect.
a) Parking / Parking provision and charges has effects on transport (pollution, resource consumption and habitats) and visual amenity.
b) Refuse Collection / Refuse collection and recycling has impacts on transport (through the location of recycling facilities for instance) resource use, waste disposal and education and awareness.
c) Air Pollution / The monitoring of air quality can have an influence on public behaviour by making information available. The regulation and control of pollution from industrial premises also has an impact.
d) Noise Pollution / Monitoring of noise and the provision of information about it has an influence on public behaviour in relation to noise.
e) Dog Fouling / Dog fouling is a major public concern and has an impact on public health and quality of life.
f) Enforcement of Environmental Legislation / One of the key functions of the Environmental Heath Department is to enforcement of legislation relating to industrial and domestic pollution of all kinds. Whilst the legislation gives the Council little discretion, this is included as a significant effect as failure to enforce the legislation could have significant effects.

Leisure Services

(g) Leisure Centres, & other Recreational & Arts Events / Significant service effects of leisure centres include transport (particularly as a result of the location of centres and the provision of parking facilities), public health and information and awareness.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT / BENCHMARK - KEY