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NetRegs reveals environmental awareness of UK SMEs

21 September - Category: Environment

 

NetRegs - set up by UK environmental regulators to provide guidance to businesses - has commissioned a survey to assess the level of environmental awareness and compliance amongst small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Just under 4% of the 7,000 businesses surveyed didn't have an Environmental Management System, such as ISO 14001, in place. Of these businesses, it was the Construction sector who were the most likely to have a system implemented, with the Transport and Land sectors being the least likely.

To be eligible for tender opportunities, having an Environmental Policy is often necessary. This was reflected in the survey, with around a quarter of businesses having a policy in place. The larger the business, the more likely they had one.

The management of waste and improved levels of recycling were stated to be the main areas of concern for the majority of respondents and there are three factors which may have influenced this:

• Regulatory changes in relation to waste management during 2007 and 2008 which were the subject of significant publicity campaigns, e.g. Site Waste Management Plans.
• The responses could reflect the ability or willingness of the sectors to implement improvements.
• There is a clear spread of responses concerning waste across the four home nations and this is considered to reflect the level of awareness-raising activity undertaken within different parts of the UK.
• The data also shows that there was significant activity in relation to energy efficiency and the reduction of water usage. These changes may simply reflect a growing awareness of these issues as well as the rises in utility costs.

The survey showed that the majority of SMEs surveyed do not consider, or understand, the benefit of a formalised approach to environmental management. Whilst this is understandable for small, family run businesses (such as in agriculture) this is more surprising when considering the companies within the 50 to 249 size band. It is possible that the formality and potential complexity and perceived cost of a certifiable Environmental Management Standard puts off many companies.

The most common benefits that businesses had gained from improving environmental performance were ‘reduced operating costs’ and a ‘more motivated workforce’, and the percentage of businesses reporting benefits increased with the number of employees. Other benefits noted were increased sales, improved relationships with clients and reduced risk of fines.

Unsurprisingly, due to the economic climate, 80% of businesses said they would be ‘very unlikely’ or ‘quite unlikely’ to spend money on improving their environmental performance within the next twelve months.

Without prompting, businesses mentioned pieces of legislation 1,709 times - and could name 57 different pieces of legislation between them, but only 23% of businesses interviewed could name a piece of environmental legislation. With prompting, 62% of those interviewed had heard of at least one piece of legislation. An Environmental Management Standard such as ISO 14001 ensures businesses are meeting legislation's affecting their industry.

You can read all of the report's findings on the NetRegs website at:

http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/links/110460.aspx

To read more about implementing ISO 14001, visit

http://www.british-assessment.co.uk/ISO-14001-certification-services.htm

For further information, please contact:
+44 (0) 800 404 7007
press@british-assessment.co.uk

Notes to Editors

The British Assessment Bureau is the leading certification body for assessing people, services and organisations. Our reputation was established in 1965 as a division of Salford University Business Services. In 1997, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry approved the use of the word 'British' in our new corporate title in recognition of our pre-eminent status.

Today, our core business is the assessment of people, services and organisations. We certify organisations to the latest ISO standards and design and manage bespoke assessment schemes. Such schemes are based on the establishment of standards, which can be developed to be recognised company-wide, industry-wide, nationally or internationally.
 

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