We have changed our telephone number.
Our new number is 01509 320100.
Please update your records and use this number to contact Responsible Solutions from now on.
Landfill Tax - Budget 2009
The Landfill tax increased on 1st April 2009 to £48 per tonne for Active waste and remained at £2.50 per tonne for Inactive waste.
It has been announced that that the rate for Active waste will continue to increase by £8/tonne per annum until 2013. Therefore the following rates will apply in the forthcoming years:
2009/10 - £48
2010/11 - £56
2011/12 - £64
2012/13 - £72
The rate for Inactive waste has currently been frozen by the government at £2.50/tonne for 2009/2010.
Construction Environmental Improvement Club - Workshop 6
The sixth workshop of the Club will be on ‘Carbon Accounting/Footprinting’. It will be held at The Innovation Centre, Loughborough, on the 16th September 2009, registration at 8.30am. To book your place on this workshop, please fill in the registration form provided on the EMCBE Website.
This workshop will give delegates an overview of accounting/footprinting methodology and why you should undertake a carbon footprint. It will demonstrate how to calculate a carbon footprint and identify useful publications, tools and websites available to the industry. The workshop will also illustrate the relevant legislation and examples of industry best practices.
Our role in social responsibility
Click here to read Ian Nicholson's comment in the New Civil Engineer (NCE) magazine on 'Our role in social responsibility'.
Environmental Managament System - Case Study
Brett Martin Daylight Systems approached Responsible Solutions to help them improve and demonstrate their environmental performance through development of an Environmental Management System (EMS)
As a manufacturer of GRP, PVC and polycarbonate roof light systems, they already had an ISO9001:2000 Quality Management System but had been asked by a major client to demonstrate their environmental performance. With the help of De Montford University, Brett Martin had already shown the energy efficiency and other environmental aspects of their products but needed assistance to demonstrate the performance of their internal business activities.
Brett Martin manufactures their products from two adjacent factory buildings in Coventry and employs around 150 people on the site. As a company with culture of being quick, responsive and flexible, they were looking for a system that would be straightforward to implement and easily adapted to their own needs.
The company selected Responsible Solutions to help them through the development of a system which saw them achieving ISO14001 at their first assessment. Ian Middleton, Quality Systems Manager at Brett Martin said. "We don't pay for suits, we pay for expertise, so as a small yet highly reputable environmental consultancy, Responsible Solutions and their associates were a great choice, something that was supported by the quality of the references they were able to provide."
Since achieving the ISO14001 standard, Brett Martin has experienced no external non-conformities. In fact, their EMS proved very useful when they had a spot check by the Environment Agency to look at their storage & waste management. Ian Middleton was able to impress them by being able to instantly access the documentation they wanted to see, including the Waste Management Exemption clause 27 for waste compaction and various waste transfer notes. The Environment Agency were able to give Brett Martin a full clean bill of health.
Similarly, when the Fire Brigade were updating their information on the site, which has 100+ tonnes of flammable resin in site, Brett Martin were able to quickly supply them with all the information they required, such as the drainage plan showing interceptors, etc. Ian Middleton said "Our EMS helped give the Fire Brigade confidence that we are in control of our situation, not just being reactive to it."
In summary, the benefits for Brett Martin Daylight Systems of working Responsible Solutions have been the development of a system that has been simple to implement; the achievement of ISO14001; and the confidence of knowing that they have had no external non-compliance issues since.
As a manufacturer of GRP, PVC and polycarbonate roof light systems, they already had an ISO9001:2000 Quality Management System but had been asked by a major client to demonstrate their environmental performance. With the help of De Montford University, Brett Martin had already shown the energy efficiency and other environmental aspects of their products but needed assistance to demonstrate the performance of their internal business activities.
Brett Martin manufactures their products from two adjacent factory buildings in Coventry and employs around 150 people on the site. As a company with culture of being quick, responsive and flexible, they were looking for a system that would be straightforward to implement and easily adapted to their own needs.
The company selected Responsible Solutions to help them through the development of a system which saw them achieving ISO14001 at their first assessment. Ian Middleton, Quality Systems Manager at Brett Martin said. "We don't pay for suits, we pay for expertise, so as a small yet highly reputable environmental consultancy, Responsible Solutions and their associates were a great choice, something that was supported by the quality of the references they were able to provide."
Since achieving the ISO14001 standard, Brett Martin has experienced no external non-conformities. In fact, their EMS proved very useful when they had a spot check by the Environment Agency to look at their storage & waste management. Ian Middleton was able to impress them by being able to instantly access the documentation they wanted to see, including the Waste Management Exemption clause 27 for waste compaction and various waste transfer notes. The Environment Agency were able to give Brett Martin a full clean bill of health.
Similarly, when the Fire Brigade were updating their information on the site, which has 100+ tonnes of flammable resin in site, Brett Martin were able to quickly supply them with all the information they required, such as the drainage plan showing interceptors, etc. Ian Middleton said "Our EMS helped give the Fire Brigade confidence that we are in control of our situation, not just being reactive to it."
In summary, the benefits for Brett Martin Daylight Systems of working Responsible Solutions have been the development of a system that has been simple to implement; the achievement of ISO14001; and the confidence of knowing that they have had no external non-compliance issues since.
Boost your environmental performance and stay ahead of the curve
Responsible Solutions can help produce and implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) for your company. An EMS is a structured and documented approach to your environmental responsibilities which, when it complies with a standard such as ISO14001, is also likely to comply with any environmental requirements specified by your clients and other stakeholders.
We are seeing a marked up turn in enquires about developing an EMS. It seems that people are taking the opportunity whilst the order book is a bit lighter to implement improvements to their business operations.
If you want to ensure you are in good shape and ready for the economic recovery why not talk to us about implementing an EMS or updating your current EMS to a standard such as ISO 14001, please contact us.
Construction Environmental Improvement Club - Workshops 4 and 5
Data Collection and Environmental Performance Indicators
The fourth workshop of the Construction Environmental Improvement Club will be held at The Innovation Centre, Loughborough, on the 20th May 2009, registration at 8.30am. To book your place on this workshop, please fill in the registration form provided on the EMCBE website.
Environmental performance indicators are increasingly becoming important for organisations which are seeking ways to understand, demonstrate and improve their environmental performance.
This workshop will look at data collection and key performance indicators in a pragmatic manner and give delegates the necessary tools to go back to their organisations and implement, effective and useful performance indicators.
Designing Out Waste
The fifth workshop of the Construction Environmental Improvement Club will be held at The Innovation Centre, Loughborough, on the 17th June 2009, registration at 8.30am. To book your place on this workshop, please fill in the registration form provided on the EMCBE website.
With the government’s introduction of mandatory Site Waste Management Plans and increasing amounts of environmental legislation, the construction industry is facing pressure to act responsibly. As a result it has become critical for not only construction site personnel but also clients and designers to understand the legal requirements and their role in construction waste management.
This workshop is tailored for clients and designers to understand the waste management system in the UK and how they can help on the day-to-day issues that the construction industry faces.
Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009
The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009 came into force on the 1st March 2009. The regulations implement the European Parliament Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability.
The scope of environmental damage regulation applies to only the most serious pollution cases, specifically;
- Protected species or natural habitats, or a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
- Surface water or groundwater
- Land, contamination with significant adverse effect on humans
Contact Responsible Solutions for more information on this regulation and how your organisation can be legally compliant.
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