INTRODUCTION FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the last issue of Environment Industry Magazine for 2011. This issue has as always been a real triumph and despite the great financial adversity we are facing across the country this issue has been another great success. 2011 has been a real trial for all of us at Environment Industry Magazine with new babies arriving for 2 of us and the upheaval of moving house for another. We have also had 2 new starters: Miriam, who is a brilliantly talented artist, has joined our graphics team and with our amazing graphic designer Hannah has helped to raise the quality of Environment Industry Magazine beyond my expectations. For the record Hannah is the driving force behind the design and layout of the entire magazine - her passion has single handedly made the magazine what it is today in terms of look and style. Our other new staff member is Meridee who has joined the sales team as a trainee; she is a bubbly Kiwi who is incredibly enthusiastic and professional and hopefully some of you will have the pleasure of working with her over the coming months. Sales is never an easy task and in this present financial climate it is even harder. Someone who knows this more than anyone is Andy, who many of you will have spoken to about sales over the last year. Sometimes it is only when you take a moment to look back that you realise how important some things are. Andy has had a tough year - his third daughter was born in July (that’s four girls in the house including his wife) but despite this he has been a constant support to the company and to me personally, and without this support I don’t think Environment Industry Magazine would have made it through the year. He is one of the most tenacious salespeople I have ever had the pleasure to work with and is never disheartened despite having the most thankless job in the world. I consider myself lucky to have found such a strong core group of staff family to work with, and as we end 2011 we are looking forward to 2012 being our strongest year to date. We will be welcoming an old colleague back to the company into the sales team in January and our magazine subscription services will be up and running for next year as well, so we should actually make some money next year. Our new shiny website is now available www.environmentmagazine.co.uk and will be completely populated by the beginning of the year, and our mail server is also working properly so our weekly e-newsletter will be starting after Christmas (finally). Both of these mean we can be much more proactive and timely with news and case studies, and we will be able to promote a full industry event calendar and daily blogs which will hopefully make www.environmentmagazine. co.uk an essential daily work tool.
Both the website and e-newsletter will offer some great but limited marketing opportunities, for example the oversized rolling banner on the website, which is limited to 5 advertisers, and appears on every page on the site, is just £1250 per month! As for me I am about as excited as I can be about sharing Tabitha’s First Christmas and birthday, and with all the developments at EnviroMedia I am looking forward to the challenges that next year will bring. I am fairly sure that nothing can be as challenging as running a publishing company and having a new born baby like last year! (Maybe living with 4 women is more of a challenge!) I sincerely want to thank my Staff and the Readers, Editorial Providers, Advertisers and Supporters of Environment Industry Magazine and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Alex Stacey Managing Editor
PS. Check out the Environment Industry Magazine staff profiles on our contact us page!
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CONTENTS
NEWS: PAGE 4 - 23 Page 4-23 Page 22 Page 23
News Steve Grant Column Jason Drew Column
FOCUS: FOOD PAGE 24 - 31 Page 25 - 26 Page 27 - 30
Palm Oil Certification, Bryan Roe, Paint Manager, GreenShop Group Food Security, Paul Polman, CEO Unilever
WASTE MANAGEMENT: PAGE 32-39 Page 33 - 36 Page 37 - 39
Food Glorious Food, Peter Jones, Ecolateral There May Be Trouble Ahead ,Steve Lee, CEO, CIWM
WATER: PAGE 40 - 49 Page 43 - 45
The Water White Paper, By Alan D A Sutherland, Chief Executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland
Page 46 - 47
Atkins Calls For The Water White Paper To Be A ‘Citizen Of It’s Time’, Mike Woolgar, Atkins’ Environmental & Water Management Managing Director.
Page 48 - 49
Water White Paper , Sam Ibbott, Public Affairs Manager, EIC
CONSERVATION: PAGE 50 - 59 Page 53 - 54 Page 55 - 59
Seas In Danger, Ali Plummer, Living Seas Officer, Wildlife Trust Wildlife Regulations: Construction, John Newton, The Ecology Consultancy
GREEN BUILDING: PAGE 60 - 81 Page 62 - 69
Ecobuild 2012 Show Preview
Page 70 - 71
Greening Property In The Public Sector, Matthew Hancock MP, Chair of the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum Inquiry
Page 72 - 74
Closing The Building Performance Gap – From Briefing To Occupation And Beyond, Colin Pearson, Head of Building Performance at BSRIA
Page 76 - 78
Performance Before Eco-Bling, Andrew Orriss, Chairman of the UK SIPs Association
Page 79 - 81
How Sustainable Business Practice Can Add Value, Jonathan Garrett, Group Head of Sustainability at Balfour Beatty
EnviroMedia Limited, 254a Bury New Road, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 8QN
Alex Stacey Tel: 0161 3410158 Fax: 0161 7668997 Email: alex@enviromedia.ltd.uk
Environment Industry Magazine is proud to be the official media partner for the UK Sustainable Development Association. Every effort is made to verify all information published, but Environment Industry Magazine cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or for any losses that may arise as a result. Opinions expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect those of EnviroMedia Ltd. Environment Industry Magazine welcomes contributions for publication. Submissions are accepted on the basis of full assignment of copyright to EnviroMedia Ltd unless otherwise agreed in advance and in writing. We reserve the right to edit items for reasons of space, clarity or legality.
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Page 84 - 89
The Role Of Wood Waste As A Source Of Biomass Fuel In The Uk, Miles Brown & Victor Kearley
Page 90 - 91
Sustainable Management Of Ghana’s Forest And Responsible Timber Production, Alexander Offei and M Nurudeen Iddrisu. Ghana forestry Commission, London Office
ENERGY: PAGE 92-98 Page 94 - 96
Encouraging your organisation to seize the low carbon opportunity, Harry Morrison, General manager of the Carbon Trust Standard
Page 97- 98
The Renewables Obligation Banding Review, Paul Thompson, Head of Policy, Renewable Energy Association
CONTENTS
TIMBER: PAGE 82 - 91
LAND MANAGEMENT: PAGE 99 - 108 Page 100 - 102 Page 103 - 108
Why We Still Need The Brownfield First Approach, Paul Miner, Senior Planning Campaigner, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Stabilisation and Solidification of Contaminated Soil and Waste Part 5: Durability, Longevity, and Monitoring of S/S Systems - Dr Colin Hills, Director, Centre for Contaminated Land Remediation, University of Greenwich
LABS AND TESTING: PAGE 109-115 Page 110 - 113
“The devil made me buy it!”, Alan Hasson, General Manager Of Ashtead Technology’s UK Instrument Division
Page 114 - 115
New National Water Quality Instrumentation Service, Ian Rippin, CEO, National Laboratories
TRANSPORT: PAGE 116-123 Page 118 - 119
Keeping Sustainable Mobility On The Mayor’s Short-List, Roman Jakic
Page 122 - 123
and Bruno Miguel Camacho Pereira, CIty-VITAlity-Sustainability Sustainable Fleet Management, Ian Featherstone, Fleet Advice Manager, Energy Saving Trust
MISCELLANY: PAGE 124 - 140 Page 125
Environment Prosecutions
Page 126 - 128
Britain: A Green Economy, John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning
Page 129
Product Guide
Page 130 - 138
Case Studies
Page 139 - 140
Famous Last Words, Chris Hines MBE Hon.D.Sc, A Grain of Sand
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Dial-A-Ride Vehicles Trialling Biodiesel • Fuel from cooking oil and tallow used to run 12 Dial-a-Ride vehicles • Year long trial has begun • Trial is latest in a range of environmentally friendly initiatives
Transport for London is to use an environmentally friendly biofuel in 12 of its Dial-a-Ride vehicles in a year-long trial. It is estimated the vehicles will produce 25% less carbon emissions than a normal diesel-powered vehicle and if the trial is successful, it could be extended further across the DAR fleet in future. The biodiesel, which will be supplied by Argent Energy, is a renewable, cleanburning fuel made from used cooking oil from the catering industry and tallow, which is a residue from the meat processing industry. The 12 minibuses will trial B30 biofuel – a high quality blend of 30% biodiesel and 70% petrodiesel. The trial is part of the Mayor’s plans to drive down carbon emissions and divert food from costly landfill sites. Director of Environment and Digital London, Kulveer Ranger, said: “The Mayor wants our great capital city to be cleaner and greener. He is committed to using innovative low carbon technology, such as biofuels, to help reduce emissions.”
WAXMAN GROUP LAUNCHES RENEWABLES COMPANY Leading specialist distributor The Waxman Group has launched a renewables company following the success of its burgeoning energy business. The move is part of the group’s plan to strategically position itself for future growth in the market and be at the forefront of design and distribution of renewable energy technologies in the UK. Waxman Renewables specialises in the design, consultation and supply of biomass boilers and solar thermal systems. Richard Waxman, chairman of The Waxman Group, anticipates that by expanding its offer into solar thermal and biomass it will capitalise on the market growth its energy business has enjoyed. Since its launch in 2005, Waxman Energy has fast become one of the UK’s leading specialists in the design and distribution of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Richard said: “Although the renewable energy market in the UK is still in its infancy, government incentives are helping to make consumers more aware of the support available to them and the potential benefits of adopting these technologies. While this is the case we want to send out a clear message of our intention to become a leader in the field. Our background with Waxman Energy combined with our proven distribution expertise provides a strong platform for delivering renewables.” |4| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Dickon Posnett, Argent Energy’s Development Director, said: “We’re delighted that Transport for London is trialling our B30 blend. Because our fuel is made by recycling waste, it’s very sustainable. That means that simply switching to our fuel instead of fossil fuel is a great way of reducing carbon emissions.” The trial is the latest in a range of initiatives introduced by TfL to reduce carbon emissions in the Capital. TfL currently operates five hydrogen fuel cell buses on route RV1 between Covent Garden and Tower Gateway Station. The buses entered service in January this year. It is hoped that, with the purchase of three more buses, the route will be serviced completely by hydrogen buses, a first for the UK. TfL also currently operates 171 hybrid diesel buses in London. A mixture of double and single deck buses, these operate on various routes across London and can be identified by special hybrid livery. There are another 150 hybrid buses on order. TfL was at the forefront of introducing this technology and operates the largest hybrid fleet in the UK.
The Blue Has Been Appointed as UK distributor For Terex Fuchs Waste processing equipment specialists Blue Group are delighted to be unveiled as the new distributor of Terex Fuchs materials handling equipment in the UK. Since 1999, the recently demised Hydrex Group have acted as a hirer and as a distributor for the German made construction and loading machines in the UK. During this period, they had developed the UK market into one of Terex Fuchs most important globally. As part of their marketing strategy for further developments, Terex Fuchs began searching for a new dealer and service partner to support existing market segments whilst exploring other potential avenues. With Blue Group’s strong presence in the waste sector and planned expansion into metals recycling, and port handling applications, the synergy between the two companies was immediately seen as mutually beneficial for both parties. It was agreed with Hydrex that the Blue Group will take over the dealership of Terex Fuchs in the UK with immediate effect. “The Terex Fuchs material handling machines are perfect to integrate into the wide variety of products and services offered by Blue Group for the recycling industry”, emphasised Mr Ron de Vries, Managing Director of Terex Fuchs. Commenting on the appointment, Ron de Vries added “We are grateful to Hydrex for all services and work performed to date and look forward to expanding our presence together with the Blue Group in the UK recycling market.” With a view to safeguarding existing jobs and ensuring optimal continuity for existing and potential customers, Blue Group will take over the staff and Bristol premises of Hydrex. To ensure a smooth transition between the two companies, Blue Group will continue to operate the Hydrex Portishead office as the base for the Terex Fuchs dealership and integrate the existing staff with Blue’s strategically placed offices in Warrington, London, Bristol and Stirling. This integration into the Blue Group will ensure a first class, local service right across the entire country for Terex Fuchs operators. Commenting on the recent appointment as UK dealer, Brian Maxwell, director of Blue Group added “We are delighted to be appointed as the new distributor for Terex Fuchs in the UK. It has been our long term growth strategy to add a materials handler to our existing portfolio of exclusive brands, and we are thrilled to have secured the dealership of our number one choice in Terex Fuchs.” Brian added, “One of our key strengths at Blue is our strong after sales support. We look forward to working with all existing Terex Fuchs customers and aim to improve the levels of service they have been receiving. We are looking to build on the world class reputation and quality of the Terex Fuchs machines and see our appointment as a long term commitment to becoming the UK’s leading supplier of material handling equipment.” |6| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Wales Is To Benefit From One Single Environment Body That Will Ensure The Most Sustainable And Effective Management Of Its Natural Resources. This was the message from Welsh Environment Minister, John Griffiths, who has agreed to the Environment Agency Wales (EAW), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) being brought together into one organisation. The Minister’s decision follows nine months of scoping work by Welsh Government officials, representatives from the three bodies and other organisations with an interest in the sector. The Minister made his decision after considering a detailed business case that assessed the move to a single environment body. Over a ten year period it is estimated that the transition from three environment bodies to just one could result in savings of up to £158m. Speaking about his decision, the Minister said: “We know that the natural environment is crucial to the Welsh economy and that modern life means that pressure on our natural resources is constantly increasing. This means it is more important than ever that our environment is managed as effectively and efficiently as possible to ensure the best outcomes for Wales. Having carefully considered the business case, I am convinced that the establishment of a single environmental body will ensure the most sustainable and effective management of Wales’ natural resources. Not only will one body result in a more streamlined way of working, it will also ensure more effective delivery, improved value for money and better outcomes for Welsh people, Welsh businesses and the environment.” Morgan Parry, CCW Chairman, said: “Creating this new body provides a great opportunity for a more joined up approach to managing our environment in a truly
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sustainable way. Drawing on expertise from across the three agencies, we will work to create a strong organisation that will engage with all sectors of society – from local communities to large industries - to better manage the natural resources that we all depend on. Some things will remain unchanged – the new body will continue to provide independent advice to Government on a wide range of environmental issues, provide sustainable management of our public lands (including national nature reserves and forests), regulate industry and promote opportunities for everyone to enjoy the outdoors. But these, and many other functions, will be approached with the benefit of a broader perspective that will make it easier to care for ecosystems in their entirety.” Chris Mills, Director, Environment Agency Wales, said: “We welcome the Minister’s announcement and will provide our full support to creating this new body whilst continuing to deliver for the people of Wales on flooding, waste crime and regulating industry. The natural environment is crucial to the Welsh economy. It’s vital that it is managed as well as possible to ensure the best outcomes for Wales. This new body has the potential to deliver more for the environment, the people and economy of Wales.” Jon Owen Jones, Chair of Forestry Commission National Committee of Wales, said: “Forestry Commission Wales can now look to the future, fully committed to contributing our expertise, approach and attitude to the new organisation. We will work together to achieve better outcomes for people, the environment and the Welsh economy. Our land management skills and delivery focus will play a significant part in achieving success.” Following the Minister’s decision, a consultation on the role and functions of the new body will begin in January 2012. A programme team staffed mainly by people from the three bodies will also be established to undertake the necessary preparatory work to ensure that the new body can function properly from 1st April 2013.
Experts launch bid to engineer super crop Scientists at the University of Sheffield are beginning a search for the ultimate plant leaf in a bid to build super crops that will fight the world’s food shortage. The £890,000 investigation, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), begins in January 2012, and will see experts from the University’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences attempt to breed rice plants which photosynthesise more economically and grow larger crops. Experts in Sheffield will engineer plants to produce varieties of new leaf structures designed to increase the take-up of carbon dioxide which is fixed into sugars within the plant. These new leaves will then be examined using a micro CT scanner to produce high-resolution 3D images by researchers at the University of Nottingham before being analysed in Sheffield to identify each leaf’s strengths and weaknesses as well as which elements can be modified. Professor Andrew Fleming of the University of Sheffield’s Plant Science in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, who is leading the collaborative project, said: “The concentration of carbon dioxide is changing so that plant leaves may no longer have an optimal structure for photosynthesis. We will create new leaves and test their efficiency of photosynthesis to see if we can identify an optimal future leaf design. The eventual aim is to use our knowledge to aid world-wide efforts to improve crops, in particular rice, the staple food for much of humanity. “The seven billionth person has been born and within our lifetimes the population of the planet is projected to rise to nine billion. Providing sufficient food is a massive task. It has been predicted that in the next 50 years we will consume as much food as we have produced since the beginning of agriculture, more than 10,000 years ago. The breeding of such super crops is recognised as being a key element in the strategy to feed the world’s burgeoning population.” Leading the scanning team at Nottingham, Dr Sacha Mooney added: “This new technology is a game-changer in that for the first time we can look inside a leaf or a root and see the living plant in action at a cellular level. Similarly we can truly see what soils look like at microscopic level in the field and examine how water and nutrients pass through it. We anticipate our research will produce results which are invaluable in the quest for food security on a global scale.” The research forms part of the University of Sheffield’s Project Sunshine initiative which aims to harness the power of the sun to tackle the increasing food and energy needs of the world´s population in an ever changing global environment. Experts will share their findings with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) who are leading a Bill and Melinda Gates funded project on rice improvement. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |9|
NEW ASSESSMENT SHOWS RISKS OF NO ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE TThe results of a major new scientific assessment of climate change has been published today, highlighting the effects the world could face if global temperature changes are not limited to two degrees. The assessment commissioned by Chris Huhne, the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and led by the Met Office Hadley Centre studied 24 different countries, from developed to developing. It notes that all the countries in the study have warmed since the 1960s and that the occurrence of extremely warm temperatures has increased whilst extremely cold temperatures have become less frequent. If emissions are left unchecked, the report says temperatures would rise generally between three and five degrees Celsius this century. This could be accompanied by significant changes in rainfall patterns, leading in many cases to increased pressure on crop production, water stress and flood risks. Chris Huhne said: “This report highlights some of the very real dangers we face if we don’t limit emissions to combat the rise in global temperature. Life for millions of people could change forever, with water and food supplies being placed in jeopardy and homes and livelihoods under threat. This makes the challenge of reducing emissions ever more urgent. The UK wants a legally binding global agreement to keep the global temperature rise below two degrees. If this is achieved this study shows that some of the most significant impacts of climate change could be reduced significantly.” Richard Jones, Manager of Regional Climate Change Research at the Met Office Hadley Centre said: “Projections of climate change impacts often fall in a wide range which can include both beneficial and detrimental outcomes. This study has begun the important work of applying a globally consistent approach to assess the impacts of climate change at the national level.” Key findings: All countries studied show an increase in the number of people at risk from coastal flooding due to sea level rise. By the end of the century, in the worst case scenario, up to about 49 million additional people could be at risk, with the majority being in Bangladesh, China, India, Egypt and Indonesia. |10| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The majority of countries studied are projected to see a significant increased risk of river flooding; The production of staple food crops may decline in parts of Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Russia, Turkey, and the USA. In some cases, crop yield increases may be expected for example in Germany and Japan. Food security is highlighted as a growing risk before 2040 in Bangladesh and India. Water resources are threatened by drought and growing demand. Areas highlighted as likely to suffer increased water stress include parts of Italy, France and the southwest USA. In some cases however, water stress may decline in some regions. Reports are available at www. metoffice.gov.uk/climate-change/ policy-relevant/obs-projectionsimpacts
NEW DENNIS EAGLE FLEET FOR PORTSMOUTH, WINCHESTER AND EAST HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth, Winchester City and East Hampshire councils have taken delivery of 44 new Dennis Eagle refuse collection vehicles. The trucks, which will be supplied and operated by leading integrated waste management company Biffa Municipal, feature Olympus, Ros Roca and Terberg bodies, Elite chassis cabs and a range of bin lifts to match the operational requirements of the contracts. Twenty five of the vehicles, operated by Biffa, have been supplied to Winchester City and East Hampshire via contract hire solutions provider Specialist Fleet Services (SFS). The new fleet consists of 19 Elite 6x2 wide rear steer chassis with Olympus 21 bodies and three 4x2 Elite/Olympus 13 RCVs. To accommodate glass recycling, two Terberg Toploader bodies on Elite 4x2 chassis were specified. The remaining vehicle features a Ros Roca Cross 9 body with UPC bin lift mounted to a Mercedes Atego 4x2 chassis plated at 15,000kgs. The 22 Olympus RCVs feature Zoeller Compact bin lifts. Servicing 96,435 homes in the area, which covers Winchester City and the East Hampshire region, including the towns of Alton and Petersfield, the trucks will be used to kick-start a joint venture which will coordinate refuse collection services across the two councils. Side of vehicle advertising, featuring the Quik-Zip panel, from Epic Media Group will be used to promote this new initiative, with quick-fit boards used to communicate the councils’ new joint website to residents. In Portsmouth City Council, Biffa will be operating 19 Dennis Eagle vehicles, which will service around 93,000 households in the region. Comprising 6x2 narrow rear steer chassis with Olympus 19 bodies, the RCVs were specified with a range of bin lifts including Dennis Beta, Zoeller E-Rotary and Zoeller Compact.
Image from left to right: David Maidman: Operations Director, Biffa David Williams: Commercial Manager, Dennis Eagle Mick Friend: General Sales Manager, Dennis Eagle Keith Baker: Sales Executive, Mercedes Neil Wigley: Supply Chain Manager, FaunZoeller UK Rob Colby: Commercial Director, Terberg Julian Glasspole: Managing Director, Vehicle Weighing Solutions
Portsmouth’s vehicles also incorporate the Quik-Zip advertising boards from Epic Media Group which will be used to convey sustainability messages to the local community, encouraging residents to get involved in the council’s recycling programme. David Maidman, operations director at Biffa, comments: “This was a large order and we required several different combinations of bodies, chassis and bin lifts, so we were pleased that Dennis Eagle was able to meet our exacting requirements. We’ve had some really positive feedback on the new vehicles from our operators and look forward to working with the councils to successfully deliver their waste and recycling initiatives.”
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NEW MEASURES TO HELP COMBAT METAL THEFT TRIALED IN NORTH EAST
problem, which is now a significant threat to the UK infrastructure.
New measures to combat the increasing problem of metal theft are being introduced in the North East.
Whatever the crime, the net result is the same – disruption to everyday life and severe cost to the local and national economy.
Operation Tornado, spearheaded by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Home Office, British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), British Transport Police (BTP), and Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland Police, will aim to make it easier to trace sellers of stolen metal through an identification scheme. ACPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Robin Edwards said: “As of 3 January 2012, those selling scrap metal to participating dealers in Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland will now be required to provide proof of their identity by producing either a photo card driving license including an address, or a passport or national ID card supported with a utility bill, which must be under three months old and show their address. This will remain in place for six months initially with the option to extend the term of the trial as it progresses. The trial, which has been developed in partnership with the British Metals Recycling Association, is one of a number of measures that is currently being explored to restrict the sale and movement of stolen metal. It has been designed not to inhibit those dealers that operate legitimate businesses, but to remove unscrupulous dealers who operate outside the law. We are hoping that all the estimated 240 registered scrap metal dealers in the region will sign up to be involved in this trial to help fight the stolen metal trade and make it more difficult for thieves to make money by targeting our communities for metal.” Ian Hetherington, director general at the British Metals Recycling Association, said: “Metals theft is a real problem for the metals industry and BMRA continues to advise government on the issue. BMRA and our members are actively supporting Operation Tornado. The measures being trialed are sensible and provide the basis for a reform of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act – which we all want. It’s important to note that many of the problems encountered by legitimate metal recyclers lie with the ineffective enforcement of existing regulations and the proliferation of the illegal, unregulated trade, and not with the majority who operate highly regulated, licensed and permitted sites. This is an opportunity for the metals recycling industry to trial some of the strengthened measures being adopted, coupled with what we hope will be robust police efforts to prevent legitimate business being diverted away from those applying the Operation Tornado measures and into the hands of non-compliant operators. BMRA fully supports a nationally coordinated approach from the police and the Environment Agency with stronger sentencing and appropriate penalties for those stealing metal and those setting out to dispose of it.” Metal thieves have caused misery for countless thousands of people across the country and the railway has experienced significant issues for some time, but throughout 2011 criminals have been diversifying and targeting metal from other areas, including power cables, utilities pipe work, telecommunications cabling, residential properties, businesses and catalytic converters from vehicles. All affected industries are working together to tackle the |12| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Ten people have also died in the past year as a result of metal theft.
CI Robin Edwards added: “A key part of ACPO’s strategy is to choke off the market for stolen metal. We are talking to the Government about stricter controls and legislative changes that will make life much more difficult for thieves and unscrupulous scrap metal dealers. There is a clear correlation between the price of copper on commodity markets and rates of crime. The legislation for dealing with the crime, dating back to 1964, is certainly "outdated" and needs redrafting. The existing legislation has failed to keep pace with current market conditions within the industry and commodity market which influence the price of recycled metals.” Lord Henley, the Home Office Minister for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction said: “Metal theft is a serious and growing national and international problem and the Government is working across departments, with law enforcement agencies and private industry on co-ordinated action to tackle it. It is clear legislation dating back to the 1960s is not sufficient to deal with an increasingly organised crime and we are examining what changes to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 are needed. In the meantime we are working with the police and other law enforcement agencies on what immediate steps can be taken to better identify rogue metal dealers. I welcome Operation Tornado and hope that the many legitimate members of the scrap metal recycling industry in the North East will use this opportunity to help us to remove unscrupulous dealers who operate outside the law or turn a blind eye to stolen material.”
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Reception at Bahrain Embassy to mark launch of NEBOSH exam in Arabic The official launch of the first introductory level NEBOSH examination to be set in Arabic has been held at the British Embassy in Bahrain.
Image by Taskresek
Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Mr Iain Lindsay OBE, hosted the evening reception, entertaining several Middle Eastern dignitaries and NEBOSH representatives. NEBOSH Chief Executive, Teresa Budworth said “Some of the companies in Bahrain are world leaders in health, safety and environmental management, winning international recognition for their high standards. We wanted to launch our first Arabic language qualification here partly to acknowledge our gratitude to these organisations for adopting NEBOSH qualifications. We are pleased to have played a supporting role in raising competencies in health and safety. We hope that our new Arabic qualifications will further support businesses both in Bahrain and in the rest of the Middle East and North Africa in promoting health, safety and environmental improvements. NEBOSH exams are taken in more than 91 countries throughout the world and 41% of the exams taken outside of the UK are held in Middle Eastern countries. Our entry level Health and Safety at Work qualification has been in great demand here since it was launched in May 2010. We are working toward making our other qualifications available in Arabic too.” The NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work examination can also be taken in Russian and will soon be available in Chinese Mandarin.
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Palm Recycling has secured a five year extension to the existing kerbside collection contract it operates in partnership with Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council. The scheme sees the existing source segregated service change to a new Dual Stream collection method, introducing a range of benefits to both the Borough Council and its 53,000 households. Aiming to increase recycling rates by 30% against the existing scheme, the new simplified Dual Stream collection method will allow residents to streamline their current system with a reduction in containers, as well as a move from a weekly refuse and recycling service, to an alternate week one.
Dual stream success for Palm
Additional benefits include cost savings and a reduction in the council’s overall carbon footprint as the number of vehicles required to service the scheme is reduced from eleven to five, without impacting on the high collection volumes and quality and value of material collected previously. In addition, one new split-bodied collection vehicle has been provided by Palm Recycling to undertake the scheme.
Major public art project backed by SmartestEnergy An innovative public arts project came to life recently with help from SmartestEnergy. Light Waves, which uses LED lighting along with sound and digital technologies, aims to help revitalise Ipswich’s Waterfront area. The two-year project has been supported by funding from the Arts Council England and sponsorship from SmartestEnergy which recently relocated its Ipswich offices to larger premises in the town. Jo Butlin, Vice President of Operations for SmartestEnergy, the UK’s leading purchaser and supplier of independently generated electricity, said: “The project is a great example of how an innovative approach to energy can create a dramatic visual impact without a significant carbon footprint. It ties in very well with our work to support the move to a low carbon economy in the UK through our growing portfolio of renewable energy projects.” Light Waves, commissioned by Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council, has been created by artistic studio Creatmosphere. As well as illuminating buildings and walkways along the Waterfront, the latest digital technologies enable the public to choreograph their own show by influencing the colour of light used and the accompanying sounds. SmartestEnergy’s Ipswich office is home to the company’s Retail, Customer Service, Sales Support and Operations teams.
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Grocery industry on course to meet Courtauld Commitment targets WRAP has announced that grocery retailers and manufacturers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, are making significant progress in meeting the ambitious waste and recycling targets set out in Phase 2 of the Courtauld Commitment. The results, which highlight achievements for the first year of Phase 2 of the voluntary agreement1, show that signatories are already half way to achieving the packaging reduction target, and three quarters of the way to reaching the household food waste2 objectives. These results indicate a strong collective performance given the ambitious nature of the three year targets and the increase in volume sales among signatories. The challenge now is for businesses to build upon this early success, through the implementation of more waste prevention and resource efficiency measures. The supply chain impact is significantly less at only 0.4% against a 5% reduction target. This is a new area for the Courtauld Commitment, and will be an area of additional focus going forward. The grocery supply chain has performed well in diverting waste from landfill, with a 40% reduction over the reporting period - much of this waste has gone to renewable energy production using Anaerobic Digestion (AD). WRAP will be working closely with signatories to ensure that the supply chain and other targets are reached before the end of the Commitment. The Courtauld Commitment is funded by all four UK governments, and is run by waste prevention advisory body WRAP. The voluntary agreement, which began in 2005, supports businesses to improve their overall performance and reduce their environmental impact. Phase 2 began in March 2010 and is due to complete in December 2012.
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Dr Richard Swannell, Director, Design & Waste Prevention, WRAP, said: “Following the success of Courtauld Commitment 1, Phase 2 has focused on encouraging resource efficiency and reducing waste in the supply chain and the home. The latest Phase 2 figures show good initial progress towards these by the signatories. The next step is to build on this good start, sharing best practice to encourage rapid change. This is particularly key around waste within the supply chain. We will continue to work with the sector to help ensure the Courtauld Phase 2 targets are achieved.” Lord Taylor, Defra Minister for Environment, said: “These results show excellent progress towards cutting down on food and packaging waste that are part of our ambition to move to a zero waste economy. However, there is no room for complacency and it’s clear that more work needs to be done in meeting our new target for reducing waste in the supply chain. I will be pushing for industry to build on their efforts to make sure we meet these goals over the next two years.” Richard Lochhead, Scotland’s Environment Secretary, said: “The companies signed up to the Courtauld Commitment should be very proud of the reductions in packaging and food waste they’ve achieved. I’m particularly pleased to see the involvement of several large Scottish companies. The progress made towards meeting the packaging reduction target alone has already seen a saving of CO2 which is the equivalent of taking approximately 100,000 cars off the road for a year or flying around the world almost 45,000 times. The Scottish Government is keen to see continued progress from all sectors to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover in our battle to tackle waste. The Courtauld Commitment Phase 2 complements our own efforts, including statutory measures to be introduced through the Zero Waste
Table contains Courtauld Commitment phase 2 progress: Objective
First year reduction
Three year target reduction
Packaging – to reduce the weight, increase recycling 5.1% rates and increase the recycled content of all grocery packaging, as appropriate
10%
Household food and drink waste – to reduce UK household food and drink waste
3%
4%
Supply chain product and packaging waste – to reduce traditional grocery product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain
0.4%
5%
Regulations. Whilst our dependency on landfill has reduced through greater recycling, we see waste prevention as being key for a sustainable future and would encourage all businesses to pledge towards the Courtauld Commitment.” John Griffiths, the Welsh Government’s Environment Minister, said: “Courtauld Commitment Phase 2 has seen some success to date but we know that there is still more to do to reach the targets set within this deal and indeed to reach the aspirations of Wales’ One Planet living. We want, and encourage, more action to be undertaken in Wales by retailers and manufacturers to reduce the impact of their products and packaging and I am pleased to continue Welsh Government’s support of this initiative.”
Alex Attwood, Northern Ireland Environment Minister, said: “I am encouraged by the progress made to date and the contribution the Courtauld Commitment has made to the ongoing delivery of the Rethink Waste Campaign in Northern Ireland, and the Department’s Waste Strategy. I recently announced figures showing that household recycling and composting waste in Northern Ireland has risen; the changes made by householders and businesses working together are making a difference. I urge businesses in the food retail and manufacturing sectors operating in Northern Ireland, who are not already members, to sign up to the Commitment in order to reduce the environmental impact of the products we buy.”
Elfab harvests rainwater to reduce environmental impact TV-inspired collection system saves hundreds of pounds a month As part of its ISO 14001 environmental improvement drive, pressure relief specialist Elfab has recently installed a rainwater collection system to provide water across the company’s manufacturing and office facilities. The system has been designed to be expandable, as it is intended to provide up to 75% of the company’s water needs. A UV filtering system allows collected water to be used in all parts of the business, except for human consumption.
John Fulton, operations director, operates rainwater harvesting control unit Right; Two 10,000-litre collection tanks.
Operations director, John Fulton, and maintenance manager, Dave Mellody, were inspired to come up with the scheme after watching a housing design programme on television. The programme revealed the amount of water typically consumed by domestic toilets and plumbing systems, from which the Elfab employees were able to extrapolate an estimated figure for the company’s usage. The scale of this figure prompted them to design a system to conserve water, saving hundreds of pounds a month. “Elfab is always looking for innovative and cost-effective ways to reduce our impact on the environment,” said John Fulton. “Once fully understood, this suggestion was quickly adopted by the company.”
The system collects rainwater from the building’s roof and diverts it into two 10,000-litre storage drums. Elfab carried out all preparatory and internal pipe work to reduce the installation cost. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |17|
NEW STUDY SHOWS GLOBAL WARMING CHANGES BALANCE BETWEEN PARASITE AND HOST IN FISH Worms infecting fish grow four times faster at higher temperatures and manipulate the behaviour of fish Parasitic worms that infect fish, and have a devastating effect on fish reproduction, grow four times faster at higher temperatures – providing some of the first evidence that global warming affects the interactions between parasites and their hosts. The study from the University of Leicester revealed that global warming had the potential to change the balance between parasite and host - with potentially serious implications for fish populations. The researchers from the Department of Biology also observed behavioural change in infected fish – suggesting parasites may manipulate host behaviour to make them seek out warmer temperatures. And they discovered that whilst parasites grew faster in higher temperatures, the host’s growth rate slowed. “What we witnessed was that fish infected with the largest worms showed a preference for warmer water, suggesting that these parasites also manipulate the behaviour of host fish in ways that benefit the parasites by maximizing their growth rates,” said Dr Iain Barber of the Department of Biology at the University of Leicester, who carried out the study with doctoral student Vicki Macnab. The research, supported by funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), has been published in the influential journal Global Change Biology. Vicki said: “The research shows a dramatic effect of increased environmental temperatures on the growth rates of parasites in fish hosts. The size these parasites attain in their fish hosts determines how severely fish reproduction is affected, so our results suggest that parasites will have a more serious effect on fish reproduction if temperatures rise. In addition, our paper documents behavioural changes in infected fish that suggests the parasites are manipulating host behaviour to make them seek out warmer temperatures, creating a positive feedback mechanism to exacerbate the effects of global warming. This research shows that global warming could shift the balance between parasites and their hosts with potentially serious implications for fish populations.” The scientists found that parasitic worms infecting stickleback fish grew four times faster in experimentally infected sticklebacks raised at 20°C than when raised at 15°C. In contrast, the fish grew more slowly at the higher temperature, suggesting that fish parasites cope with higher temperatures much better than the fish they infect. Dr Barber said: “The results are important because the size these parasites attain in their fish hosts also determines their infectivity to fish-eating birds like |18| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
kingfishers and herons – the next hosts in the parasite’s life cycle – and also the number of parasite eggs that they will go on to produce. Bigger larval parasites in the fish go on to become larger adult worms in birds, which produce more eggs. After the 8 weeks of the study, all of the worms infecting the fish held at 20°C were ready to infect fish-eating birds, whereas none of those held at the lower temperature had reached a size at which they were ready to be transmitted.” In a follow up study, the authors also showed that fish infected with the largest worms showed a preference for warmer water, suggesting that these parasites also manipulate the behaviour of host fish in ways that benefit the parasites and maximize their growth rates. The results provide some of the first evidence that increasing environmental temperatures can lead to a shift in the delicate balance that exists between co-evolved hosts and parasites, increasing the speed with which parasites complete their life cycles that could lead to an increase in the overall level of parasitism in natural animal populations.
CABLE&WIRELESS WORLDWIDE AND SILVER SPRING NETWORKS PROVIDE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK TO SUPPORT GROWTH IN ONSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT Cable&Wireless Worldwide and Silver Spring Networks have been selected by UK Power Networks as telecommunications partners for its forthcoming Flexible Plug and Play (FPP) Low Carbon Networks project. The £9.7million project has been awarded funding under Ofgem’s Low Carbon Network Fund and is set to form part of Ofgem’s ongoing commitment to making Britain’s electricity grid smarter. The Flexible Plug and Play (FPP) project will develop a smart grid system in an area of 700km2 between Peterborough and the towns March and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. The project will cost effectively connect and manage onshore wind generation utilising smart grid solutions, which will run over a fast, robust, pervasive IPv6-based communications network, to be deployed by Cable&Wireless and Silver Spring Networks. The result will be a smart grid blue print which may be replicable nationwide. The project will trial a number of innovative technical and commercial solutions, which will optimise network utilisation and manage network constraints in real time, enabling the most flexible and cost effective means of connecting renewable generation to be identified and provided. The project will also develop an investment modelling tool that determines when it makes best economic and carbon sense to reinforce the networks or use smart alternatives.
TALES FROM THE Aveillant, the latest spin-out from
Cambridge Consultant, has appointed David Crisp as its CEO. Aveillant’s technology will remove the concerns about aviation safety and air defence radar that are holding back growth in the wind energy industry. Wind turbines in motion can mimic aircraft on an air traffic controller’s radar screen. Aveillant will provide airfields with the accurate radar data needed to eliminate the potential confusion this could cause, without any resulting loss or compromise in performance. The company was launched in October 2011 with funding from DFJ Esprit and AIFCL, the wind industry fund.
XPS Receives Accreditation for its Commitment to the Environment
Milton Keynes based Facilities Management specialist, XPS has proven its green credentials by achieving an ISO 14001 for its commitment to environmental issues. Pat Dean, Director of Compliance at XPS explains: ‘ISO 14001 is an obvious measurement tool for XPS and is recognised by both our clients and suppliers. This accreditation has educated us in how to use fewer raw materials and energy and reduce the amount of waste we produce, making us a more environmentally friendly company.’ XPS’ latest achievement follows its success in being named runner up in the East of England Business Champions Awards for ‘Marketing Innovation’.
Bombardier Wins Fleet Reliability Awards Bombardier Transportation has received three awards for fleet reliability in the UK at the industry acclaimed “Golden Spanners” awards, hosted by the magazine Modern Railways. Fleets manufactured by Bombardier were recognised in the categories of most reliable Intercity train for the Voyager fleet and best new generation DMU for the Class 171 BOMBARDIER TURBOSTAR vehicles. In addition, the Intercity 125 trains and the Class 158 DMUs built at Bombardier’s Derby site also received gold category awards for best in class reliability, at the ceremony held in London on November 25. The fleet reliability awards are presented annually by expert journalist and industry commentator- Roger Ford, and are determined on the basis of miles travelled without incidents that cause delays to passengers. As such, the awards are also a tribute to the maintenance teams involved. Bombardier’s services team at Central Rivers was pleased to be recognised for its support of the Cross Country fleet which travelled an exceptional 36,166 miles between delay incidents.
Agfa Graphics wins the Arup Award for Sustainable Manufacturing at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards Agfa Graphics’ Leeds plant was rewarded for its efforts to eliminate waste and encourage biodiversity with a top business award at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Manufacturing Excellence Awards, The award ceremony was compered by Alistair Campbell, Graham Cooper Director Agfa Graphics Ltd said: “We are extremely proud of our site’s achievements in the sustainability arena. We could not have achieved so much without the committed support of all of our employees. Being winners in the prestigious Manufacturing Excellence programme recognises the efforts of the whole Leeds team.”
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Bury St Edmunds social enterprise Aid to Hospitals Worldwide has beaten off competition from some of Britain’s best green businesses to win the British Chambers of Commerce Sustainability Award, sponsored by the British Standards Institution (BSI). Judges were so impressed with the environmentally friendly company’s unique approach, that they also named them as a runner up for the Outstanding Business Achievement award, earning the company a £10,000 cash prize. The business, which benefits the local community and developing countries, refurbishes and recycles hospital equipment. Its team of volunteers is made up of retired workers who want to pass on their skills and youngsters wanting to get onto the employment ladder.
Dale Vince wins: ‘Best Green Entrepreneur’ Dale Vince, founder of green energy company Ecotricity, has been named Best Green Entrepreneur at the International Green Awards. Held at the Natural History Museum in London, the award recognises “an outstanding individual who can demonstrate true innovation, thought leadership and a commitment to sustainability values beyond traditional thinking or preaching to the converted.” The award highlighted the success of Ecotricity’s innovative ecobond that raised funding for green investment direct from the public – the second version of which was launched recently to wide acclaim. It also recognised Dale’s work in driving forward the UK’s first motorway charging network for electric cars the ‘Electric Highway’. The award follows on from Ecotricity winning ‘Company of the Year’ at the Growing Business Awards and ‘Best Independent Supplier’ at the industry-focused Energy ‘Buying and Supplying’ Excellence Awards in London over the past two weeks.
WATERCOOLER.... Ecologic Brands’ Cardboard Bottle Wins Best Green 4R’s Award (Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Recovery) This award recognises the best initiative which promotes the 4 R’s – Reduction, Reuse, Recycling and Recovery. Ecologic Brand’s award winning innovation comes from combining a mouldedpaper outer shell made from 100% recycled materials (70% recycled cardboard boxes and 30% old newspapers) with a thin fully recyclable interior pouch. The package also offers greater carbon savings because its outer shells are tightly nested and transported flat. One truckload of Ecologic Brands’ packaging materials is equivalent in volume to up to nine truckloads of rigid plastic containers. Ecologic Brands, based in Oakland, California, manufactures and designs innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.
Ramboll appoints new group market director for transport Gifford director Alan Pauling will take up a new position within Ramboll as group market director of transport. The role will see him prioritise market development and client focus, building on Ramboll’s extensive network and knowledge base within the transport sector. Alan has over thirty years experience in the transport sector, and currently holds a position in Gifford, part of Ramboll, since March 2011 as Resource Group Leader - Infrastructure Planning, as well as Discipline Director for Transport Planning.
Facade and renewable energy specialists The Alumet Group were successful at the Construction Marketing Awards. The company beat a shortlist of 8 to receive the Best Marketing Campaign over £25k award in recognition of the successful launch and national awareness of their EOS Energy brand. The product launch was managed by Alumet's internal marketing team and incorporated trade shows, literature, advertising, community engagement and networking events. Following this year long campaign EOS Energy is now recognised as one of the leading British companies in the Solar PV world. The success of EOS Energy's brand campaign has allowed The Alumet Group to achieve significant growth and provide employment for an additional 25 members of staff.
IPLAS EXPERT IS PITCH-PERFECT AS SHE WINS UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE A key expert with the UK’s leading manufacturer of high-quality recycled plastic products proved she was on the right track when giving a prize-winning pitch about railway sleepers. Annie-May Hugo, research and development specialist with Halifax-based Iplas, won an Apple iPad for winning the competition demanding the delivery of a two-minute presentation, using just one slide, at an event organised by the University of Sheffield. Mrs Hugo was one of seven representatives from companies taking part in the university’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) who competed for the prize by speaking about their innovation projects. The pitches covered subjects ranging from radioactivity analysis to new heat exchangers. The winner was determined by the votes of more than 120 representatives from business and academia, in Yorkshire and beyond, attending the event.
Spectroscopy specialist, Starna Scientific, has
appointed Nathan Hulme as a Director to help guide the company’s expansion plans. Hulme’s main responsibilities will include assisting in setting out an overall business strategy for the company that will address communications with customers and dealers as well as involving leadership of the sales team.
OTT Hydrometry is delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew Ellison, an expert in environmental monitoring with 15 years of experience in the development, installation and management of telemetry systems and networks. OTT recently acquired the company Adcon Telemetry, a manufacturer of advanced communications technologies, As a telemetry specialist Matthew has been involved in the development of a wide variety of industrial, environmental and agricultural monitoring networks. Water resources is an area of particular interest, so Matthew says he is “very excited about combining the versatility of Adcon telemetry with the breadth of OTT’s monitoring technology.”
BPI.RECYCLED PRODUCTS ENJOYS DOUBLE AWARD SUCCESS
Leading manufacturer of refuse and recycling sacks, bpi.recycled products, is celebrating its double success after winning two coveted Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice. The business, which ranks as Europe’s largest recycler of polythene waste recycling over 70,000 tonnes of material each year, received its first gold award in the Recycled Product category thanks to its flagship Green Sack® range of 100% recycled refuse sacks. An innovative waste management and landfill reduction project at the manufacturer’s Stroud site also secured a second gold award under the Environmental Improvement category. Made from 100% recycled polythene, bpi.recycled products’ Green Sack® range received recognition not only for its superior environmental credentials, but also for helping to raise awareness of the need to recycle more UK waste plastic at UK facilities. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |21|
FREE OF MORAL ERROR. As you are no doubt aware, the world’s population hit 7 billion on October 31st. That this figure is not based on precise census is irrelevant – the fact is that the population is growing at a phenomenal rate and whilst that growth continues unabated, the resources available to sustain it are finite. Another sobering fact is that according to figures from the UN, over 90% of this growth is occurring in less developed countries, particularly in Africa. Some estimates, including that of the World Bank, predict that the continent’s population will double by 2036 – just 24 years hence. The statistics can be reeled out endlessly and depressingly, and when one factors in the heartbreaking and abject misery of HIV/AIDs in Africa, the picture for the ‘dark continent’ is dark indeed. Charities and aid organisations from small action groups to the World Health Organisation are unanimous in the view that contraception is critical to the continents future. Time and time again, contraception programmes have proven effective in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDs and unwanted pregnancies in communities as diverse as South African Townships and rural Kenya. The logic is selfevident and hardly needs further explanation. Yet against this background, the Catholic Church maintains and enforces the view that contraception in all its forms is sinful. If you are a poor African whose rudimentary education was short and who lives in a community marred by poverty and superstition, this has a literal and powerfully horrific message: it means that the use of condoms will see you burn in hell. The Catholic church hold sway on the African continent like no other, and it is growing more quickly there than anywhere else. Just for clarification, their position forbids: any action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible (Humanae Vitae 14). This includes sterilization, condoms and other barrier methods, spermicides, coitus interruptus (withdrawal method), the Pill, and all other such methods. ‘Any action’ encompasses the workarounds of withdrawal and the so-called rhythm method reputedly advised by more pragmatic priests. Their reasons? This is a direct quote from Catholic Answers, the church’s official information portal: “Contraception is wrong because it’s a deliberate violation of the design God built into the human race, often referred to as “natural law.” The natural law purpose of sex is procreation. The pleasure that sexual intercourse provides is an additional blessing from God, intended to offer the possibility of new life while strengthening the bond of intimacy, respect, and love between husband and wife. The |22| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
loving environment this bond creates is the perfect setting for nurturing children.” “But sexual pleasure within marriage becomes unnatural, and even harmful to the spouses, when it is used in a way that deliberately excludes the basic purpose of sex, which is procreation. God’s gift of the sex act, along with its pleasure and intimacy, must not be abused by deliberately frustrating its natural end – procreation.” On the issue of poverty and sex, this same site quotes church father Lactantius. I am not making this up – you can see it for yourself at http://www.catholic.com/tracts/birthcontrol. “Some complain of the scantiness of their means, and allege that they have not enough for bringing up more children, as though, in truth, their means were in their power . . . or God did not daily make the rich poor and the poor rich. Wherefore, if any one on any account of poverty shall be unable to bring up children, it is better to abstain from relations with his wife” (Divine Institutes 6:20). They also quote Martin Luther (I kid you not!) who said that contraception was “far more atrocious than incest and adultery”. Apart perhaps from the story of Onan, who avoided his duty in fathering a child for his brother’s widow by coitus interruptus, it is interesting to note that there is nothing in the bible which forbids contraception. What do the Catholics say about this? They say it’s so obvious, it doesn’t need to be mentioned. “Contraception was so far outside the biblical mindset and so obviously wrong that it did not need the frequent condemnations other sins did. Scripture condemns the practice when it mentions it.” (Small point – scripture doesn’t mention it. Onan was punished for failing his duty, not for an early exit.) “There is no way to deny the fact that the Church has always and everywhere condemned artificial contraception. The so-called “individual conscience” argument amounts to “individual disobedience.” One might reasonably argue that murder, adultery, theft and bearing false witness are similarly obvious, but they found their way into the commandments, never mind the scriptures. Finally they state that “The matter has already been infallibly decided.” Tempted though I am to tear into these deluded and breathtakingly arrogant b***ards, I shall leave that alone and part with this final thought at the foot of the Catholic Answers page which states that it has been certified as free of doctrinal and moral errors. What was that about bearing false witness? steve@stephenmgrant.com
Capitalism, Democracy and Food - The lunatics are running the asylum. By Jason Drew, Author of The Protein Crunch – Civilization on the brink www.theproteincrunch.com
Our global food system is falling to pieces and heading for disaster whilst our elected leaders focus on the only thing they really care about – getting re-elected. Perhaps democracy is not suited to resolve our looming food crisis. Let me explain. As a former CEO of a listed business my focus was on making my quarterly numbers and keeping my job. A politician has a much longer shelf life than the average CEO - during which they can deal with the odd inconvenient crisis and then address the business of getting re-elected and keeping their jobs. What we really need is to admit that there is a crisis, which needs both long as well as short term solutions and find some leaders to – well lead us out of it. We live in a world where one billion of us are overweight or obese and one billion of us are hungry or starving. Many of the over fed are also undernourished due to the poor quality of food – literally stuffed and starved. In the 1950’s the WHO picked up on an old proverb, and suggested we eat an apple a day – as it contained enough nutrients to keep us healthy. If they ran the same campaign today it would be a less catchy 2.3 apples a day to have the same micronutrient effect. We have EU regulations and standards for the humble carrot that are longer than the Bible, whilst perfectly good food is thrown away by farmers all over the world as it does not make some often arbitrary grade or another. Supermarkets follow madly inappropriate ‘display until’ and ‘use by’ dates which results in discarding yet more food in our food scarce world. At the other extreme and in the absence of regulations, we have Chinese entrepreneurs adding melamine to their baby milk, making imitation rice out of recycled plastic bags and flour and still others contaminating vinegar with antifreeze - killing poor unsuspecting consumers. In a recent crackdown, Chinese authorities arrested 2,000 people and closed 4,000 businesses for tampering with foods in a host of unbelievable ways. Being China they gave some of them life sentences and shot a few of the ringleaders. This will put off the next batch of happy go lucky food cheats for a while. In the West we subsidise our farmers and fishermen causing ruin and devastation in developing countries. The EU spent hundreds of millions of Euros buying fishing rights off the coast of Africa for our over sized fleets. Our industrial trawlers promptly raped those seas. The local subsistence fishermen were left with nothing to catch - and
we are then surprised when they up sticks and migrate to Europe. A single mature blue-fin tuna fetched $380,000 in the Tokyo fish market earlier this year, which is about the same price as a rhino horn on the black market in China. This is the markets telling us what we all know – that we have eaten much of our breeding stock. Most, if not all our fisheries, are on the edge of collapse – not just the grand banks and the sea of Galilee. Yet we still fish for Tuna? Faced with food insecurity – Saudi and China have bought more farmland in Africa than exists in France to grow food for their populations. UK based hedge funds are doing the same – but to grow crop based bio-fuel (which should be banned – see last issue’s article). China now mandates the planting of four trees a year for each man, woman and child. At the same time, its support of alternative energy technologies means that in the coming decades we will be buying solar panels from China rather than oil from Saudi. Neither of these governments need to worry about getting re-elected so take the longer term and sensible decisions that will safeguard the futures of their citizens. Could it be that as we emerge from the end of two hundred years of industrial revolution and start the sustainability revolution that democracy is no longer an effective method of government? Over regulation is as wasteful as under regulation is potentially harmful. To protect our fragile world we need to push for the adoption by the UN of a fifth crime against peace – Ecocide. This is the concept of a crime against the environment to rank alongside others including genocide and war crimes. If this were the case many of our current leaders – political and business - may well be found guilty which is why it will never be accepted into international law! Perhaps, as in earlier revolutions, the people will get rid of their ineffective leaders and find new ones. More and more of us are beginning to understand that the lunatics are running the asylum. We need new leaders who understand the environmental and the food crisis we are facing and act in our global interests to resolve the root causes. In reshaping the governance framework for the sustainability revolution – we need to create an environment where our entrepreneurs, their energy and capital are focussed on solving our shared problems - not on making them worse. Let’s get busy repairing the future. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |23|
FOCUS: FOOD Page 25 - 26
Palm Oil Certification, Bryan Roe, Paint Manager, GreenShop Group
Page 27 - 30
Food Security, Paul Polman, CEO Unilever
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Choices for the discerning food lover BM TRADA Certification Sales Manager Andy Green looks at palm oil, which features in many well known food brands, if consumers but knew it. Chocolate lovers may spend little time reading the wrapper on their chocolate bar. If they did they would rarely see the words ‘palm oil’ in the list of ingredients. Yet palm oil is used in many brands of chocolate as a replacement for cocoa butter, but under the heading of ‘vegetable oil’ in many more confectionery, bakery and food items. And as an ingredient there is much to commend it. It has many unique properties of benefit to the manufacturer and is extremely high yield, meaning less land is required to produce it. It is low tech in production, relying on labour rather than machinery - and little pesticide use is associated with it. Its popularity has grown so rapidly that palm oil now represents about one-third of world vegetable oil production and is estimated to be used in 50% of all products sold in supermarkets, including food, cosmetics and toiletries. However, some growers have created plantations by cutting down natural forests, areas of high conservation value and rich in bio-diversity, or have planted on peat bogs, leading to high levels of carbon being released. As is often the case, this is a problem with people, not the plant. BM TRADA has been delivering certification services for 35 years, but nothing has caused such an emotive reaction as the effects of palm oil production on the tropical rainforests and the environment. Although originally an African crop, the vast majority, more than 80%, of the world’s palm oil, is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia. Around 45 million tonnes are produced and this is mainly consumed in India, China and Europe.
To address mounting international concern, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004, to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. Its objective is promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. BM TRADA has worked very closely with the RSPO to develop a standard which is robust enough to give confidence to consumers, yet simple to implement by suppliers. This system requires third-party auditing to ensure compliance to the standards and there are strict rules on making claims about certified palm oil. This follows the path set by other successful certification schemes, such as FSC in timber, a widely recognised and trusted symbol of responsible forestry. Last year BM TRADA became the first independent body to become RSPO-accredited to carry out third-party supply chain certification – and this year RSPO’s influence has really started to bite. By the end of the first quarter, we had certified more companies than in the whole of the previous year. Clients’ motivation, however, has been varied. For some, the desire to be RSPO-certified has been in response to customer demand, but for many others, like British Bakels below, it is seen to be the only ethical way forward. Instead of moving away from palm oil – not that easy without some significant impact on quality, shelf life, taste or cost - they have taken the view that encouraging sustainable production is the more constructive course. Major retailers have issued public statements that they will purchase only certified palm oil by a given date: 2015 is a common target. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |25|
We believe that this is the best way forward, creating a desire for sustainable palm oil to help improve practices in producing areas. If we in Europe were simply to stop buying, purchasers less concerned about sustainability would simply buy more. Producers would lose faith and slip back into old habits, exacerbating the problems we are seeking to address with certification. In addition, from a purely practical point of view, if palm oil production were to cease, we would need around 20 times more land to meet the world’s demands for vegetable oils from other sources. To put this into perspective, to meet expected demands for palm oil, we need an area the size of Spain. If there were a complete switch to other vegetable oils, this would be the size of Canada. Encouragingly, the volumes of certified sustainable palm oil are rising rapidly to meet this demand. By May 2011, when RSPO launched its new Trademark, RSPO-certified production had exceeded 5 million tonnes and RSPO expects that total to double by the end of the year. As the Trademark finds its way onto supermarket shelves, discerning consumers will have a choice. The need to prove that ‘green’ claims stand up to scrutiny is an important part of any organisation’s management of business risk. One manufacturer which has embraced RSPO certification is British Bakels, supplier of specialist ingredients to the commercial baker since 1947. According to Quality Manager Christine Westphal, ‘We were listening to our customers who clearly wanted us to supply certified, sustainable products, but this was equally in line with our own wishes to take responsibility as a manufacturer for our impact on the environment.’ The British Bakels Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil, issued on 2nd December 2010, states that the company, an RSPO member, is ‘committed to purchase segregated sustainable palm oil for use in all products from 2011’. BM TRADA’s experience is that companies with robust management systems in place do not usually find it onerous to integrate a certification scheme into their day to day operations and this was true for British Bakels, which initially achieved certification for four key products: white soft roll bread concentrate, wholemeal bread concentrate, liquid bread fat and boxed palm oil. Ms Westphal said, ‘We already had traceability systems in place for identity preserved materials, so it was just a matter of adding some new procedures.’ The process took only about six months from initial contact with BM TRADA to receiving certificates. As stated in its policy, ‘Bakels continues to challenge suppliers of other palm ingredients and derivatives to deliver sustainable segregated ingredients. From these conversations, British Bakels believes that delivering sustainable palm oil into all derivatives throughout the supply chain will be feasible in 2015.’ |26| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
About the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. It was formed in 2004. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a satellite office in Jakarta, Indonesia. Supply chain certification tracks the unbroken path a product takes from source to consumer, including all stages of refining, manufacture, processing, transportation and distribution. It ensures that the supply chain is secure, traceable and provides credible evidence that: • The product originates from a certified, well managed source • It is not mixed with products from uncertified sources at any point in the supply chain, except under strict management controls. There are three systems for Palm Oil under the RSPO Supply Chain certification schemes: 1. Identity Preserved: Physical isolation from all other palm oil sources. 2. Segregation: Physical isolation from non-certified palm oil sources (allows mixing with other certified palm oil). 3. Mass Balance: Allows mixing of certified and non-certified palm oil in a controlled environment, ensuring that the volume of certified palm outputs never exceed the certified inputs. It is a RSPO requirement that organisations must be members before they can be certified. Further details may be obtained at www.rspo.org
By Paul Polman, CEO Unilever’
We live in turbulent times. Our current world has been characterised as being VUCA - Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. It is no exaggeration to say that we are confronted with many challenges that threaten the very future of our planet. Professor John Beddington, the UK Government’s Chief Scientist, has stated that we are facing a “perfect storm” with an energy, water and food crisis all coming our way. These crises are shaped and influenced by a rapidly rising world population and improved standard of living for many. I specifically want to talk about four points which I hope will touch upon the topic of Business and Development Co-operation. *
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I will start by sharing what I believe are Unilever’s credentials for being an active player contributing to the development of society. I then want to talk about the potential of business and development co-operation in general. I will then focus on the Global Food Security agenda. And finally I will make some recommendations for Government support in this area.
Unilever I begin with Unilever, because questions of food and food security go to the heart of what Unilever is, and what it does. In his 1998 book ‘The Wealth and Poverty of Nations’, Professor David Landes of Harvard University cited three main reasons why life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last hundred years. Those are improvements in medicine, in hygiene and in nutrition. For the last century Unilever has played an active role in two out of these three categories: hygiene and nutrition. As a global business Unilever has sales in over 180
countries - including many of the world’s poorest nations. Our brands are present in 7 out of 10 households on the planet, and on any given day are used by over 2 billion consumers. Our products - including tea, soup, margarines, soap, shampoo, detergents - make small, but important differences to the quality of people’s lives. Brands such as Lipton, Unox, Becel, Dove, Lifebuoy, Pepsodent and OMO/ Surf address the needs of people everywhere for nutrition and basic hygiene. Because of our geographic spread, we have to deal directly with the problems of food supply, poverty, and sustainability on a daily basis. Our business strategy is founded on the belief that economic growth should work for the benefit of consumers, employees, suppliers and society at large and is one where long-term value is built sustainably and equitably. A focus on long-term shared value versus single-minded, and often short-term, shareholder value. This longer term view is one of the reasons why, at Unilever, we abolished guidance to the market, stopped reporting profits on a quarterly basis, and focused compensation on the longer term. After all, it was a focus on short-termism that got the world into trouble in the first place. What we require now are new business models. A new form of capitalism based on equitable and sustainable growth. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, our blueprint for the future tries to achieve just that. It has three overarching goals to which we commit ourselves: * *
First, to help more than a billion people across the world improve their health and well-being. Secondly, to halve the environmental footprint across the total value chain, from sustainable sourcing of materials to sustainable living. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |27|
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And thirdly, to source 100 per cent of our agricultural raw materials sustainably.
Our company cannot achieve such goals in isolation. The biggest opportunity facing us today lies in the creation of partnerships right across the value chain. As an African proverb says,
“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others”. This takes me to business and development cooperation. Business and Development Co-operation Improvements in living standards have not only been driven by private enterprises. Huge investments have been made over time by governments and development organisations. The relationship between business and development organizations has not always been an easy one. I’m glad to say this is changing, as people realise that the world’s great challenges can only be solved through partnerships between the public and private sector. The UN Global Compact, since its inception in 1999, is building on this principle. I am proud to say that Unilever was among the original signatories of the UN Global Compact. More recently at this year’s Millennium Development Goals Summit, a report called “Catalyzing transformational partnerships between the United Nations and Business” was published by the Global Compact and Unilever at the request of the Secretary General. It recommends more effective transformational partnership models between the UN and business to tackle the enormous challenges this world faces. At Unilever, we feel a strong duty to work in partnership with development organisations to build a better future. Let me touch on just a few examples of co-operation in the area of food security. One proven way to alleviate malnutrition and food shortage is to encourage and improve small-holder farming. At Unilever we are committed to creating livelihoods for over 500,000 smallholder farmers. Today we reach 100,000 farmers. In Azerbaijan, for example, Unilever is working in partnership with Oxfam to try to bring thousands of local onion farmers to a level where their costs and quality are competitive in a global marketplace. Early signs are promising, and we hope to open up another pilot programme with Oxfam in sub-Saharan Africa - possibly with cassava. We are doing the same with tea, soy beans, paprika or tomatoes elsewhere. Also the bottom of the pyramid, where food security issues are most burning, can be reached in partnership. For example, Unilever and the World Food Programme |28| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
initiated Project Laser Beam. The aim is to help eradicate hunger and poverty in Bangladesh and Indonesia. Unilever is part of a public-private partnership with DSM, Rabobank and Kraft Foods, committing $50 million over five years to create a replicable and sustainable solution targeted at the ultra-poor, especially women. To ensure sustainable sourcing of all key materials, we also need to work in partnership. For example, in the global Consumer Goods Forum, with peers such as PepsiCo, Kraft and Danone, and with customers such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour, we have called for an end to illegal deforestation by 2020. No more products with soy, beef, pulp, paper or palm oil from illegal deforestation. As the task is huge - 16% of global warming results from illegal deforestation - we actively embrace WWF, Oxfam, Greenpeace and governments in this effort. In the Dutch context, (the Sustainable Trade Initiative) Het Initiatief Duurzame Handel; IDHL; is a good example of multi takeholder co-operation, which also demonstrates the role government can play in facilitating businesses and NGOs to transition towards sustainable supply chains.
This brings me to the Global Food Security Agenda 3. The Global Food Security Agenda Food Security has now emerged on the agenda of the G20 following widespread unrest and riots that happened in more than 30 countries during the 2008 food crisis. We still face a situation where over a billion people are malnourished in a large number of countries, including the Horn of Africa. This all before the world’s food supply needs to increase a further 70% to feed the growing population. France, the current G20 Chair, has requested business input on 6 key priority themes, including Food Security. It builds on the World Economic Forum’s “New Vision for Agriculture”, which was launched last year. Our G20 Food Security Working Group has proposed five areas for action: *
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First, a 50% increase in investments in food value chains by 2015, totalling $80 billion from both public and private sectors Secondly, an immediate improvement in the way agricultural markets function. Thirdly, an acceleration in technology innovation and distribution - through partnerships and policy reforms. Fourthly, the integration of environmental sustainability as a core objective in all agricultural activity. And last but not least, a major shift away from calories to nutritional improvement.
A significant step up in investment in infrastructure will be needed. We have learned that private sector support for national Food Security programmes works well, and has the potential to mobilize the key players on a crop-specific, or project-specific basis. In my view these national initiatives can be best embedded in a wider global food security development plan under UN supervision. I believe we actually need an active and modern “Marshall Plan for Food Security” to drive development and food production in Africa, and a number of Asian countries. With regard to the necessary funding, I believe the EU would be wise to look into the EU Agricultural Budget in combination with budgets for Development Co-operation. We can build on the good examples, like the Green Growth Corridor in Tanzania and Vietnam’s national programme on food security. To address Global Food Security, I would call especially for a strong focus on the role of women. Women make essential contributions to agriculture in developing countries: according to the Food and Agriculture Organization women
comprise, on average, 43% of the global agricultural labour force in developing countries - and that figure is 50% in Eastern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Investing in women has the highest potential for increasing productivity in agriculture and development overall. Additionally women reinvest a much higher portion of their income in their families and communities than men do. We have seen this in our own projects such as our Allanblackia and tea programmes in Africa - where we work with large numbers of smallholders, many of whom are women. In this way, we can boost food security and women’s empowerment at the same time. Let me conclude this section, by drawing attention to the fact that national food security programmes could be undermined by market distortions, as there are still a number of areas where food security is jeopardized by well-intended, but ill - conceived state intervention. I want to highlight especially biofuels, and particularly First Generation biofuels, which use food crops such as corn and vegetable oils as feedstock. The rush to biofuels risks reducing the land and water available for food - thereby exacerbating the problem of food security. As has been strikingly described, “The fuel dollar of the rich competes with the food dollar of the poor.” If appropriate sustainability assessments are applied, we would stop the damage from the unsustainable use of First Generation biofuels, and be able to focus on better and sustainable alternatives. This brings me to the important role that Governments can play in the area of Food Security. Recommendations for Government Action First of all, I want to commend the decision by the Dutch Government to focus its new industrial policy on nine top sectors, including the food sector. Of course, it makes a lot of sense for the top sectors to form an integral part of Dutch Foreign and Development Co operation policies, and for Dutch businesses to become more involved in Dutch Development Co-operation. I believe the Netherlands can contribute a lot to development on a global scale. Dutch companies in various sectors show global leadership in implementing competitive sustainable growth models. But success depends on passion as much as it does on written policies. We are fortunate that the new Dutch government approach is being driven by committed leaders, such as State Secretaries Knapen and Bleker, supported by VNO-NCW Chairman Bernard Wientjes.
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The Netherlands has the ambition to play a key leadership role on the issue of food security. In my opinion this is a wise choice, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because this country has the necessary capabilities to make a difference. Currently our Government is not represented in the G20, but fortunately there is a dedicated Dutch business presence in the “B20”. There is obviously a lot the Dutch Government can do, including: *
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Providing support for the recommendations of the G20 Food Security Working Group. This would include support for country-specific food security programmes. It would be extremely helpful if The Netherlands could provide such support in the so-called “Partner-Countries”, with which it has a specific bilateral development co-operation relationship Focusing on a gender empowerment component in the support programmes Playing a leadership role in a number of global organizations including the World Bank, FAO, and the RIO+20 Earth Summit agenda next year Scaling up the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) to a European level Engaging at EU and international levels in order to support mechanisms such as the introduction of preferential import duties for sustainably sourced commodities like palm oil Applying appropriate sustainability assessments for biofuels, taking into account the negative impact of First Generation biofuels on food prices and food security.
In conclusion, I am encouraged by the many efforts going on to address the complex issue of Food Security. We now need to ensure that the short-term issues we are facing do not get in the way of driving to longer-term sustainable solutions. This requires a new level of commitment and partnership for all. As the old Chinese proverb says,
“Unless we change direction, we are likely to end up where we are going”.
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WASTE MANAGEMENT Page 33 - 36
Food Glorious Food, Peter Jones, Ecolateral
Page 37 - 39
There May Be Trouble Ahead ,Steve Lee, CEO, CIWM
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A CASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INDIGESTION ? By Peter T Jones-Ecolateral
In terms of mass, global warming potential (GWP) and ethical issues, the food supply chain impacts on our species’ lives as much as it did 4000 years ago, but in today’s world the economic impact in terms of financial and time cost have been subjugated to the benefits of scale economies and scientific approaches to yield improvement. With a global population three times the level it was at the time when today’s retirees were born, mass of demand is once more becoming an issue, not due to Malthusian fears on the supply side but, rather, due to demands for improved supply and output side resource efficiency, not least in terms of global warming potential. In the UK the demand for variety, freshness, quality and nutritional value unconstrained by the vagaries of the seasons creates the need to pioneer innovative approaches in terms of material flow mapping, carbon equivalence policy development, technologically-led process change upstream as well as downstream, coupled to a reappraisal of attitudinal issues of consumer behaviour. While, at around 74 million per annum, absolute demand growth is a driver, it is the additional 300 million additional global bourgeoisies each year with a requirement for sophisticated packaging, chilling and freezing that really has far greater significance. This discussion document explores some of those possibilities.
The UK Food Sector UK consumption of food amounts to around 30 million tonnes of dry food, alcohols and chilled goods each year, or 50% of total physical economic consumption at the household level each year. This comprises 4.4 m tonnes of meat, 1 m tonnes of fats and oils, 4.3 m tonnes of fruit and vegetables, 0.6 m tonnes of fish, 9.6 m tonnes
of dairy all conveyed in around 2.5 m tonnes of assorted packaging. Each of these categories possess markedly differing “ecological rucksacks” however - with beef topping the list with an input – output ratio of around 10 compared to chickens, where 1 kg of meat derives from 1.3 tonnes of feed. Recent studies suggest the water burdens are far higher...a critical issue in certain growing regions. One burger is claimed to require 2.4 tonnes of water inputs. In overall terms the UK supply chain for food is estimated to impact to the tune of 6.2 million tonnes of water. The FDF is aiming for a 20% reduction in water use by 2020. The carbon footprint continues to remain elusive with the different sectors (confectionery, bread, alcohol,fish etc) all struggling to achieve consensus on common systems of assessment. In David McKay’s seminal study (www.withouthotair.com) the estimate is that whilst the average UK person requires 372 Mjoules weekly the logistics impact of delivering that consumption is of the order of 372 Mj per person. At 16% of total global energy loading the effect of the switch to meat from lower impact vegetable diets starts to become apparent. Food processing in financial terms lies at the heart of much British technological innovation and investment. Total sales run at £80 billion annually, £20bn of Gross Value Added, 12% of employment and 8000 businesses. In terms of sales value the food sector is about the same size as the total energy market- £120 billion or 8% of GDP. Sales value at the checkout is around £3600 per tonne or £4500 per household. Direct energy demand for heating, cooling, transport contributes 63 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Recent evidence confirms the exposure of the sector to shifts in energy prices, the impact of weather patterns (grain) and the emergent economy demand shifts (sugar). At these levels any leap in the rate of the cost of carbon is containable and is in accord with the estimates by Nick Stern that inflationary pressures of carbon accounting are of the order of 1% - 2% if action ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |33|
is taken early. More important to the economics are questions of GWP supply side impacts (witness Russian wheat) or scarcity of growing capacity (witness takeover bids in the fertiliser sector). Clearly the Food and Drink Federation is already on the case. One can but hope for a convergence of effort by all the interested parties – notably the Food Knowledge Transfer Network, the Resources KTN, Incpen, the Courtauld commitment participants, FDF, BRC, NCC, WRAP et al.
…but there are other issues Most notably the sector is taking on board the ethical dimension pioneered by the Food Ethics Council, both intra UK with regard to nutrition, obesity and access as well as internationally in terms of market pricing, transparency and reward mechanisms. These issues are but a preamble to the sizeable “low hanging fruit” available from the abatement of wastage in commercial and domestic streams. An integrated suite of strategies can deliver a “triple whammy” in terms of lowered Global Warming Potential, improved food security and costs. The numbers are well rehearsed thanks to WRAP and others. Households discard 8.3 million tonnes plus a further 3.5 million tonnes in the processing stages plus around 4.5 m tonnes on farms. The data represent the culmination of a path from the original Biffaward food Massbalance by C-Tech in 2004, via the East Midlands study from the Food Faraday in 2008 funded by EMDA , work by the NNFCC and the FDF. Given the reliability of these data there is now opportunities to institutionalise the process into a real time data capture system administered by the Environment Agency or others. Unlike many product areas, the concept of Producer Responsibilty for end consumer waste will not work for food. As a consequence, end of life treatment options will be underpinned by a three-pronged approach. First, landfill taxes and bans have driven this “scrap” carbon toward non- specific technology options. Second, end markets in the form of recyclates, fertiliser substitutes and energy (as electricity, gas, hydrogen, CHP, transport fuels etc ) will themselves become more valuable as fossil carbon (on which they depend) becomes scarce). Third, Traded Pollution Permits will acquire greater value to initiate shifts to lower CO2 profile reuse. |34| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
TAXES AND BANS At 2013 levels for Landfill Tax of £80, the gate fee ceiling for competing technologies is well and truly in place. Bans are the ideal, but any undergraduate economist will tell you that percentage diversion rates are simply irrelevant - operators using the high cost route go out of business, and at those levels landfill is, effectively, totally marginalised. Whilst data on food inputs to landfill is not kept, overall tonnages of “high rated” bioactive inputs have dropped from c60 million tonnes annually to 24 m tonnes. This is attributable to the emergence of composting and anaerobic digestion alternatives between 2005 and 2011.
EXIT MARKETS Whether we are at Peak Oil or not, as the price of energy rises, coupled to increased energy demand, the switch to energy from waste to compete with coal, nuclear and gas will be triggered. The former is saddled by Traded Permit costs in the form of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, the second by serious investment and aftercare costs, whilst the third will need an uplift in the electricity price to cover higher investment costs per Mw utilising gas fired CHP. Internationally binding commitments to achieve 15% of UK energy supply from renewables by 2020 (with escalating targets after that) also underpin the attractiveness of waste food as a fossil energy substitute. In reality the stasis implied in the rate of change or turnover of the UK car and housing stock means that much of that substitution will be associated with the electricity market where 35% of supply will need to be renewably based. Recycling, composting and renewable energy are all options, but it is energy which will offer the biggest revenue per Gigajoule – albeit at the highest financial cost of sunk capital, operating costs and maintenance costs. Assessment of these choices by investors remains clouded by the continuing absence of any uniform and academically peer reviewed approach to carbon foot printing of those process technologies although DEFRA have now taken substantial steps to remedy the gap. The importance of such evaluations is simply that investors don’t wish to pursue attractive low internality priced technologies with high CO2 burdens when common sense
says that by 2020 there may be a carbon taxation regime in place. Thus externality burdens will form a significant element of risk to bottom line performance in the form of Traded Carbon Certificates etc when the investment cycle in energy conversion plants is predicated on lifetimes stretching beyond 2030. We are in the midst of that process now in the waste sector. Whilst revenue per gigajoule is the driver the route is defined by the whole life waste footprint from collection to point of sale. Only around 15% of the latter is associated with trucks, and “fuel” preparation, with the balance in the energy conversion technology. It is for this reason that high energy conversion efficiency CHP systems will maximise margins and impart three important benefits - highest level of operational energetic conversion efficiency, highest income per gigajoule of sold outputs and the lowest exposure to carbon allowances purchases or taxes. Thereby operators who fulfil these three basic tests will have the greatest ability to charge a lower gate fee (possibly positive) for the waste food inputs in an effort to secure feedstock inputs. One tonne of food can generate 90 M3 of methane, equivalent to 225 Kwe and 110 kg of fossil CO2
emissions. There are other additional operational prerequisitesFirstly, the locational strategy needs to be immediately accessible, co-located with existing users of significant fossil sourced energy in order to reduce distributional losses and provide attractive supply security to those on interruptible energy supply tariffs. It was with this in mind that the West Midlands RDA / Advantage West Midlands (now disbanded) sponsored the creation of a locational interrogation tool (now in the hands of WRAP) Secondly, the emissions profile of the newer “advanced” technologies needs to be understood and agreed with the Regulator. Thus large scale CHP Incinerators are at risk because islands of 12-20 Mw of heat from 400,000 behemoths just don’t exist in sufficient abundance. Anaerobic digesters are CO2 intensive - better than landfill but not as good as gasifiers - unless they are built on a very large scale at points of large agricultural waste production sited convenient for gas to mains injection. Using AD to produce 16% by mass of input matter as gas and then reduce it to 10% via an internal combustion generator and then to 8% by mass once it arrives at the end user post centralised network losses is not as efficient as gasifiers doing the same at levels of 60% as available energy at the point of demand next door to a 3 MwE user such as a cold store, regional distribution centre or processing plant. Gasifiers operate in air-starved atmospheres at 350 degrees up to 2000 degrees. Progressing this temperature and dwell time spectrum produces a “syngas” comprising methane/ carbon dioxide at the lower ranges moving to ce hydrogen and storable carbon monoxide at the upper end. As little as 7000 tonnes of food will release1 Mwe /8500 MwH in these advanced processes - over 5 times that in an AD system. The mechanics of these numbers have yet to be underpinned by installations in the UK and scientific examination, but there is sufficient international experience and plants are in build in the UK. As the recent study by Muhle, Balsam and Cheeseman demonstrates, the UK emits 5 times the level of CO2 per tonne of MSW handled than Germany ( 175 g vs 34 kg CO2 equivalent) so the opportunity exists for the UK to innovate as a late developer.
THE BROADER CANVAS Government has a real role to play in terms of; 1) Accelerating the UK toward a single regime of carbon accounting standards (qv). 2) Ensuring that the unscientific system of half ROCs, double ROCs, FITs, CRCs and EUTs is rationalised around a peer reviewed consistent framework and integrated into the carbon credit certification system. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |35|
The current experience is quite the opposite. We have a combination proposed in the DECC Energy Review of technology specific obligation certificates, feed in tariffs and contracts for difference. This approach designed to favour particular technology outcomes is unsound, irrational and tends to destabilise potential investor interest or confidence. Coupled with miscalculations on the elasticities of demand in response to these incentives has resulted in several emergency cutting off of bandings in solar and wind with the effect that investment plummets. 3) Developing new energy capacity in locations where distributional infrastructure is strained already in terms of wires and pipes is another role of Government. OFGEM is committing to extension or expansion of centralised grids and judiciously placed 3-8Mw decentralised renewable energy plants in supply deficit regions could release line capacity far more cheaply. 4) Ensuring the planning profession is armed for public consultation and transparency by the National adoption of the AWM Planning Tool 5) Utilising round tables with the water sector and regulator to footprint the operational risks, opportunities of co-located commercial waste food co-digestion in sewerage installations. This has been given a green light by OFWAT and despite a referral to the Office of Fair Trading on competition grounds the idea is now up for development by a multi-departmental review in early 2012.
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6) Looking at the opportunities for altering price signals around carbon intensive foods in the form of differential CRC strategies (thereby encouraging the location of renewable food energy plants around meat and food processing plants perhaps? 7) Encouraging community low food miles production of vegetables and fruit or community AD plants via the Local Economic Partnership strategies. This forms part of the Localism Agenda spearheaded by DCLG. 8) Junking sell by dates and adopting all the other WRAP suggestions in relation to the confusing terminology around domestic food storage and consumption hygiene issues. 9) Realising that distinctions between renewable CO2 and fossil CO2 are an irrelevance and that what counts are conversion efficiencies over the whole system from field to fork to renewable recovered output. In sectoral terms food for consumption also competes with the food to energy market.German studies suggest that 1 hectare of rapeseed or wheat would generate biofuels for 30 km of car travel against 70 km from an equivalent area of maize via the methane route.
d… a e h A e l b u o r T There May Be or It. F d e k s A e W t u B
lores some p x e , M IW C f o executive te Steve Lee, chief ng the UK’s was ti c e ff a s e u s is l of the critica s that progress e u rg a d n a r to c management se t a price always comes a the UK is
agement in ress, waste man og pr ay g in ag ur co eling that the w de of en be forgiven for fe d After over a deca ul co e w ith d w l an lle a watershed potholes. In para at something of s today – full of ad ro r ou ht between a of y an m uncertainty, caug of d rio ahead looks like pe a h ug e are going thro ory forces. the economy, w sion, contradict ca oc on d, an nt re ffe di number of t’s the Governmen r, as a result of ai e th in l na up io is at draft N waste planning ave it out of the le d an At a time when se ca l ia ite qu t waste as a spec ate intervening decision to trea Secretaries of St ve ha e for waste w ts k, en or ed Framew ous prec er ng da t se d Planning Policy ul that co anning guidance projects in a way re. Meanwhile, pl tu dramatically in fu e th in y er tled and public tructure deliv ng bodies disman ni an pl and other infras al on gi re l communities lly streamlined, me time as loca sa e th y has been radica el is ec pr complex gs tightened at sponsibility for re e or m h uc sector purse strin m take on ea. More local are expected to ucture in their ar tr and authorities as fr in d an t can’t ignore the developmen od thing, but we go a y decisions about nl ai rt ce is eir patch. ese decisions te facilities on th as w ed m co involvement in th el w er of munities have ev increased levels the significantly fact that few com w ho g to of in n go tio e es ar m Act ns the qu the new Localis in There also remai ed rin sh en t d engagemen consultation an be resourced. ait until es will have to w su is ng ni an pl waste idance is these and other nexed PPS10 gu an d an P) M W More clarity on Plan (N e Waste Policy te Management d for these. In th pe ip sl the National Was s ha le ab published in ready the timet NWMP would be e th at available, but al th ed ar 2012 for d in June, it appe t until summer ai w to ve ha Review publishe ill w at we at is a long wait now appears th in spring 2013. Th n spring 2011 – it io rs ve al fin e tional and EU aft, with th with delivering na ed sk a consultation dr ta is at th e , especially on for any industry targets.
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For these, as well as for obvious economic rea sons, private investors reluctant to engage wi remain th the risks associated wi th waste projects – be operational, ‘political’ they or planning risks. At a time when it is evident efficiency requires sig that resource nificant new infrastructu re to capture the valua materials and energy ble in our waste and put it ba ck to work, the landsca than conducive. There pe is less are, of course, some gli mmers of light; the De Minister Nick Clegg an pu ty Prime nounced recently that waste was one of three early priorities” for su “possible pport from the Green Investment Bank and benefitting from the inv could be estment as soon as Ap ril 2012. The problem, however, is more extensive and deep rooted than that. part-sponsored by CIW In research M earlier this year, a nu mber of suggestions we forward to improve the re put situation. Two of the ke y ones are that Govern ensure co-ordination be me nt must tween departments wh ose policy remits enco in order to provide inv mp ass waste estors with greater co nfidence in policy stabil also ensure that finan ity, and it must cial incentives put in pla ce to support the busin waste infrastructure pro ess case for vide certainty to develop ers and financiers. These calls for stability and certainty are not ne w. Many organisations industry bodies across and many sectors have expre ssed them, but they be repeating because it is ar not evident that they are being heard. Certainly comes to waste, we no wh en it t only have delay and un certainty over planning policy, but we have se an d future en a number of change s to renewable energy (FITs and ROCs) that thr incentives eaten to undermine co nfidence and have certa demonstrated the Gove inly rnment’s intention to do wngrade its support for from waste. Given tha energy t market confidence is, as we have seen in the of the Eurozone crisis co nte xt , a sensitive and unpre dictable commodity, ou remains very concerned r sector that the current conditio ns are not favourable of establishing a cohe in terms rent picture of the future direction of travel and funding for the infrastru un locking cture needed to deliver. In a wider context, cons umers too could be for given for being confuse got the recycling mess d. Having age, and become accu stomed, over more tha many cases, to collecti n a decade in on cycles that often alt ernate recycling and res householders are now idu al waste, getting some very differ ent signals from Gove the media about what rnment and their collection system should look like. That be money made availab there should le to help councils to im prove their collections is commendable in tim services es like these – but we must all work together sure the outcome build to make s on what we have colle ctively achieved so far our waste from landfill. in diverting It must, at the end of the day, benefit the environ as much as it benefits ment those who believe they have a right to a week rubbish collection. ly residual And where is the vision for the future? Speakin g at WRAP’s AGM recen Jonathan Porritt dared tly, to utter the magic word ‘less’, and observed tha concept has not gaine t this d any significant tracti on in a society still pre dicated on maximising consum ption and profits. Can our determination to secure economic
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r raw hink of how we use ou with a fundamental ret l tai ve do to fully be de pe ho ma ll be wi that growth ese are tough questions Th . es erv res y ste erg Wa en ’s d e of the UK materials an rks on the initial phas ba em it as fra De at s exercising mind mber 2013. be completed by Dece to e du n, Pla n tio en ev Pr affair with nts, be an overarching me cu do nt me rn ve Go ng e many talking about incentivisi This plan must not, lik eds to go well beyond ne It . ce tan bs to su r le cto litt se rd fine words and already beleaguered thi thing, encouraging an ht rig the UK plc, and th do wi to ’ le nts op pe tary agreeme lun ‘vo on g yin rel s, me he in set up more re-use sc ntion is a key element flow maps. Waste preve rce ou res te ive ss ma cli pre d im producing s, carbon reduction an onomic competitivenes st put forward resource efficiency, ec s to recognise this. It mu ed ne n pla the d an – at the design change mitigation supply chain, starting the of t ou ste wa ip str credible measures to yclability and providing phasis on end-of-life rec em re mo t pu to s ed ers can make easy and stage. It ne rchase so that consum pu of int po at on ati on resource security the right inform orporate current work inc st mu It . es oic ch genuinely informed to the UK economy. uard their availability feg sa to s ial ter ma e and rar we get too disheartened ges ahead. But before en all ch the of ot sh ap s we are grappling This is just a sn e that many of the issue nis og rec ld ou sh we s about. Our and cynical, perhap been working to bring ve ha we n tio ua sit the ietly and with today are part of our waste disappear qu s ke ma t tha e on the rt to be resource revolution, pa industry doesn’t want want to be part of the We d. un gro ve ha the in we le s, ho thi cheaply into a carbon economy. To do te change, part of a low – be it on planning, of the solution to clima needs to be able to do try us ind r ou at wh y riad other to communicate clearl er Responsibility or my uc od Pr n, tio ula reg , ge Bank above the parapet, enga the Green Investment pared to put our head pre re mo be d to an ve s ha ion o cis topics. We als justify our practices, de lders, and explain and with different stakeho technologies. cal art of public and politi , waste is now at the he rse wo bate for de or r the tte be d inform In short, for do our best to shape an to is rd wa for re ing mo go a e rastructure, debate and our rol g times with better inf gin en all ch se of the fits m ial bene so that we emerge fro s that see the commerc se es sin bu d an c, bli pu e engaged and responsibl efficiency. gement and resource na ma ste wa sustainable horizon might be ges we can see on the en all ch the t tha t ge availability, And we should not for and food security, water y erg en as ch su ts ep nc en seriously and will overtaken by events. Co s are starting to be tak ial ter ma e rar of ly pp viour across society. and future su ste and wasteful beha wa to s de itu att r ou ultimately change ins as waste just natural growing pa are s ion lat bu tri nt rre cu d vibrant Put simply, maybe our ge. And as a growing an sta r ge big d an w ne a ce on jostles for its rightful pla for the challenge! up y inl rta sector, we are ce
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WATER Page 43 - 45
The Water White Paper, By Alan D A Sutherland, Chief Executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland
Page 46 - 47
Atkins Calls For The Water White Paper To Be A ‘Citizen Of It’s Time’, Mike Woolgar, Atkins’ Environmental & Water Management Managing Director.
Page 48 - 49
Water White Paper , Sam Ibbott, Public Affairs Manager, EIC
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The Water White Paper: A real opportunity for the environment (and for customers!)
By Alan D A Sutherland, Chief Executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland The forthcoming Government Water White Paper presents a key opportunity to empower customers and encourage them to be more aware of their water and sewerage services.
However, the major benefit has been that Business Stream and the other retailers have transformed into environmental services businesses providing tailored solutions to their wide-ranging customers. These services include helping customers to become more water efficient, reuse their water, and harvest rainwater.
On the waste water side, the retailers provide advice to In particular, it offers the potential to customers about how to reduce the amount of water allow non-household customers to choose returned to sewer and reduce the strength of their trade their retail suppliers. This could have a effluent discharges. They also offer guidance about material impact on the ways in which services how to manage drainage on a customer’s site. are provided to end customers. If we combine liberalising the market in this way with: first, explicit These tailored and customer focused incentives for customers to become more involved in services have developed because their services; and, secondly, rewards for those who work customers have a choice – if Business with their supplier to reduce the costs of serving them, we Stream, the incumbent and dominant would also significantly increase the scope for innovation in the player, does not offer added value water industry. in this way then other retailers will. In Scotland we have gained useful experience of how the industry can change as a result of such initiatives. The Water Services etc. (Scotland) The development of a Act 2005 allowed all non-household customers in Scotland to choose their customer-focused water supplier. This means that all businesses, public sector organisations (such and environmental as schools, hospitals, council offices and government agencies) and services business is not-for-profit organisations no longer have to accept a ‘one size fits all’ not only an interesting approach. additional commercial opportunity for an The legislation also created an incentive for customers to work with their retail appointed water company supplier to reduce the costs Scottish Water incurs in providing services to that south of the border. It is customer – with any savings being shared between the customer, the retailer also an important step and Scottish Water (this is known as section 29E). in helping customers to respond to the increasing In the run up to market opening in April 2008, Scottish Water established a focus on the environment. retail entity, Business Stream. In essence this took what had been merely a Customers are now cost centre for the vertically integrated water business and turned it into a able to access the sort of profit centre. support they need to achieve their ambitions to act more At the time we did not realise just how significant a change this would sustainably. represent. Our original expectation was that customers would benefit from marginally lower bills and some service improvements – Helping these businesses has particularly in the areas of billing and responsiveness to customer become the core competence of issues. And it is true that customers have benefitted from lower bills the new retailers in the Scottish and more tailored billing solutions. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |43|
retail competition framework. Indeed, if Business Stream’s experience is anything to go by, it could well create the green jobs which politicians value so highly. This is a clear lesson that could usefully be drawn upon in the White Paper. A couple of examples illustrate just how effective this tailored approach can be. Business Stream has introduced a ‘gainshare’ scheme where it funds water efficiency improvements and shares the savings with the customer. Glasgow City Council estimates it will save £1 million a year as a result, without the need for up-front capital expenditure. Another of the retailers, Aimera, has helped the owner of a large caravan touring park to reduce consumption and save money by sorting out leaks and using different fittings. The retailer also noted that there was space on the site for rain water harvesting, which will reduce overall water use by between 15% and 20%. Why is freeing up the customer-facing activity so important? I would suggest for the following reasons: In the vertically integrated and regulated water company, there was no incentive to help customers reduce their use of water – particularly if this advice would delay the need to commit capital expenditure (on which the vertically integrated company earns its returns). Advice to customers is, at least partially, compromised. In a retail framework, the wholesaler may experience a reduction in the capacity utilisation of its assets, but a separate (and independent) decision can now be taken about how the wholesaler should be compensated. The fear of losing customers, or the opportunity to win them, provides a strong impetus to engage with the customer base, resulting in more innovative service propositions. The creation of a profit centre from what was purely a cost centre is likely to reduce costs in areas that regulation alone could not reach (except through very invasive means). From the retailer’s perspective, the revenue gained by providing value added services is likely to be material – being both a source of growth into the future and a source of much higher margins than the core retail activities. So, retail is about meeting customers’ needs – needs that they themselves may not even have identified. It should be the retailer’s goal to find ways that will help their customers to use less water and be more environmentally-friendly – thereby helping them to achieve their corporate social responsibility aspirations. Such outcomes are likely to be far more important to many businesses than small reductions in the tariff. |44| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The second opportunity for the Water White Paper would be to introduce an equivalent to the arrangement in Scotland whereby retailers and their customers benefit if their actions help Scottish Water reduce its costs (section 29E). There are a number of areas where we could envisage such collaboration resulting in substantial savings. One possibility would be to design a new office and housing development that incorporates water recycling, rainwater harvesting and sustainable drainage. This could substantially reduce both the development’s environmental impacts and the initial and on-going unit costs. A second possibility would be for a customer to develop on-site storage. This would allow them to take water only at night, so freeing up capacity in the system at times of peak use. Such an approach could avoid the need for additional investment in improving the network’s resilience. In both cases, customers could expect a discount on their tariffs in addition to, potentially, requiring fewer services (in the former case). In short, the interests of society in maintaining a sustainable water industry and those of the customer are aligned. Customers generally will also benefit from these initiatives. This is because if Scottish Water has to commit lower levels of capital expenditure, bills will also be lower. This benefits household customers as well as non-householders. Similarly, we have noted that Scottish Water has continued to improve its performance and responsiveness to the retail suppliers – to the benefit of all of its customers. These benefits are realised either in lower prices or in additional customer benefits each time prices are set by the Water Industry Commission at price reviews. Ultimately, it is customers who fund the water industry. They must therefore continue to believe that the industry offers value for money. Offering non-household customers choice and providing incentives to those who are able to reduce the overall costs incurred by the industry are straightforward steps that will help maintain customer confidence that value for money is being delivered. Reinforcing this legitimacy will be crucial to the on-going funding of environmental improvement. The forthcoming Water White Paper represents an excellent opportunity to build on the improvements to the environment, customer service and operating efficiency that have been achieved over the last twenty years. The Scottish water industry responded well to the new retail framework and tailored, environmentally sustainable solutions are becoming the norm. If we are serious about environmental improvement and carbon reduction, surely the water companies need to be challenged to work with their customers to identify those initiatives that will reduce costs and improve the environment? Such is my expectation for the White Paper! For more information about the experience of introducing retail competition in Scotland see www.watercommission. co.uk and www.scotlandontap.gov.uk. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |45|
Atkins calls for the Water White Paper to be a ‘Citizen of its time’ By Mike Woolgar, Atkins’ environmental & water management managing director Water has been steadily climbing the political agenda – and not before time. It is clear that what this country needs is an efficient water sector. The 2010 Conservative manifesto promised reform and its Water White Paper promises to be the first step to providing a clear policy framework for a more sustainable future for the water sector, optimising regulation, cutting bureaucratic red tape and increasing flexibility.
We must be clear that the Water White Paper needs to be a citizen of its time. It cannot – and will not – do everything but there are three key things it must address: better collaboration and communication; financial stability; improved efficiency.
The White Paper should be about trying to achieve a more modern, responsive approach to water management but this is a complex sector with a daunting number of stakeholders and the delays to its publication are probably indicative of those complications.
To date, Ofwat and the water companies have been very successful in managing our water industry, but there have been instances of combative relationships. There is a clear need for regulation but the question is how that can be shaped so that customers’ needs are protected yet water companies are free to use their technical and financial expertise to deliver efficiencies and value. Ofwat has not stood still on this and it has pre-empted the White Paper, proposing a lighter touch on reporting for example. Previously yearly planning period reviews of performance against plan added clarity for Ofwat but information needs became more and more demanding and time consuming to produce and review. Doing away with the reviews indicates the trust that Ofwat has to show that promised outcomes will be delivered by the companies. There is, of course, a range of sanctions if targets aren’t met but by requiring the water companies to demonstrate more responsibility Ofwat expects relations to improve and become naturally transparent. It is an opportunity that water companies should not waste.
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There has been recent concern that the White Paper may lead to water companies being disaggregated with customer service being a potential area of focus. I believe that would be a negative move in the case of customer services for instance, as the companies would lose vital contact with its clients, which given the complex nature of water management and the necessary relationships with stakeholders and customers could hold back real engagement. Environment Minister, Richard Benyon MP, alluded to this concern at the Water 2011 conference in London where he indicated it was not the Government’s intention to break up the industry. I agree with the Minister as I believe the water industry can be most effective as an integrated service from source to end wastewater treatment; improved and deeper relationships with consumers are a necessary part of the equation though. The City has also indicated concern over this sort of idea, as recently underlined by credit rating agency, Moody’s. They made the point that any move by Ofwat to increase competition in the sector may frighten investors. This would be unhelpful at a time when companies have to raise capital to invest in infrastructure upgrades in order to meet their obligations.. Staying on an investment theme it is clear to me that a should be a closer look at how Government evaluates cost benefit on major investments may be warranted. Net present value techniques are tried and trusted but do not in the current Green Book form necessarily reflect the level of uncertainty that we face as a result of population growth, resource shortages, rising energy prices, carbon pricing and potential climate change pressures. Economics, therefore, should be considered a filter, not the ultimate gauge to a decision, with other factors such as climate change and population growth risks overtly built in. Metering should also form a part of the White Paper’s deliberations, as the public consultation which reported
in the summer of 2011 showed that supply and price were key concerns. From the industry’s point of view there may be many advantages to metering; by understanding exactly what quantities of water they are likely to have to supply season-by-season they can better understand what infrastructure they need. Metering can provide supporting information for planning purposes and where water services costs are high customers who are watching their bills are more likely to decrease use than increase consumption. This in turn, over a period, may mean that the water companies need to spend less on increasing supply, less on sewage treatment, and thereby reduce investment needs which feed into tariffs. Metering campaigns may have another benefit in providing a more direct way to communicate with the customer and allow regular and informed conversations with public stakeholders. Southern Water is moving to near universal metering and as was reported at Water 2011 in doing so have had very different sets of conversations with their consumers as they negotiate their way through customer resistance to change. These negotiations have included transition periods before converting to full metered charging where consumers can see what they would be charged for their usage and have the time to alter consumption behaviour if required based on a fuller understanding of their use and the costs of it. So, there are plenty of potential upsides in the metering debate despite the potential for resistance to change. Many unmetered consumers are blissfully unaware of how much or how little they use and therefore how much they are effectively paying per m3; in this information vacuum it is difficult to make rational or informed decisions and hard to engage with consumers on water resource and service management issues. To conclude, the Water White Paper will not be the industry’s final destination but it must be the first step on a new modern journey. The true test will be how well it strikes the delicate balance between not doing enough to bring reform and therefore being ineffective and being so radical that it’s not possible to meet its demands. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |47|
“High quality water is more than the dream of the conservationists, more than a political slogan; high quality water…is essential to health, recreation, and economic growth.” So said former US Secretary of State, Edmund Muskie, in 1966. And he is right. Water is more than a political slogan; but it is arguably only through politics that its ongoing quality and security of supply can be assured. It is with this in mind that we approach the Government’s Water White Paper. It was heartening that in the lead up to the last General Election all parties appeared – on paper at least – to put partisan politics aside for a moment and commit to a Water White Paper to ensure the Industry will be future-proofed as far as possible.
Water White Paper
By Sam Ibbott Public Affairs Manager Environmental Industries Commission
As is well known, Government’s from time to time choose to forget parts of their manifestos, and hopelessly cast themselves as a modern day Alec Guinness/Obi Wan Kenobi type: “These aren’t the tax cuts you’re looking for…” “Umm, sorry, they are actually.” But in this instance, there have been no broken promises, no bouts of selective amnesia, and no hiccups. The White Paper has been delivered. Since such a commitment was originally put forward, however, much has changed. Financial turmoil seems even more acute now than the recent history of bank bailouts. Things have moved on, and it is now not just banks we fear being bailed out but whole countries. Of course, water will forever be an unyielding environmental issue, but now more pertinently than in a generation it is also an economic one. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and his Opposition counterpart, Ed Balls, can be seen regularly arguing over Plan As and Plan Bs and the depth and pace of deficit reduction; but while the method of travel differs, the end destination they are both trying to reach is the same: economic growth. And the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) – representing over 200 companies in the environmental technology and services sector – agrees. That is why we have launched a major campaign calling on the Government to ensure that job retention and growth are placed firmly at the heart of the Water White Paper. EIC has long campaigned against the detrimental effects of financial ‘boom and bust’ within the Water Industry’s supply chain as a result of the five-yearly Asset Management Period (or AMP-cycle) which is set and regulated by Ofwat. Evidence has consistently shown that, since the water companies were privatised and the AMP-cycle introduced, |48| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
capital expenditure by the water companies has been concentrated into an intense three year period in the middle of the cycle, with a markedly reduced spend in the first and final year – creating a ‘boom and bust’ financial climate for the supply chain which serves the Water Industry in the UK:
The negative consequences of ‘boom and bust’ have been devastating and destabilising for the Water Industry – seen most acutely in regular and widespread job losses, but also the migration of skilled workers out of the sector to more stable industries, where job security is better, resource management is easier and long-term planning can be better achieved. This has created a severe and worsening skills shortage.
• Making Ofwat truly responsible for maintaining the sustainability of the industry including the promotion of employment or, at least, not promoting unemployment; • Encouraging the water companies to spread investment more evenly within and across the cycles by means of incentives or penalties; It is readily admitted that none of these are the one-stop shop solution that could solve the problem in one sweep; but then it can be difficult to offer a definitive cure when you can see the symptoms but no one is quite sure what the virus is. However, discussions between Ministers, Officials and Industry have shown the disaggregation of the Water only and Water and Sewerage companies to be the most appealing, costeffective and easy to implement solution that has been put forward. This problem has been officially recognised on many occasions, but most recently in Defra’s independent review of Ofwat (published earlier this year) which concluded that “it is bizarre that such a long-term stable industry with relatively consistent supply and demand has such a cyclical pattern of investment.” Indeed, they went on to say that “no-one has suggested to us [the review team] that there is any intrinsic reason for the flow of business to the supply chain to be cyclical at all.” Recognition, however, is the easy part. Solutions are more difficult to come by, and even more difficult to find universal agreement on. Over the years, the EIC has put forward a number of possible solutions for further Governmental consideration, including: • Carrying out the necessary determinations annually on a rolling basis to coincide with the water companies June returns; • Staggering the investment programmes within the water industry so that all the water companies in England and Wales are not working to concurrent cycles; • Having Water Only Companies on a different 5 year period to the Water and Sewage Companies which would help to smooth out the investment; • Transitioning the water industry to a longer-term investment programme (twenty years or more) – perhaps with the option of minor interim adjustments / reviews;
Whatever the ‘true’ solution – and EIC remains open to further suggestions – it is clear that the Water White Paper is the best hope the Industry has a driver for legislative and regulatory change. If the opportunity is missed or squandered, it is unlikely that a Government of any colour will look again at the Industry in such detail for at least a decade, if not more. To this end, EIC’s campaign has seen, and will continue to see, the pro-active engagement of Ministers, Civil Servants, backbench MPs and other industry stakeholders to ensure its success. Specifically, EIC has called on its member companies to engage with their local Member of Parliament to show this isn’t just about an abstract graph with a line that routinely goes up and down, or the results of a policy wonk sitting in a windowless room crunching numbers, it is real people’s lives which are negatively affected by what, very crudely, could be described as a clerical error.
Water is a fundamental resource to life, and it can seem crass at times to commodify it. But access to clean water for all doesn’t just happen. Muskie knew that high quality water is essential to economic growth, and skilled workers losing their jobs every three years doesn’t boost the Treasury’s coffers.
If you would like further information on EIC’s work, please contact sam.ibbott@eic-uk.co.uk.
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CONSERVATION Page 53 - 54 Seas In Danger, Ali Plummer, Living Seas Officer, Wildlife Trust Page 55 - 59
Wildlife Regulations: Construction, John Newton, The Ecology Consultancy
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Seas In Danger Dr Ali Plummer, Living Seas Officer, Wildlife Trust
Diverse seas
Our seas act as our life-support system. They help to regulate the climate by releasing oxygen and act as the biggest single absorber of carbon; taking in between 30-50% of the carbon dioxide emissions we create every year. They contain habitats to rival any on land; vast meadows of seagrass, forests of kelp, shallow colourful reefs and trenches more than 1,000 metres deep. Fragile seafans, ancient corals and vast sponges, which wouldn’t look out of place in the tropics, are found alongside muddy and sandy habitats, teeming with life, in an area three times larger than our land mass. Eleven species of whale, dolphin and porpoise are regularly sighted in UK waters, more than 40% of the global population of grey seals are found here and, in the summer, we can spot basking shark – the second largest fish in the world - in the shallows, feeding on plankton. The UK relies on a huge number of resources from our seas and they support a range of industries. Some of the more obvious include seafood, energy from oil, gas and renewable sources and gravel to construct roads and buildings. However, there are every day products containing marine extracts which we may not expect. Peanut butter, toothpaste and some ice creams contain a compound- carrageenan - which comes from red seaweeds, thickening these products and helping to give them a smooth consistency. Extracts from seaweeds are found in a range of cosmetics, including skin care, hair care and bath products. The vast majority of imports and exports - 90% - travel through UK ports and our seas also provide us with a massive playground, supporting a range of recreational activities such as angling, diving, surfing and sailing. UK seas have real potential to be some of the most productive in the world. However, they will only continue to support the heavy demands that we place on them if we ensure that they are well protected. |52| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Healing UK seas
At the end of 2009, the UK Government passed a piece of landmark legislation, the Marine and Coastal Access Act. This was swiftly followed, at the start of 2010, by similar legislation in Scotland- the Marine (Scotland) Act. These pieces of legislation are ground breaking. For the first time, they create the opportunity for a more joined-up approach to managing the marine environment. They also place a duty on the UK, Welsh and Scottish Governments to dramatically boost its protection by creating an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas. A proposed Marine Bill in Northern Ireland should place a duty on the Northern Irish Assembly to ensure this network extends into Northern Irish waters. We have reached a crucial point in the implementation of the Marine and Coastal Access Act and the Marine (Scotland) Act. In 2012, the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments are due to designate their network of Marine Protected Areas. It is ‘make or break’ time for the marine environment. This network must provide the protection it so desperately needs.
Seas in trouble
Although there is still much to celebrate in our seas, they are not what they once were. They have been overexploited for centuries and fragile habitats destroyed. Species including 800lb bluefin tuna were landed on UK shores fewer than 100 years ago but are no longer caught. Basking shark numbers have declined by more than 95% and species, like the common skate, are no longer common in our waters but critically endangered. Commercially caught species are in decline. Fish landings in the 19th Century were four times greater than they are now. In 2009, the EU Commission declared that 88% of monitored marine fish stocks were overexploited. A similar story is seen across the globe. A recent report published by the International Programme of the State of the Oceans (IPSO) concluded that ‘the world’s ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.’ The report’s authors - leading marine scientists from across the world - call for urgent action to halt this decline.
Living Seas
The Wildlife Trusts have a vision for the future of the UK’s seas: Living Seas. Within Living Seas, marine wildlife thrives, from the depths of the ocean, to the coastal shallows. Habitats and species are recovering from past declines as our use of the seas’ resources becomes environmentally sustainable. The marine environment is better able to cope with the stresses associated with a changing climate and people are inspired by it. Across the UK, all 47 Wildlife Trusts are working hard to achieve this vision. In addition to working with industry to reduce impacts on the environment and looking for more sustainable methods of working, we carry out research to better understand our marine environment, campaign for better creation and implementation of policies to achieve Living Seas and deliver thousands of events each year to inspire the public about UK seas and sealife. The Wildlife Trusts believe it is possible to achieve
Living Seas all around the UK within 20 yearsa single generation- but only if opportunities are seized right now.
Making this vision a reality
At the heart of the Living Seas vision are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – sites that safeguard areas, to various degrees, from human activities. They are a tried and tested means of safeguarding important habitats and wildlife, protecting the species within their boundaries and allowing nature to recover and thrive. In many cases, MPAs have an influence beyond their boundaries too, as burgeoning wildlife populations spill out into the surrounding sea. Networks of MPAs can boost the health of the marine environment as a whole, helping it to recover from past impacts and enabling it to sustain current pressures. To achieve this, MPA networks must include not just sites that protect rare and threatened wildlife, but also those which protect examples of the whole range of ‘typical’ habitats and wildlife found in healthy seas. MPAs are at the heart of marine nature conservation and essential for the sustainable management of the UK’s marine area.
An ecologically coherent network
Currently, marine habitats and species are protected via Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), sites designated by the European Union. However, less than 0.001% of the UK’s marine environment is fully protected from all damaging and degrading activities. We need to do better. The Marine and Coastal Access Act and the Marine (Scotland) Act have given us the opportunity to do just that by placing a duty on the Welsh, Scottish and UK governments to create an ecologically coherent network of MPAs by 2012. The Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly are in the process of determining their network and should release
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sites for consultation and comment in 2012. In England, the process is slightly different. Over the last two years, four stakeholder groups, comprising a wide range of marine users, including industry and The Wildlife Trusts, have been meeting to propose a network of Marine Conservation Zones (the MPA created by the Marine and Coastal Access Act) in English and offshore Welsh waters. More than one million people were consulted and a network of 127 sites proposed by the regional projects at the end of the summer.
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The Wildlife Trusts believe this network, along with existing and proposed SPAs and SACs, represents a solid foundation to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in English and offshore Welsh waters. However, there is still some way to go before designation. The Government is in the process of considering the recommended network, before releasing a final one for consultation and designation in 2012. There are already signs that this will result in the degradation of the network recommended by the regional projects, with the loss of a large proportion of sites. Reducing the number of sites in the network risks undermining the entire process, resulting in the loss of important sites from the network and risks isolating those sites remaining, leaving them vulnerable and eroding the productivity of the network as a whole. The Wildlife Trusts are campaigning about the importance of MPAs and asking the public to show their support for them, demonstrating that society values healthy and well protected seas which can continue to support the demands we place on them.
Doing your bit
Our seas need your help. Add your voice to ensure the most is made of this opportunity to provide our marine species and habitats with the protection they desperately need. Help ensure our seas are given the space they need to recover and continue to provide us with so many resources. Everyone can help send a strong message to our governments by signing The Wildlife Trusts’ petition for MPAs online at www.wildlifetrusts.org/petitionfish. Find out more about The Wildlife Trusts and our work to achieve Living Seas at www.wildlifetrusts.org/livingseas
Image accreditations 1. Urchins, brittlestar – Paul Naylor 2. Anemones, soft corals – Paul Naylor 3. Bottlenose dolphin – Harry Hogg 4. Grey seal – Jamie Hall 5. Menai Straits – Paul Naylor
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Stay up to speed with the updated Wildlife Regulations John Newton, Managing Director, The Ecology Consultancy, describes the latest regulations on wildlife and provides further details on the new CIRIA publication – Working with wildlife: guidance for the construction industry Revised legislation concerning non-native species came into force in April 2010 and there are other changes on the way that govern how to deal with all forms of wildlife on construction projects. Following the recent publication of the CIRIA’s guide, Working with wildlife: guidance for the construction industry, (Newton et al, 2011) this is an overview of what environmental managers and project managers on construction projects should be aware of. John Newton, MD of The Ecology Consultancy, and principal author of the publication says that it is critical that environmental managers and project managers stay abreast of the regulations and get the best advice at an early stage. Introduction Many people talk about the responsibility for managing “biodiversity” but what does it mean? Why should project managers or environmental managers on construction projects be taking an interest? The short answer is that if they don’t they may be in danger of falling foul of the legislation that protects any wildlife on the very land they may be managing or developing. The consequences at the very least might be costly delays to their project, but could equally result in heavy fines and even a prison sentence. The classic definition of “biodiversity” is: “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part, including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”. More simply it is the diversity of life. There is a tendency to appreciate things more if it is something “obvious” such as cows and milk, or bees and honey. To quote Eddie Izzard: “do earwigs make chutney?” If badgers brewed beer would more care be taken of them? Or if great crested newts did the gardening would there be more ponds provided for them to live in? Of course, this is a light-hearted way to illustrate the fact that wildlife actually does play a large part in keeping humans alive. However, on a more practical and fundamental level if it goes wrong with wildlife it can cost dearly. Not only can taking the time to get it right save money it can also help to create and maintain an interesting and healthy environment in which to live and work. Nature is an integral part of everything and it should be embraced. Construction and wildlife By their very nature brownfield sites, road and railway infrastructure, and embankments in particular, are teeming with life. Development projects can have an effect on wildlife in many ways including: • Direct habitat and species loss – disturbing or destroying habitats and the species that live there • Fragmentation of habitats leading to species loss • Disturbance, for example by noise and light • Accidental introduction or spread of foreign or invasive species • Insensitive landscape design and management. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |55|
Everything from bats, badgers, and great crested newts, to nesting birds and invasive non-native species, can be found in and around construction sites and land designated for development. Any one of these can halt a project or jeopardise planning permission, or some other form of consent, if the proper steps, such as surveys, impact assessments and mitigation measures, are not taken. It is in the interests of the project manager or environmental manager to be aware of the legislation and to know what to do about it. Legislation, planning and advice Large sections of legislation affect wildlife management and licensing in the UK. While the legal systems in England and Wales follow broadly similar principles, the situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland is different in detail. In addition, devolution is already causing the legal systems in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to diverge still further from the English system. In addition to UK National Legislation, European Community (EC) legal instruments are also relevant. These arise in the form of directives or regulations, EC case law and international treaties. Although they are relatively few in number, EC Regulations generally have supremacy over UK law, whereas directives are adopted in the UK through UK Acts of Parliament or Regulations. The principal acts are the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended (WCA) and The Conservation of Habitats & Species Regulation 2010. They place a greater responsibility on land owners and European Protected Species licence-holders. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: the principal piece of legislation protecting wildlife in the UK. It has undergone various revisions, including those made by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Broadly, it seeks to protect the nation’s most important habitats, such as Epping Forest, by designating them as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It also protects individual species. For example, all wild birds are given protection especially during the nesting season, and other species (wild animals, such as reptiles and water voles, and some plants) are given different degrees of protection depending on their conservation status. The Conservation of Habitats & Species Regulation 2010 (SI 2010/490): consolidates the changes that have been made by frequent council directives, and their transposition into UK law in implementing the Habitats Directive, since 1994. In particular it recognises that certain species, such as bats, otters, dormice and great crested newts are of European significance and provides them with significant levels of protection. It also provides a mechanism to designate and protect land as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Special Protection Areas (SPAs). |56| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Other important legislation includes: Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW Act 2000): came into being on 30 November 2000, applies to England and Wales only, and is being brought into force in incremental stages. The Act places a duty on UK Government departments, and the National Assembly for Wales, to have regard for the conservation of biodiversity and maintain lists of species and habitats for which conservation steps should be taken or promoted, in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity. Protection of Badgers Act 1992: in addition to receiving limited protection under Schedule 6 of the WCA 1981, badgers and their setts are also protected by the Badgers Act 1992. This Act was established to help combat the cruel activities of badger digging and badger baiting. It extends to England, Scotland and Wales but not to Northern Ireland. Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996: provides protection for wild mammals against a wide variety of acts of deliberate harm. In order for an offence to be committed under this act it is necessary that the act be committed "with intent to inflict unnecessary suffering". Hedgerow Regulations 1997: important hedgerows are protected from removal by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997. Various criteria specified in the Regulations are used to identify important hedgerows for wildlife, landscape or historical reasons. Under the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 it is against the law to remove or destroy certain hedgerows without permission from the local planning authority. Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (NERC Act): among other things, the NERC Act amends the WCA 1981. Sections 41 and 42 replace section 74 of the CRoW Act and thereby extend the CRoW biodiversity duty to public bodies and statutory undertakers to ensure due regard to the conservation of biodiversity. Important pieces of EC law EC Directives and Regulations include several that are important for nature conservation. Possibly the two most important of these, from the point of view of the rail construction industry, are: • The Wild Birds Directive (Directive 2009*/147/EC): the Directive recognises that habitat loss and degradation are the most serious threats to the conservation of wild birds. It places great emphasis on the protection of habitats for endangered as well as migratory species, especially through the establishment of a coherent network of SPAs comprising all the most suitable territories for these species, such as the Thames Basin heath lands • The Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC May 1992): gives greater protection to a variety of native animals including bats, dormice, great crested newts, and otters Important sites are designated SACs such as the Solent Maritime SAC. Both of these Directives are adopted by The Conservation Habitats & Species Regulations 2010.
In addition, the EC occasionally draws up action programmes for the environment that can have an influence on many aspects of day-to-day life, not just the concern for wildlife. The sixth and current Environmental Action Programme (Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001) identifies nature and biodiversity as a priority area for sustainable development and establishes several elements to protect the biodiversity resource including a Community Biodiversity Strategy. The cost of getting it wrong Getting it wrong can be costly in many ways. A successful prosecution for a wildlife offence can lead to a £5000 fine or a six month prison sentence per offence. For example, the destruction of a barn owl’s nest containing three eggs could result in two years imprisonment – six months for the destruction of the nest plus a further six months per egg. The cost of destroying a bat roost hosting thousands of bats doesn’t bear contemplation at £5000 per bat! Breaching any of these laws is deemed to be a criminal offence and the police will get involved. Licensing and protected species If the project is likely to have an effect on a European Protected Species (EPS), eg great crested newts, bats, otters, or dormice, a licence from an agency such as Natural England will have to be acquired before works start. The main licences to be aware of are: European Protected Species Mitigation licence: if, as part of an approved development project, it is planned to capture, disturb, uproot and/or relocate or damage, the habitat of a species that is protected under the Habitats Regulations 1994 (such as bats, great crested newts and otters), a European Protected Species Mitigation licence must be obtained. Before the licence is applied for, appropriate surveys must have been carried out to ensure that the proposed work is based on accurate information. Licence applications should be made to Natural England, CCW, SNH or NI Environment Agency and must satisfy the following three tests: • the development is for the purpose of: “preserving public health or public safety of other imperative reasons of overriding public interest including those of a social or economic nature and beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment” • the licence granting authority is satisfied “that there is no satisfactory alternative” • the development will not be “detrimental to the maintenance of the population of the species as a favourable conservation status in their natural range” Survey licence: surveyors of EPS may need to hold a survey licence.
Conservation licence: this is needed for works to conserve any species on Schedule 5 of the WCA 1981 (as amended) but not EPS. There will be greater sanctions against those who breach EPSM licence conditions, eg those for animals such as bats and great crested newts, and it is in the interest of environmental managers and project managers on construction projects to ensure they get the right advice. The planning system Planning policy guidance At the national level, this guidance is in the form of: • Planning Policy Statements (PPSs in England): PPS9 (2005) Biodiversity and geological conservation, SE regional plan and the local development framework • National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) in Scotland • Planning Guidance Wales/Planning Policy Wales (PPWs) and Technical Advice Notes (TANs) PPS9, and the accompanying circulars and best practice guide, state that: “Planning authorities should ensure that these species and habitats (ie those listed in Section 41 of the NERC Act BAP) are protected from the adverse effects of development, where appropriate, by using planning conditions and obligations. Planning authorities should refuse permission where harm to the species or their habitats would result unless the need for, and benefits, of the development clearly outweigh that harm.” Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) At the 1992 UNCED Conference in Rio the UK Government signed up to the Convention on Biodiversity. As a result it produced Biodiversity: the UK Action Plan, from which emanated Species Action Plans and Habitat Action Plans at the national level. These action plans state what is needed to conserve and enhance the status of certain wildlife species and habitats that are perceived to be under threat of long-term damage or loss. The action plans are worked out in detail to include who should be involved in the process, the ways in which the target is to be achieved, and the costs of achieving it. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own BAPs. Many counties in the UK now have a BAP or are working on one, and even some smaller authorities, such as London Boroughs, have produced their own local plans. Important governmental organisations have also produced their own BAP including Network Rail, Highways Agency and the Environment Agency. Ecological surveys The best way for the project manager or environmental manager to ensure they are getting it right is to involve professionals. Specialist ecologists will provide timely advice and conduct a range of ecological surveys including Phase 1 habitat surveys, protected species surveys, and invasive species surveys. The following gives an indication of what to expect at different stages: ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |57|
Screening is largely a desk study that is used to gather together existing information on a site to highlight any possible constraints or opportunities and to identify what may be needed by way of further survey. Screening is not season-dependent and looks for: • Designated areas • Areas of semi natural habitat • Habitats included in a BAP • Protected species • Species subject to a BAP • Red Data Book (RDB) species • Birds of Conservation Concern (BCC). A scoping survey includes a desk study and a short site visit, possibly at pre-acquisition phase to identify any possible ecological constraints to development and any opportunities for ecological improvement. It is important at this stage to identify the next steps to take in terms of survey. A scoping survey can be carried out any time of the year and looks for, among other things: • Designated areas • Semi-natural habitat • Protected species. Phase 1 Habitat Surveys identify the habitats that comprise a site and the key plant species for each of those habitat types. It also provides “target notes” on important aspects of the site, such as the presence of a rare plant or a protected species of animal, or a special habitat feature such as an ancient hedgerow. A Phase 1 survey can be carried out any time of the year, but is best done in spring and summer when the vegetation types that characterise a certain habitat are more readily identifiable.
To illustrate what could happen, on one site a badger turned up on an embankment on works in Ashford in late November. As a result, important construction work on that stretch of embankment was delayed until the following July. The solution was to build an artificial sett. The original sett was shut down with sheep netting and one-way gates under a licence issued in compliance with the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Wildlife on construction sites is inevitable and does not need to be an issue if properly managed. Construction can also provide a positive result for wildlife and biodiversity providing it is planned into the project early enough. Bringing in the specialists is the best way to save money, enhance the biodiversity of the development, and stay on the right side of the legislation. The Ecology Consultancy is a well-established consultancy with many years of experience providing the construction industry with timely advice for working with wildlife on site. They offer a comprehensive range of ecological surveys including Phase 1 habitat surveys, protected species surveys, and the full range of invasive species surveys. For details of how they can help you manage wildlife and invasive species email: enquiries@ecologyconsultancy. co.uk or go to: www.ecologyconsultancy.co.uk for details of your nearest office.
Extended Phase 1 surveys provide more information, particularly on the vegetation of a site, than a Phase 1 survey, but do not go into the detail of a Phase 2 survey. Phase 2 Surveys provide detailed studies of the important plant and animal groups. They require specialist input and have to be conducted at the right time of year, over certain specific days, at the right time of day and in appropriate weather. They may also have to be conducted over a period of several years. The surveyor should be a professional, experienced ecologist and may have to be licensed. Surveys can be limited by the seasons, which is important to note when commissioning them. To avoid delays to management and maintenance of a construction project the environmental manager or project manager should make sure that there is enough time for a professional ecologist to conduct the relevant surveys properly. They need to be commissioned well in advance of any works or planning submission.
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Figure : Bee Orchid (from Newton et al, 2011) Invasive non-native species There have been many adjustments to the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 over the years, as new research has shed light on the behaviour of non-native animals and plants in the UK.
The latest revision updates Schedule 9 of the Act, which lists species that should not be released or introduced without a licence, allowed to escape into the wild, or be caused to spread in the wild. All activities that could easily occur on a railway infrastructure project if the project team is not fully briefed on what to look out for. Most accidental or deliberate introductions have a benign effect on native wildlife, sometimes a positive one. However a minority of non-native species exhibit invasive qualities and have a negative effect on biodiversity, wildlife and the infrastructure. Japanese Knotweed can take over a development site with alarming speed, displacing native species, which cannot compete for light and nutrients, and damaging building foundations and infrastructure. It remains on Schedule 9, albeit with its new scientific name Fallopia japonica. New to the Schedule are several plants, including Himalayan Balsam, for which it is an offence, as with Japanese Knotweed, to plant or cause it to spread in the wild. Dr Paul Leinster, chief executive, Environment Agency, says of invasive plants: “while only a small percentage of non-native plants introduced in England and Wales represent a problem, when they do become established in the wild, certain types can have a dramatic effect, with long-term consequences for native biodiversity. Several non-native species are already well-established and are likely to spread further as a result of climate change.” Working with Wildlife: guidance for the construction industry (Newton, Nicholson and Saunders, 2011) The construction industry is under increasing pressure to ensure its activities, on and around sites, have a reduced impact on surrounding flora and fauna. Given the high level of awareness and expectation coming from the general public and clients, the industry needs to be doing more to meet the requirements of legislation and good practice – not only to maintain biodiversity, but to enhance it. The newly updated Working with Wildlife guide gives construction managers the tools to do exactly that.
with wildlife: guidance for the construction industry, C691, CIRIA, London (ISBN: 978-0-86017-691-6). Go to: <www.ciria.org> Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (2001) Environment 2010: Our future, Our Choice, 6th EU Environment Action Programme 20012010, European Communities, Luxembourg (ISBN: 92894-0261-X). Go to: <http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ air/pdf/6eapbooklet_en.pdf> Statutes Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive) Council Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified version of Directive 79/409/EEC as amended) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signed in 1992 at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro and ratified in 1993 Acts Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (No 490) Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000 The Hedgerows Regulations 1997 (No 1160) Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006 Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (c51) Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c69) Wildlife and Countryside (Amendment) (WCA) Act 1985 (c31) Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 (c3)
It provides an important reference for all those in the construction industry who need to be up-to-date with wildlife issues in the course of their work. A wide range of people in the industry, including developers, contractors, architects and planners, will find it invaluable. To order a copy go to: www.ciria.org References Environment Agency (2010) Managing invasive non-native plants. Revised version April 2010. Environment Agency, Bristol. Go to: <http://publications.environment-agency. gov.uk/PDF/GEHO0410BSBR-E-E.pdf> Newton, J, Nicholson, B and Saunders, R (2011) Working ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |59|
Green Building Page 62 - 69
Ecobuild 2012 Show Preview
Page 70 - 71
Greening Property In The Public Sector, Matthew Hancock MP, Chair of the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum Inquiry
Page 72 - 74
Closing The Building Performance Gap – From Briefing To Occupation And Beyond, Colin Pearson, Head of Building Performance at BSRIA
Page 76 - 78
Performance Before Eco-Bling, Andrew Orriss, Chairman of the UK SIPs Association
Page 79 - 81
How Sustainable Business Practice Can Add Value, Jonathan Garrett, Group Head of Sustainability at Balfour Beatty
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Tuesday 20th - Thursday 22nd
March 2012 ExCel, London
www.ecobuild.com
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Ecobuild your future at the biggest event in the world for sustainable design, construction and the built environment Make a note in your calendar – Ecobuild, the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment is back at London’s ExCeL on Tuesday 20 – Thursday 22 March. And it’s bigger than ever. Over 1,500 suppliers will be exhibiting, creating the biggest showcase of sustainable construction products you’ll see anywhere. From big names such as Saint-Gobain, BASF Construction Chemicals, Kingspan, Vaillant, and Worcester Bosch, to up and comers in Ecobuild’s Green shoots entrepreneurs’ zone, you’ll be able to see the latest and best in everything from building materials to micro-renewables, from rainwater harvesting systems to interiors. Ecobuild puts all these innovative products in context through its vast information programme, making a visit exceptionally good use of time. There’s the three-day, three-stream conference, sponsored by the UK Green Building Council, that tackles macro themes such as Beyond construction: achieving a sustainable future,
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Tuesday 20th - Thursday 22nd
March 2012 ExCel, London
www.ecobuild.com
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Making sustainable construction happen and Design, architecture & sustainability with renowned commentators including Sir John Beddington, Monty Don, Janet Street Porter, Greg Dyke, Tony Juniper and Angela Brady, covering topics as diverse as Growing out of trouble – how social enterprise can help restore society, People and the planet and Collaborative consumption. More applied is Ecobuild’s seminar programme which delivers practical advice from experienced practitioners through over 130 sessions including Energy & innovation in buildings, Better through BIM, Buildings in use, Future energy and Sustainable by design. Visitors looking to get their hands dirty can do so at a dozen or more live attractions - literally in the case of Ecobuild’s Natural, traditional…sustainable which demonstrates cob wall building alongside straw bale construction and carpentry techniques. Elsewhere on the exhibition floor Renewable Heat Focus, sponsored by Vaillant, gives daily talks and one-to-one advice on how best to benefit from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) plus a showcase and working models of the latest technology including solar thermal, biomass and heat pumps. Renew, sponsored by Knauf Insulation, provides practical advice on achieving one of the most important aspects of an energy efficient building – a highly insulated, airtight building envelope through daily live demonstrations covering making hard to treat buildings more energy efficient, solid wall insulation, internal wall insulation, insulating lofts and floors, party wall insulation and cavity wall upgrades. Ecobuild’s Solar hub, sponsored by Solarcentury, demonstrates how the installation of solar PV still offers attractive rates of return via the UK Feed-in Tariff, despite adjustments to the Government’s incentive scheme through a series of talks and presentations, plus one-to-one advice. Visitors will get practical guidance on how to specify the most appropriate system for the best results, maximise the return on investment, reduce carbon emissions and mitigate rising energy costs as well as being able to see a range of solar innovative systems from on-roof, to semi-integrated to fully roof-integrated products, and feature the latest technologies from leading modules manufacturers. Spend a day at Ecobuild next year. Even better, spend two. With so much to see, learn and experience, it’s a super-efficient way to make contacts and get up to speed with the latest issues and products. It’s all free to attend when you register at www.ecobuild.co.uk where you can also create your own itinerary using Ecobuild’s online planner.
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e h t n i y t r e p o Greening pr n a c r o t c e S c Publi s n i a g n o i l l i deliver £8b By Matthew Hancock MP-Chair of the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum Inquiry The Public sector is facing tight budgets and a mandate to reduce carbon emissions by 35% in the next decade. Meeting these challenges simultaneously will not be easy, so the sector will need to manage its property innovatively if it is to continue to deliver effective services.
The importance of green buildings The built environment accounts for a staggering 44% of the UK’s carbon emissions. Public sector property alone represents 8% of total non-domestic carbon emissions. So it is clear that buildings will need to play a prominent role in softening the environmental impact of the public sector. I have chaired two consecutive parliamentary inquiries by the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum investigating the benefits of a leaner and greener public sector estate. Our reports show how far the public property’s carbon emissions can be cut. Moreover, more energy efficient buildings will lead to financial savings and better public service delivery. These inquiries have shown the size of the prize from the leaner and greener public portfolio, but also provide a practical roadmap for public sector organisations wanting to make the change.
The size of the prize Our findings clearly demonstrate that there is a strong business case for environmental efficiency. Inefficient buildings are costing more and more to operate. In the first Leaner and Greener report, we found that every tonne of carbon produced by the public sector in 2010 cost the public purse between £150 and £200. Energy costs have increased by approximately 15%-20% and the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) levy of £12 per tonne will increase utility bills by another 7%-8%, - an overall increase in energy costs of approximately 25%.We found that the cost for an average public sector organisation will be £200,000 a year from 2012. Meanwhile building regulations are demanding greater environmental efficiency; by 2018, all new public sector buildings need to be zero carbon. The introduction of ‘green’ measures for a standard administrative building, with staff on average public sector wages, can save £180-£200 per m² per year by spending less on energy. Energy efficient buildings would be better to work in too - with more natural daylight, better air quality, access to outside space and higher levels of control for those working within the environment. Carbon reduction measures of this scope represent a cost reduction of £650,000 for an average participant in the Carbon Reduction Commitment.
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Environmental efficiency can be significantly enhanced by improving how efficiently space is used. Valued at £370 billion, and costing an incredible £25 billion to run every year, the public sector spends approximately one fifth of its annual expenditure on running its property portfolio. By decreasing the space they occupy by 20-30% and by being smarter about property related procurement, the public sector could save up to £7 billion a year. Better workplace conditions could also improve workforce productivity, which in turn could generate financial benefits worth £8 billion. Such mammoth rises in productivity can be achieved by improving workplace conditions, addressing comfort factors such as temperature, ventilation, light and other environmental attributes. Such small changes have been shown to significantly reduce the number of sick days. Similarly, this can also be achieved by improved interaction through the increased accessibility of breakout areas or informal meeting spaces and flexible working increasing service contact hours. But, how can the public sector deliver both environmental and economic savings, while maintaining the same quality of services? More to the point, how can they do all this, starting on Monday?
Leaner and greener buildings We understand that streamlining public property is full of difficult decisions. Best practice is not always easy to replicate due to local circumstances. Knowing that one size does not fit all, we offer a number of bold, crucial recommendations in Leaner and Greener II, which can be followed in every locality. Firstly, we argue that pan-public sector property working is critical to realizing the full potential of public property savings. Whilst increased financial constraints have driven the public sector to share certain services with their partners, there is still a lack of shared property resources. Joining both front and back offices and developing common procurement strategies is vital to lower running costs and to benefit from the sale of freed-up property. The results of such collaborative working are already yielding impressive results. In Hampshire, public sector
organisations expect to reduce 36% of their combined floor space whilst improving service delivery; in total, they hope to save up to £324 million. In Cambridgeshire, the joint management and use of property is expected to deliver a 20% increase in disposals over five years and a 20% revenue saving. The residual estate will at the same time become greener and services improved through codelivery, producing tangible community benefits. Further examples of such best practice are included throughout our report. We show that the public sector should also examine whether they can invest in energy efficiency measures more collaboratively, and in doing so, make considerable savings. Current financing arrangements for energy efficiency schemes are generally more favourable for programmes that are over £1 million in value. So bigger programmes are needed to secure project finance at a reasonable interest rate. Joining forces with other organisations could enable cost-effective implementations of carbon reduction schemes and the development of common investment solutions could increase the viability of energy efficiency projects. Suffolk has already demonstrated how working in partnership increases the cost effectiveness of green investment, and unlocks long-term opportunities. While direct investment will generally create a better return (because there is no profit sharing) establishing an energy performance contract might effectively balance funding availability and risk management. Our findings suggest that Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) could help address barriers to energy efficiency and microgeneration by providing information, finance, installation and maintenance under long-term performance-based contracts. Woking, for example, participated in an ESCO arrangement. This has enabled the Council to create a ring-fenced capital fund for energy and environmental projects and moreover, has enabled systematic investment in new projects as it demonstrates savings from energy efficiency initiatives. The Public Sector clearly offers brilliant opportunities which need to be explored. As Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said at the launch of our findings: “Public sector estate management is not the world’s sexiest phrase – but what the heck – it gives us some eye-popping results.” ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |71|
Closing The Building Performance Gap – From Briefing To Occupation And Beyond By Colin Pearson, Head of Building Performance at BSRIA Despite the best efforts of designers and contractors, far too many buildings are failing to achieve the performance expected by their owners or occupiers. This applies equally to commercial and domestic property as highlighted by recent publications such as “Closing the Performance Gap” from the Good Homes Alliance and case studies from Carbon Buzz. If the building industry doesn’t act to close the gap there is a risk that Governments may feel that they have to enforce compliance.
expectations in a formal or informal way. Be clear about what temperature is required at what location with what external conditions and what proportion of time these conditions can be compromised. Specify for draughts as well as temperature and specify how long can be allowed for the building to heat up from a specified cold condition. Also specify how compliance with this brief is to be tested. What test is to be performed on the completed building, how are conditions to be measured and what are the acceptance criteria?
Of course modern buildings are better than ever before in many ways and the best exceed their owners’ and occupiers’ expectations. But many fail to meet these expectations. This performance gap means that buildings often use more energy, overheat, underheat, are more draughty or more stuffy and don’t provide the usable space that the occupants wanted. Closing this gap between expectation and delivery is a subject that is stretching the minds of people in strategic roles across the construction, property and environmental industries.
Put the users’ requirements into a dynamic thermal design model with the building fabric and the heating system and test it with a cold weather design period. Ensure that the U values (thermal transmittance) used for the thermal insulation of the building fabric are reliable. A timber frame, for example, can form up to 30% of the area of the wall of a small room, leading to a much higher U value than expected.
The performance gap is really a series of gaps that are the responsibility of a range of professions across the industry at every stage in the procurement process from briefing to occupation and beyond. They are frequently due to lack of communication or misunderstandings but can be due to poor design, manufacture, installation, commissioning or operation. Buildings that cannot maintain an adequate temperature in winter. Is it inadequate heating or poor building design? It may be due to a lack of communication at the briefing stage about what temperature is required, whether occasional dips below this are acceptable, for how long and how often. Or the thermal insulation may be inadequate, there could be thermal bridges or there could be air leakage. The heating system may not have been designed to meet the requirements, the equipment installed may not perform as specified or perhaps it has been poorly installed or commissioned. It could even be that the occupants’ expectations are higher than the original intent. All these problems can be avoided by ensuring clear, precise briefing and checking at every stage. A few examples of good practice may be useful. In briefing, the requirements of the occupants should be teased out; are they more sensitive than average due to age, illness or inactivity? If possible ask about their |72| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Thermal imaging should be specified to identify areas where thermal insulation isn’t as expected. It is also helpful to specify what kind of analysis is done with the thermal imaging. In this thermal image provided
there are three areas identified for analysis. AR01 is a cold bridge created by a substantial framing element in the wall. It has an average temperature of 17.2°C and a minimum temperature of 16.6°C. Area AR03 is a ‘good’ area of wall and it is probable that the designer expected the entire wall to be like this. It has an average temperature of 19.6°C and a minimum temperature of 18.8°C. AR02 is an area of internal furnishing that shows the internal temperature to be 20°C. The external temperature at the time of this survey was 2.0°C. Experienced thermographers can calculate the ‘thermal index (TI)’ a measure of insulation effectiveness that does not depend on temperatures at the time of the survey. In this example the TI of AR01 is 0.85, which is poor, but not critical and of AR03 it is 0.97, which is good. Areas where the TI is less than 0.75 are usually considered to be defects. So in this case, although the cold bridge is
significant and it will increase the heat loss, it may not be considered as a defect. The specification should set limits for cold bridging as explained in Approved Document L of the Building Regulations. Between design and construction of most buildings changes are made due to change of requirements, buildability or value engineering. The effect of these on the heating system must be considered and the thermal model rerun if necessary. Different components may be substituted and at construction stage further changes
may be made. The heating and ventilation systems must be properly commissioned and the system performance should then be tested as specified. Appropriate testing by thermal imaging, air pressurisation and heat flux measurement can be performed to ensure the building meets the specification. Thermal image of air leakage around switch plate Buildings that use more energy than expected Another common area of discrepancy is in energy use. This is becoming apparent now that some buildings have both Energy Performance Certificates, EPCs and Display Energy Certificates, DECs. The EPC shows the designer’s intent for energy use in heating, ventilation and cooling systems, regulated energy. The DEC shows actual energy use, regulated from the unregulated energy. However it should separate out ‘separable energy uses’, energy use that is not typical of that type of building. One of the main reasons for high energy use is the unregulated energy, ICT, small power and special functions. Other factors that affect the energy use are occupant density, operating hours and building management systems. EPCs and DECs contain very different energy components and exact comparison is difficult but thorough analysis of energy using CIBSE TM22, Energy Assessment and Reporting Methodology, can start to tease out where the energy is going. There is a trend towards estimating the total energy use at design stage and this is helped by case studies such as the feedback on the Carbon Buzz website. Analysis of energy use is very difficult without sub-metering. Approved Document L includes
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recommendations for sub-metering, but going beyond these can help to analyse the real energy use and ultimately help to reduce it. Specifications should be precise about which circuits need to be metered and checks on energy use should be included in the seasonal commissioning process. Soft Landings Soft Landings is a joint initiative between BSRIA, the Usable Buildings Trust (UBT), and the originator, Mark Way. Soft Landings provides a unified vehicle for achieving tighter environmental performance. It also shifts the emphasis for good performance away from just design aspiration to the way buildings are actually managed and maintained. It provides a framework of activities for all key members of the project team. It aims for more clarity at the inception and briefing stages about client needs and operational outcomes. It includes a method of setting performance targets (such as energy use) and reality-checking them. It is a process for designers and constructors to improve operational outcomes by putting greater emphasis on building readiness. It provides project team support and finetuning in the initial period of occupation. The project team professionals are paid for aftercare for up to three years, with post-occupancy evaluation at the end of year 1 and year 3. The scope of service involves 5 main stages of work: • Inception and briefing: clarify operational outcomes in the client’s requirements • Design development: review past experience, agree performance metrics, agree design targets • Pre-handover: Prepare for occupation, train FM staff, demonstrate control systems, review monitoring strategy of occupants and energy use • Initial aftercare: Support staff in first few weeks of occupation, be resident on site to respond to queries and react to emerging issues • Long term aftercare: monitor, review, fine-tune and perform periodic feedback studies for up to three years Soft Landings can be applied for new construction, refurbishment and alteration. It is designed to smooth the transition from construction into use. It helps to raise issues of performance during briefing and design and it assists with the management of expectations during design construction and commissioning. It provides for project team support and fine-tuning of systems, extended aftercare with monitoring, performance reviews and feedback studies. It provides a natural platform for BREEAM, post-occupancy assessments and other forms of performance feedback There are many more issues involved in the performance gap, but much can be achieved by effective briefing, detailed specification, monitoring, metering, testing and feedback.
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Performance Before Eco-Bling Andrew Orriss, Chairman of the UK SIPs Association ‘Fit and forget’ is an expression I came across a while ago, but I have never really seen it understood in the context of building. It seems to be a statement that best sums up our attitude to fast-moving consumer goods buy a product or appliance, plug it in and away you go. I think it has potential as a concept, in particular residential building projects, and specifically those with a sustainability mandate for example The Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH). The emerging interest in PassivHaus construction in the UK will certainly be tuning into this concept. I believe we still default too quickly to micro renewable technology for solutions to meet these standards, confirmed by a visit to exhibitions such as Ecobuild, where one could be overwhelmed by the technology on show, with something to meet almost |76| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
every zero carbon, sustainable, embodied energy and ‘green’ agenda. But is this missing a trick? EcoBling is not fit and forget! There appears to be a trend developing, that in order to reach the requirements of the CSH, a building should be doused in ‘eco bling’. Photovoltaic panels, micro wind farms, solar water heaters and ground source/ air source heat pumps are just a snap shot of the range of the products available to improve a property’s sustainability credentials. However these can sometimes prove to be costly and over-complicated solutions. Is there a simpler way to achieve even the minimum requirements of the CSH without focussing on energy renewables? I think there is.
The building method and structure can be an integral part in achieving the overall performance targets set-out in the CSH. In my experience the notion of adopting the appropriate building structure which meets the required performance criteria without the need for various renewable energy sources still escapes some. In tough market conditions where we are looking to design and construct projects that represent good value to the client, it’s perhaps a lesson we should pay more than just lip service to. Modern building systems, such as structural insulated panels are designed and engineered to offer maximum thermal performance and airtightness. Minimising thermal loss through a considered building envelope specification will undoubtedly reduce the requirements on mechanical building services for heating, cooling and ventilation. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are prefabricated, high performance, lightweight, building panels that can be used in walls, and roofs for residential and commercial buildings. A SIP consists of two high density face layers, typically Orientated Strand Board (OSB) which are bonded on both sides of a low density, cellular foam core substrate.
Thermal loss is dictated by the hygrothermal performance (transportation of heat, air and moisture) of the building envelope. The composite nature of SIPs provides an efficient and effective solution to reducing thermal loss and therefore improves energy conservation without need for ‘eco bling’. U-values as low as 0.11 W/m2K can be achieved using SIPs which exceed the requirements of both the Building Regulations and CSH. Looking ahead to 2013 and the anticipated changes to Part L of the Building Regulations, there will be increased focus on the thermal performance and air permeability of a building’s structure. SIPs are capable of meeting those requirements with minimal fuss and in many cases no significant design changes from a building designed to current building regulations. Even outside of this discussion, there are a variety of other issues that developers and ultimately, residents and tenants, will face. If we begin to become dependent on micro-renewable technology, then where do we turn if it begins to go wrong? Who will I call and what does this mean to my carbon emissions? In some cases, fully trained engineering networks already support development of the eco-products. But do we fully understand as consumers what we are getting into from a maintenance perspective? I am not so sure – I’m from within the industry and I’m confused. Micro generation versus Macro generation or personal responsibility versus collective responsibility for low carbon energy? Henry Ford was never asked to crack oil to make petrol for his motor cars, should we be asked to produce our own energy? Evidence already available suggests that Level 5 of the CSH could be over 20% more expensive than approved document standards in terms of performance. Whilst I recognise that high levels of the CSH still require some form of renewable energy generation, I believe improved structural envelope will limit the type required to hit the desired levels and potentially control costs.
In the UK structural insulated panels are available with a number of different insulation cores, expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyisocyanate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR). In all cases it is the insulation core that provides excellent thermal properties due to the limited amount of timber studs required. Equally air permeability due to the large format nature of the supplied panels is much lower than traditional construction due to the small number of joints in the structure. Understanding how a building structure contributes to good thermal efficiency before micro-renewable technology is used to ‘plug the gaps’ is the first step. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |77|
This is all well and good of course until local authorities decide on a compulsory percentage of renewable energy sources before planning permission is granted (the dreaded Morton Review). Utterly pointless as this suppresses intelligent decisions being made with regard to the conservation over the micro production of energy, which in many cases makes a scheme unaffordable? If one does embrace the Fabric First approach and it is accepted that energy conservation has more merit than energy production on a micro scale we could still have affordability issues in the current climate. This is where Architecture can help as I speak of design for manufacture. Whilst there are many people who have already embraced the concept of ‘designing for manufacture’ (DfM) – dictating the general look of a building by the most cost effective material used in the most cost effective way to construct it, I fear there are as many people who are yet to appreciate, or sample it. The ultimate goal must be for Architecture to consider the appropriate building system, before committing to, and be unwilling to compromise on, the building’s design. A tall order in the industry’s current climate, but it would be worth examining some of the benefits to explain the added value DfM can offer: • Building components such as Structural Insulated Panels are engineered and assembled in a controlled factory environment, providing better quality materials that are subject to stringent and more empirical quality assurance tests. • No unnecessary design time as traditionally designed buildings are converted to system build. • Larger subassemblies are delivered on-site in the order of construction, improving vehicle utilisation, speed of construction and on-site assembly. • Waste material is reduced as components are ordered to best suit the optimum output from the production facility, eliminating the “order extra materials because some will be damaged” issue. • Most effective use of product There are many more benefits and I’m sure willing DfM protagonists would be happy to go into great detail. In my view it is worth the research, should you be inclined, to investigate the benefits of DfM further. Critics, and there are a significant number, will always challenge the inflexibility of system build, alongside the increased capital cost argument is simply not true. The flexibility issue is a myth. There are many building systems, including ‘flat pack’ panels like SIPs that can deal with very ambitious architecture. Add these to the number of façade systems available, and an interesting building can be achieved. I understand the desire to create beautiful buildings that can lift the communities where people can take pride in their environment. I equally appreciate budgetary constraints on a project. However, I believe neither should exclude a DfM building |78| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
system, just design from a slightly different point of view. Essentially, understand how the building can be assembled by working with a supplier early and use this as the design driver. Predictable costing of DfM means that time taken upfront may deliver a surprise at the final outcome of the project costs. My only word of caution is to choose carefully with whom you consult as true compassion is potentially complex. Untried and untested is again another misconception. Legitimate suppliers of SIPs building systems will have evidence to support the performance of their particular product in the form of test data, or approvals such as a BBA certificate and third party engineering calculations. So I take great exception to any suggestion of untested performance. Structural insulated panels have been used in the US since 1952; the UK market is over 10 years old and we have completed hundreds of different schemes from self-build to multi million pound developments, so we are hardly the new kid on the block. As the construction industry plods along in the mire of a recession the drivers for change may be weak – plenty of skilled labour at cheaper rates, low-cost traditional building materials, no great rush to complete projects. But what will happen when the economy starts to recover? What is going to happen is we start seeing demand for housing being slowly met along with changing legislation that requires us to use less energy? I don’t think you’ll be surprised that DfM may start to make much greater sense when we are forced to hit those sustainability targets but still need commercially viable solutions that we can forget about as consumers! More information on the Association and its members can be found on www.uksips.org
How Sustainable Business Practice Can Add Value By Jonathan Garrett, Group Head of Sustainability at Balfour Beatty Implementing a sustainability strategy may seem daunting, but given the right framework, ambition and leadership, it can lead to financial savings and new business opportunities, playing a vital role in an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future success.
Council and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership. The Programme is specifically designed for senior directors and managers, decision makers, and leaders from all organisations specifying infrastructure in the built environment.
In October 2009, we launched our 2020 vision and roadmap to help transform Balfour Beatty into a fully sustainable business. Two years on, we have made significant progress on our journey to embed sustainability into the way we do things. Implementing the roadmap has proven to be a continual improvement process in its own right. As a company that operates across the infrastructure life cycle from design to construction, maintenance and operation across many geographies we can make an important contribution to sustainable development.
We help to shape industry thinking and contribute to a variety of government consultations, ranging from reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon foot printing to biodiversity off-setting through a network of 200 environment and sustainability practitioners. We are helping to shape the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to the growing issue of water conservation, launching a water action plan in June 2011 through the Strategic Forum for Construction. This programme covers water measurement and best practice on site during construction for an issue that has received little focus in the sector to date. We believe that water foot printing will grow in importance, moving from water accounting to the local impact of water (severity). To help inform thinking in this area, our professional services business Parsons Brinckerhoff has created a suite of water foot printing tools. Our ambition is the development of common solutions for water foot printing within the industry.
Our view of sustainability goes beyond carbon and the environment. It is about communities and people, influencing the agenda, and leaving a lasting legacy. Our approach to sustainable construction is focused on five broad themes: Influencing the market To be a truly sustainable business we need to help build a market where sustainability is the norm. We need to encourage our customers to specify more sustainable infrastructure. This means influencing policy and decision making and building relationships before we start work on projects. During 2011 we helped fund the development of the Sustainability Leadership in the Built Environment Programme jointly developed by the UK Green Building
The value of the green retrofit market for buildings is estimated to be worth up to ÂŁ10bn per year in the UK alone. We have commissioned research on low carbon refurbishment of schools. This work culminated in the Westborough Primary School low carbon demonstrator project in Essex. The refurbished Edwardian school has increased wall and roof insulation, double glazing, a biomass boiler and solar photovoltaics. This low carbon learning environment also benefits the local community and generates additional revenue for the school. The ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |79|
improved acoustic insulation now means the school hall can host evening events without disturbing its neighbours.
whole-life cost thinking and the best examples of green offices from around the world to deliver a range of environmental and cost-saving opportunities over the operational life of the building. The drive to a greener economy is also generating new business opportunities for us. These include renewable energy such as offshore wind and solar, green retrofit of buildings and energy from waste facilities. For example, we recently completed a 6.1 MW solar PV project at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona which will meet the energy requirements for 1,000 service families’ homes and built the largest net zero school in the US in Texas, which will generate more energy than it is using through renewables. We are leading the way on wind projects. These include supplying and installing the electrical switchgear and cabling for the world’s largest on-shore wind farm at Whitelee in Scotland (over 200 turbines generating 539MW). Off-shore, we are the preferred bidder for the 20 year transmission contracts for the Thanet and Greater Gabbard wind farms in the North Sea, connecting the turbines to the grid. We will be the largest provider of these services with 40% of the current UK market. Off-shore wind presents a multi-£billion market for us in terms of investment opportunities, design, construction, operation and maintenance.
Work winning and growth markets One of the objectives of our road map is helping our customers to fulfil their sustainability aspirations. Getting this right will help to grow our business by using sustainability as a value adding differentiator. Our joint venture construction business, Gammon Construction, recently completed the Tamar Complex which is Hong Kong’s new seat of government. We won the contract for our ability to provide world-class design and construction as an integrated package, and for the high standards of sustainability, safety and sensitivity to local needs that we embodied in our approach. Rather than focusing on upfront capital costs, we applied |80| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Innovation and supply chain collaboration: Delivering more sustainable infrastructure will not be achieved without innovation and the contribution of our supply chain. Innovations from our larger projects are then cascaded down to smaller projects. A good example of this is the sustainable materials expertise we have developed on major road schemes in terms of waste avoidance and using by-products from other industries in construction. On the A421 near Bedford in the UK, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of power station ash, recycled aggregate and glass plus thousands of car tyres were used in the scheme, saving some 77,000 tonnes of embodied carbon and £3.8m in material savings. We worked with our supply chain to achieve our first zero waste to landfill project on the A46 road scheme in Nottinghamshire by diverting the last remaining fraction of waste to be used as fuel for the cement kilns supplying the project. By 2020 we are aiming to achieve zero waste to landfill on all of our projects.
In conjunction with our supply chain partner Genquip in Wales, we have developed what we believe is the most sustainable site accommodation/welfare unit available on the market (Ecolootion) with its innovative battery pack design, waterless urinals, integral rainwater harvesting and effluent incinerator unit reducing CO2 emissions by up to 80% over a conventional unit. More than the environment Sustainability is much more than the environment. We take a holistic view including our supply chain and the communities we serve. Balfour Beatty is one of 18 major employers working together at Heathrow airport on working on a new sustainability partnership. We have led on the development of employment and skills agenda through the creation of a construction academy to help recruit and train local long term unemployed. We worked with our supply chain partners to provide employment opportunities on our Terminal 2B project, for 38 unemployed from the London boroughs surrounding the airport. Our projects are a major opportunity for local economic regeneration. We hold â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Meet the Buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; days and invite local businesses to a presentation on project opportunities (e.g. a school or hospital) followed by faceto-face interviews with local businesses to maximise the proportion of money spent on local suppliers and subcontractors.
sustainability is our collective responsibility. To this effect, we have implemented e-learning programmes around ethics and values and launched a new sustainability course for all our employees. We have also started rolling out bespoke Golden Rules within our organisation to ensure that contractors and part time agency staff can take practical steps to be more sustainable. In addition to our E-learning programme, all of our operating companies have sustainable working groups with champions from different departments to deliver real change. We have already trained over 15,000 members of staff across our operations and received over 28,000 commitments from our employees to adopt more sustainable behaviours. In addition, we host regular meetings with the sustainability managers from across the operating companies to share best practice and update each other on the latest developments. Many of these discussions lead to work- winning opportunities through joint working. By working in partnership with suppliers, customers, regulators and other teams across the business on sustainability issues, we firmly believe that we can offer a real value proposition, helping us secure business for generations to come.
As part of our sustainability vision, the health and welfare of the public and our staff is paramount. As a result we have been rolling our Zero Harm programme across our business to ensure zero deaths, zero injuries and zero ruined lives through our projects. We have also been running wellbeing programmes across a number of our sites, such as running Health Days to raise awareness of health, wellbeing and lifestyle issues. Embedding sustainability across the business The key to our 2020 vision and road map is the part all our employees have to play in making it happen. That is why
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TIMBER Page 84 - 89
The Role Of Wood Waste As A Source Of Biomass Fuel In The Uk, Miles Brown & Victor Kearley
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Sustainable Management Of Ghanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Forest And Responsible Timber Production, Alexander Offei and M Nurudeen Iddrisu. Ghana forestry Commission, London Office
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The Role Of Wood Waste As A Source Of Biomass Fuel In The Uk By Miles Brown BSc, MSc, CBiol, MSB, AIEMA & Victor Kearley BSc, PhD, FIWSc production is flexible and controllable so it can easily be adjusted to match required levels. This is in contrast to technologies like solar and wind energy, where output is intrinsically dependant on the capricious forces of nature, whose delivery may be quite independent of human demand. Biomass will help to regulate A key difference between using biomass and fossil fuels is that and balance the grid as increasing levels of with biomass, if sustainably managed, the carbon dioxide (CO2) released from combustion is in theory re-absorbed by replacement intermittent renewables make a contribution. It can also exploit a diverse range of feedstocks growth via photosynthesis. The process therefore remains essentially carbon neutral, so unlike the combustion of fossil fuels, which includes both plant and animal matter in the form of virgin materials and waste. The the only contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission comes from processing and transport. Generation of low carbon energy is government considers that such diversity will of increasing interest to the government, as implementation of the provide greater confidence in security of supply. 2008 Climate Change Act means that the UK has a series of legally The government also sees numerous potential commercial opportunities from exploiting binding targets en route to a long-term goal of reducing GHG biomass energy, including: emissions to 20% of 1990 levels by 2050. • Growing energy crops (typically as short rotation coppice of willow or poplar, or As a signatory to the European Energy Directive, the UK is now miscanthus). required to generate 15% of its energy overall from renewable • Increasing the proportion of UK forest under sources by 2020. This is seven times greater than that sustainable management. achieved in 2008, and the government • Identifying new markets for wastes and envisages that, nationally, renewables residues. will provide 30% of electricity, 12% • Developing a fuel processing sector. of heat and 10% of transport energy • Developing a sector for the design, requirements. To help achieve this manufacture and installation of equipment demanding target the government and plant at all scales of operation from launched its Renewable Energy domestic heating to power stations supplying Strategy in 2009, which considers the national grid. that about 30% of the 2020 • Developing new technologies such as renewables target will be met gasification and pyrolysis. by biomass heat and electricity (DECC, 2011a). Drivers for the development of Biomass To stimulate the production of renewable energy The significance of from biomass and other technologies, the biomass, however, government introduced the Renewable Obligation extends beyond (RO) through the Utilities Act (2000), which was achievable levels implemented in 2002 (2005 in Northern Ireland). of output. Initially anticipated to run until 2027, the scheme Biomass energy Biomass is a generic term for a wide range of organic materials including wood, which are used to generate electricity and/or heat. Waste wood is just one form of biomass for which there is rapidly growing interest in the UK. This paper review outlines some of the issues involved.
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has now been extended until 2037 (2033 in Northern Ireland). The RO operates by the government setting targets for the proportion of renewable electricity that has to be supplied to the market. The Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) who act as the industry’s regulator, initially issued a Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) to producers of renewable electricity for each megawatt hour (MWh) generated. The principle is that producers sell the ROCs to the suppliers who offer them as proof of meeting their obligation. As an alternative to presenting certificates, the suppliers have the option of paying a ‘buyout’ price for any shortfall in their quota, which for the 2010 – 2011 compliance period, has been set at £36.99 per MWh. Finally, the proceeds from all of the buyout payments are distributed to the suppliers in proportion to the number of ROCs that they presented. In 2009 the RO was amended to introduce banded ROCs, thus rather than issuing one ROC per MWh, the ROC allocation became dependent upon the technology generating the energy (Table 1). Advanced thermal technologies such as gasification and pyrolysis saw an increase in their allocation, as did the use of biomass sourced from energy crops, and biomass use for the generation of combined heat and power (CHP). The reason here was to focus support on emerging technologies, so the established technologies saw no increase in support, and in cases such as co-firing non-crop biomass with fossil fuels, support actually fell to 0.5 ROC/MWh. Table 1 Examples of banded ROC allocation for established and emerging biomass- related technologies. Generation type
ROCs/MWh
Co-firing fossil fuels with non-energy crop biomass
0.5
Co-firing fossil fuels with energy crop biomass
1 1
Co-firing fossil fuels with non-energy crop biomass for CHP Co-firing fossil fuels with energy crop biomass for CHP Dedicated non-energy-crop biomass Dedicated non-energy crop biomass for CHP Dedicated energy crop biomass Dedicated energy crop biomass for CHP Gasification & pyrolysis Anaerobic digestion
1.5 1.5 2 2 2 2 2
Source: DECC 2011 ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |85|
In July 2011 the Government published an Electricity Reform white paper and a Renewable Energy roadmap to set out plans on how it will meet its 2020 targets under the Renewable Energy Directive. This includes the introduction of Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs) with Contracts for Difference (CfD) as a form of subsidy that will eventually replace the ROC system. In practice the system aims to reduce investor uncertainty by establishing a set price, known as the strike price at the beginning of a contract. If the generator finds that market price has fallen below the strike price the FiT will make up the difference. However, if the market price rises above the strike price, the generator will be obliged to return the difference to the FiT operator, so whilst the generator is protected from falling market prices, conversely, there is no scope to receive a windfall profit. The government anticipates that CfD FiT contacts will be available in 2014, but the option will remain for accreditation under the Renewables Obligation which will be available until 2017. Further government support for biomass is to be achieved through the Renewable Heat Incentive, which is an initiative to help achieve a target set under the Renewable Energy Directive for the UK to generate 12% of its heat from renewables by 2020. Considering that the level of heat generation directly from renewable technologies in the UK was 1.6% in 2009 (Committee on Climate Change, 2011), this is an ambitious target. It is anticipated that at least 40% of this figure will be achieved by modern wood heating, with contributions from other technologies such as biogas, deep geothermal, ground and water heat source pumps and solar thermal (≤ 200 kWh). The scheme, like the RO, is to be administered by Ofgem and is scheduled to run for 20 years. Currently, £860 million has been earmarked to provide support for new installations. The result of these incentives will be drastically to increase demand for a wide range of biomass fuels in the coming years, both for heat and for electricity generation. Throughout the EU, demand for wood pellets is anticipated to grow 10 fold by 2020 (Crowe, 2011). Within the UK in 2010, biomass electricity output from units equal to or greater than two megawatts was estimated as just over 305 megawatts of electricity (MWe), consuming various sources of biomass at a consumption rate of just under 1.7 million tonnes per year. However, if all installations both in planning and proposed come on line, output will increase by a further 4,000 MWe with a demand for fuel exceeding 35 million tonnes per year (Hogan, 2011). With increases in demand of this order, the UK and indeed the EU as a whole will find that |86| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
they are importing increasing volumes of material. In response to this recognition, the UK government has introduced a requirement for sustainability reporting, where the generator is greater than 50 kW. In addition, from April 2013, the carbon intensity of biomass should not exceed 285.12 kg CO2/MWh (DECC, 2011b). Another outcome of this potentially rapid increase in demand is that much wood previously destined for the waste stream will have an application. Waste Wood The main sources of non-virgin wood are from the following waste streams: • Commercial & industrial • Municipal • Construction & demolition The characteristics of the materials to emerge can be variable, and this may influence potential applications as a recycled product. The comparative market share for recycled wood in the UK is presented in Figure 1.
Biomass energy 25%
Pathways & coverings 1%
Panelboard 50%
Horticultural products 4% Equine service 3%
Animal bedding 17%
Figure 1 Percentage consumption of recycled wood produced in the UK (2010) by end use. Source: WRA 2011 Waste wood that is clean and contamination free is actively sought after for high value products such as high grade animal bedding and horticultural mulch. These are not, however, rapidly growing markets and currently account for only a quarter of the wood recycled in the UK (Figure 1). The panelboard sector will accept small levels of contamination, as it bases its acceptance criteria
on the stringent requirements set for the European standard for the safety of toys (BS EN 71: 1995). Such a cautious approach is justified by the fact that panelboard products may be used in toys, and if permitted limits are acceptable for an application that will inevitably involve close contact with children, they should be safe for almost any other application. An initiative to produce an industry standard to control the quality of wood waste entering the panelboard sector came with the introduction of Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 104 in 2004. However, in practice it was not embraced, as typically wood recyclers were contractually obliged to exceed the specification limits required by the PAS to suit individual panel manufacturer’s requirements. Wood recycling on a commercial scale has only emerged in the UK in recent years; the sector is therefore young and still developing. A decade ago, about 90% of the recycled wood produced was used by the panelboard sector, mainly for the production of chipboard. In 2010 the UK panelboard sector consumed just over 1.1 million tonnes of recycled wood (WRA, 2011), and although still the largest consumer, market share has declined, and in 2010 it accounted for just under 50% of the available material. The recent economic downturn saw consumption by the panelboard sector fall by nearly 12%, although by 2010 demand had bounced back by 5% over the previous year. On the other hand, an emerging biomass sector was reported as having consumed 551,000 tonnes of recycled wood in 2010 (WRA, 2011), a figure which has more than doubled since 2007. Looking into the future, predictions suggest that demand from the biomass sector for recycled wood could exceed four million tonnes by 2015. This figure is about twice the current level of the UK wood recycling industry’s annual output, and whilst recycling levels may continue to grow, operators seeking sources of biomass waste will increasingly be looking further afield. In addition to wood recycled for the UK market,
it is estimated that in 2010 an additional 377,000 tonnes was exported to European countries for biomass (WRA, 2011), quite a jump from the 71,000 tonnes exported in 2009 (WRA, 2010). Although Environment Agency (EA) estimates for recycled wood exports are lower than those of the Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA), recent trends suggest that an export market may be developing. The WRA considers much of this to be a short-term trend as suppliers wait for the commissioning of biomass power plants. There is however, also an opinion that developing export markets will be a long-term phenomenon. High demand in Europe has in particular led to feedstock shortfalls in Germany and Sweden, which is in now having an influence on gate fees in the UK wood recycling market (Holland, 2011). The future may therefore see significant additional competition from continental and northern Europe for recycled wood as biomass, especially for wood that is processed with ready access to a port. The quantity of wood waste generated in the UK annually has proved difficult to determine with any great certainty, because the timber industry contains a high proportion of small operators. A thorough study would require a large number of surveys to be completed by a group who may lack the information or capacity to respond to detailed questionnaires. Gathering accurate and representative survey data is therefore challenging and, as a result, estimates of national arisings have shown considerable variation over the years. A study published in 2005 suggested that the UK could be generating as much as 10.5 million tonnes of wood waste per year (MEL, 2005), considered by many in the wood recycling sector to be too high. However, in 2009, this figure was drastically revised down to nearer 4.5 million tonnes for 2007 in a survey undertaken for the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) (Pöyry and Oxford Economics, 2009). At this time, biomass buyers were pursuing 10 million tonnes per year of waste and virgin wood, to meet demand for existing and proposed biomass power stations (Beadle, 2009). In addition to having considerably less waste wood available than was thought, it also became apparent that most of the then virgin supplies available were already committed. Therefore, as a biomass energy sector develops, not only will waste and virgin biomass be sought from abroad, but much new plant will have the capacity and flexibility to include non-wood based biomass. It is estimated that 2.25 million tonnes of wood was
recycled in the UK for home consumption during 2010, and that WRA members, believed to account for nearly 80% of UK recycled wood output, exported a further 540,000 tonnes (WRA, 2011), suggesting a total figure in the order of 2.8 million tonnes. However, in addition to wood waste products that are exported from the UK, a WRAP study to be published later this year identified in 2010 that a similar volume is being imported, largely from North America, as many biomass operators establish long-term contracts to ensure a secure supply. The capacity of the UK wood waste stream seems to have diminished further from the 4.5 million tonnes generated in 2007 to 4.1 million tonnes generated in 2010 (WRAP, 2011). These figures therefore suggest that well over half the wood waste being produced in the UK is being diverted from the waste stream, which further re-enforces the limited capacity of the domestic waste stream to accommodate the increasing demand for biomass fuel. As the cleanest wood in the waste stream has already found markets via the wood recycling sector, the remaining wood will inevitably consist of lower grade material. This will include various degrees of physical contamination such as metal fixings and nails, as well as materials like paper, cardboard, plastics and stones that have found their way into the waste stream. Much of the wood may also be chemically contaminated through treatment with paints, varnishes, coatings and preservatives. Other materials will include panelboard products such as chipboard, plywood and MDF. Although chipboard often contains a high proportion of recycled wood, panelboard products are not in turn readily recyclable into new products. A major barrier to recycling is that during manufacturing, resin is absorbed into the wood fibres, which undermines their capacity to absorb further resin as part of a future manufacturing cycle. Accommodating low grade wood waste as biomass Whilst offering potential as a biomass fuel, one hurdle to the exploitation of waste |88| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
wood-based panel material was that initially under the RO, fuels were required to contain a minimum of 98% biomass for the purposes of receiving ROCs. As panelboard materials typically contain 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 10% resin, they were effectively excluded under rules as they stood. This was rectified in 2006 when government lowered the limit to 90%, therefore making panelboard material eligible for ROCs, so the emergence of a biomass sector will play a key role in steering this material away from landfill. In addition to government support under the RO, a major advantage enjoyed by the biomass sector is that, depending upon boiler specification, it is in a position to compete for all of the wood that enters the waste stream. This is of concern to the panelboard sector, which views such competition as an economic threat. Many small-scale domestic and commercial heating boilers rely on pellets made from virgin or clean recycled wood. There is much equipment, however, especially for larger scale energy generation, and a new breed of smaller, more specialist devices that will exploit wood chips with varying degrees of contamination, such as waste panelboards and treated wood. A major issue, however, is that wood which has been treated with heavy metals or halogenated organic compounds can only be accommodated in plant that complies with the requirements of European Directive 2000/76/EC, better known as the Waste Incineration Directive (WID), which provides legislation to control emissions to air and water and limit the risks that combustion imposes on the environment and human health. Therefore for the biomass sector, WID compliance will be a key factor in developing the capacity to exploit a large proportion of the wood waste stream. Future developments In recent years the EA and WRAP in partnership have worked on a series of waste streams under their Waste Protocols Project to determine the point at which a potential waste material can be considered suitable for alternative applications. The significance of this is that, free from the requirement of waste legislation, such materials are open to be treated on the market as a resource. As well as reducing the burden of unnecessary waste, the process simultaneously increases the availability of valuable raw materials. Whilst this has been successful for some waste streams, an attempt to apply one to wood waste failed due largely to the lack of a clear industry standard that could determine the point at which a waste material met the criteria necessary to be exploited for its intended purpose. A second attempt
is now in progress, but in its present guise it will not be considering biomass. A new industry standard in the form of PAS 111 is also nearing completion, and is expected to be published during 2011. The exclusion of biomass from the pending Wood Waste Protocol is of concern to a wood recycling industry that saw this as an opportunity to boost their main growth area. They argue that for low grade wood waste, WIDcompliant combustion is the only viable solution for a material where no recycling options exist. The EA however, was not confident that it could derive acceptable environmental limits via a generic risk assessment, either for the wood waste as a fuel, or for the emissions generated through combustion. References Beadle, T. (2009) Wood Waste: a valuable fuel. Resource Waste Management & Recovery. 18th September p8 BSI (2004) Publicly Available Specification 104 Wood recycling in the panelboard manufacturing industry. British Standards Institute Committee on Climate Change (2011) The Renewable energy Review May 2011. Committee on Climate Change. London. www.theccc.org.uk
heat_power/heat_power.aspx [accessed 24th May 2011] DECC (2011b) Government Response to the Statutory Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order 2011. Chapter 2 Sustainability Criteria for Biomass & Biogas. http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Consultations/ Renewables%20Obligation/1059-gov-response-ro-order2011-cons.pdf H M Government (2009) The UK Renewable Energy Strategy. The Stationary Office Hogan, G. (2011) UK biomass power stations, current and planned. Forestry Commission and Biomass Energy Centre Holland, T (2011) Exporting wood waste ‘to become a long-term trend’. www.mrw.co.uk 30th June. MEL (2005) Reference document on the status of wood waste arisings and management in the UK. Waste Resources & Action Programme Pöyry and Oxford Economics (2009) Wood Waste Market in the UK. Waste Resources & Action Programme WRA (2010) Waste Wood to Market Statistics 2009. Wood Recyclers’ Association
Crowe, R. (2011) EU’s Renewable Goals Driving Wood Pellet Growth. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com 25th March
WRA (2011) Waste Wood to Market Statistics 2010. Wood Recyclers’ Association
DECC (2011a) Biomass for heat and power [on-line]. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/ uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/explained/bioenergy/
WRAP (2011) Realising the value of recovered wood Wood Waste Market Situation Report. Waste Resources & Action Programme
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T N E M E G A N A M E L D B N A A N T I S A E R O SUST F S ’ A N R A E B H G M I F T O E L B I S N O P S E . R N O I T C U D O R P By Alexander Offei and M Nurudeen Iddrisu. Ghana forestry Commission, London Office
Ghana is recognised as one of the most advanced tropical African countries in established forest policy, legislation, forest inventory, management planning, and in having a National Forest Standard and principles, criteria and indicators for judging the quality of forest management and usage. The tropical forests of Ghana contain a wide range of timber species suitable for the construction industry, decking, flooring, panels and builder’s woodwork. The strength and beauty of Ghana’s tropical timbers lies in its ability to withstand weight and the wondrous allay of colour and grain pattern and fit at the specifier’s choice. Ghana brings to the market place legal timber species that have such attributes of intriguing grain structures, broad colour palette and natural durability fit for all architectural designs.
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When it comes to exotic wood flooring, decking and all other external applications, our outstanding timbers of: Denya (Cylicodiscus gabunensis), Danta (Nesogordonia paparifera), Kontan (Uapaca guineensis ), Bompagya (Mammea africana), Kusia (Nauclea diderrichii), Bodwe (Ongokea gore), Wawabima (Sterculia rhinopetala), and many others stand out. These species are all medium to heavy and range between 750kg/m3 – 1000kg/m3 at 12% - 15% moisture content and are also suitable for other applications that require heavy weights in wood. Ghana sells timber with a purpose to continue to output only legal timber from sustainable sources, adhering to the EU and International Tropical Timber Organisation principles. This means that, Ghana is working towards achieving the EU’s FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement ,Governance and Trade) licensing and within the US Lacey
Act regimes and with the assurances to specifiers that, Ghana will continue to be at the forefront of the international tropical timber market place for a long time.
are allowed to plant food crops alongside taking care of the tree crops. At age of maturity the farmer, the government and the community receive their fair share of their return in investment.
Ghana has a strong Forestry Commission (FC) including an overseas branch (FC London Office), a long history of forest management, and capacity for forest research. The forest industry is a large employer, much of it in the informal sector. The Ghana FC has an established approach to forest management, more especially in forest reserves.
The second strategy is geared towards employing people from the rural areas who live along the fringes of the forests and contract supervisors to establish industrial plantations. Hired labour is paid on a monthly basis per work done while contractors are given one year renewable contract. This second strategy is geared towards poverty alleviation and job creation sponsored by the central government with technical support from the forestry commission.
A range of measures have been put in place to reduce illegal logging, including a Wood Tracking System (WTS) which has been successfully piloted and will receive a nationwide coverage for all productive forests sources in 2012. The WTS is designed to monitor timber from standing trees in the forest to processing facilities, or from points of imports to processing facilities and to local sale outlets and or export facilities. The process will enable the tracking of individual logs and consignments of processed wood products, and will include product labelling, physical inspections and documentary checks. The system will provide the full traceability of timber from all sources and certify the origin and legal and regulatory compliance of all timber products. A national forest plantation development programme has been launched with the aim of developing a sustainable forest resource base that will satisfy future demand for industrial timber and enhance environmental quality. The programme is currently being implemented under three main strategies. The first of these involves the establishment of plantations by the Forestry Commission in partnership with farmers for benefit sharing, in that farmers
The third strategy is mainly investor focus involving huge tracts of degraded forest lands released by the forestry commission to private entities after vetting and endorsing their reforestation and business plans. The private investor earns 90% of total proceeds whiles the government and the community owns just 10%. This is modelled not just to attract local investment but also to attract foreign direct investment opportunities into the plantation sector of the country. Also, Ghana has been chosen as a pilot country for upscaled REDD+ investment through the Forest Investment Program. These among other initiatives make Ghana stand out among the pack when it comes to forest sustainability in the tropics and a place of choice for investment into the Eco-Services areas such as EcoTourisms, Carbon credits etc.
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ENERGY Page 94 - 96
Encouraging your organisation to seize the low carbon opportunity, Harry Morrison, General manager of the Carbon Trust Standard
Page 97- 98
The Renewables Obligation Banding Review, Paul Thompson, Head of Policy, Renewable Energy Association
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Encouraging your organisation to seize the low carbon opportunity By Harry Morrison, general manager of the Carbon Trust Standard According to Chris Huhne, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, the key to future growth is to kick start a third industrial revolution: by boosting the green economy. As green growth rises up the corporate agenda, energy and environment managers are under increasing pressure to help their organisations exploit low carbon opportunities, such as enhanced operational efficiency and improved reputation. Championing improvement is no mean feat, especially since old attitudes and processes can appear seemingly ingrained into an organisation’s DNA. Also, the remit of many energy and environmental managers often includes both Health and Safety – so time and resources are tight. Before you can drive widespread behavioral change, energy and environment managers need to win support from the Board. The good news is that the energy efficiency imperative is already resonating across UK boardrooms. Research from the Carbon Trust shows that 48% of financial directors of large organisations believe the low carbon economy is vital in creating new opportunities and winning new business; while 78% of financial directors recognise that it is crucial to protecting brand value. But how does an energy manager appeal to those high level imperatives and win the Board’s blessing to invest in driving down an organisation’s energy use and carbon emissions? In most cases, energy efficiency initiatives can be bolstered significantly when the savings are verified by a credible, independent, third party. An independent assessment of your carbon reduction framework and achievements provides the Board with the validation they need to justify further investment from internal stakeholders and shareholders.
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In the case of Manchester United Football, a major aspect of the club’s mission to cut its carbon footprint was to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard. Verification of its performance in measuring, managing and reducing carbon helped to sharpen its focus on targets. After making a firm commitment in July 2008 to reduce energy use by 10%, the club exceeded its goal by nearly seven per cent last year. In some cases, the dedication of energy and environment managers in meeting their goals can be perceived as a ‘heads down’ approach by the organisation, which often leads to their efforts going unrewarded. The key to gaining buy-in is to translate internal energy and cost savings into wider value creation. Success relies on engaging the workforce in energy and carbon reduction by helping them understand their impact and the savings realised in non-technical language that resonates externally. If you can bridge the gap to your marketing team by equipping them with simple explanations, engaging case studies, and independent verification of the organisation’s success in cutting its environmental impacts, then suddenly your efforts will act as a driver for enhanced reputation, and in turn value. Carbon literacy is on the rise amongst consumers and businesses alike. Certification gives the marketing team the license to promote your environmental achievements, and encourage consumer engagement and loyalty to the brand. Recent research found that 61% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company if it has a good reputation for reducing its impact on climate change. Similarly, in the B2B context, companies are under increasing pressure from procurement teams down the supply chain to improve their carbon performance and demonstrate independent recognition for their achievements. To influence all layers of the business, while managing distractions within their own role, energy and environment managers need as much support and quick wins as possible. Here are a few suggestions:
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• Measure, manage then highlight your performance to the board. With teams stretched and your time at a premium, it’s often best to start with some low cost quick wins. Be sure to ring fence the savings you make so that they can be reinvested into further projects. • Implement and highlight flagship projects – you can’t do everything at once, but a few highly visible projects send a message that the organisation is taking energy efficiency investment seriously. Also, this is a great way to motivate your team and the wider workforce projects could range from investment in a biomass boiler or solar panels, to simply installing light sensors with a sign underneath highlighting why they’re there.
• Talk the language of the board. Make sure your message isn’t lost in ‘kilowatts’ and ‘tonnes of CO2. For example, if a hotel saves £100,000 on energy bills, that could be the equivalent revenue of employing five people, or selling 1,000 beds. • Build a bridge to the marketing team. Given the need for businesses to win consumer trust by reducing their impacts on the climate, there’s an opportunity for you to join forces with them in order to influence organisational change.
• Don’t forget that your carbon footprint extends far beyond your direct gas and electricity consumption and that your organisation’s reputation depends on a holistic plan of action. Engage your fleet manager to drive down vehicle emissions, consider options for reducing business travel and work with your procurement team to cut emissions in the supply chain. • Work towards independent certification. It will serve as tangible proof that your organisation has delivered on its carbon commitments. Your sales team will thank you for it - as you can guarantee that every RFP they submit has a box requesting independent proof of the organisation’s commitment to reducing environmental impacts.
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The Renewables Obligation Banding Review Paul Thompson, Head of Policy, Renewable Energy Association
Looking at renewable energy policy in the UK, there’s so much going on it’s hard to know where to start: the Renewable Heat Incentive is in place – at least for phase one; the Feed-in Tariff for solar is in crisis, and the longterm policy for transport is still unclear. And that’s before we get into trying to understand the implications of the various changes to the planning system. On top of all this, the Government is consulting on major changes to the Renewables Obligation (RO) – the policy for larger-scale renewable electricity. The RO introduced different levels of support/MWh (ROCs) for technologies in 2009. This is called ‘banding’. Support levels are meant to be based on costs of generation, although this still leaves considerable scope for political wrangling. The current rates apply only until March 2013. There is a consultation ongoing on support levels for 2013-17, which closes 12 January 2012. DECC intends to put final decisions into legislation later in 2012. The outcomes are particularly important given that the RO is due to be closed to new entrants in 2017. The new mechanism will be a ‘feed in tariff with contracts for difference’. This is worth a whole article to itself, but the |97| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
key point is that, whatever your opinion on the principle, there is still a huge amount of detail unresolved. Until that is done, it would be very hard to organise a project based on the new policy. The RO is therefore the only game in town for now. In general, the support levels are broadly in line with expectations, with some notable exceptions. This comes as a relief as we had serious concerns with the report compiled for DECC in advance of the consultation Perhaps inevitably, given the disagreements in Government that preceded publication, the whole policy has the feel of being a little over-engineered. I count 52 separate permutations in the bands, with 30 for bioenergy alone. There’s a very tight focus on hitting the 2020 targets in the Renewable Energy Directive at least cost. As a result of this, they identify offshore wind as the ‘marginal technology’ – the technology they will need (and be able) to get more of if other technologies fall short. They propose 2 ROCs for this to 2015, falling to 1.9 in 2015/16 and 1.8 in 2016/17.
They then propose that support for other technologies is capped at this level. This therefore sets the bands for advanced gasification and pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, dedicated energy crops, geothermal, microgeneration not included in the feed-in tariff, solar PV and tidal impoundment. Following this logic, anything cheaper than this should be strongly encouraged with support levels, if anything, erring on the generous side, to ensure maximum deployment. The proposals seem at odds with this, however, with many such technologies facing reductions: regular gasification and pyrolysis, dedicated biomass, energy from waste with CHP, hydro and onshore wind. Landfill gas is removed entirely. The big winner is wave and tidal stream, which goes from 2 to 5 ROCs, subject to a cap of 30MW per project. This is a great outcome and the result of many years of effort from the industry. Government has accepted the case that there is a real chance to build a new industry in which the UK can be a world leader. Having said that, other areas with potential and the prospect of rapid reductions in costs have not been so fortunate - such as solar PV and deep geothermal. As ever, a lot of the most complicated proposals have to do with bioenergy in one form or another. There is a strong focus on conversion of existing fossil plant and ‘enhanced co-firing’ – where biomass makes up at least 15% of gross output. Both of these will get 1 ROC. Dedicated biomass stays unchanged at 1.5 ROCs initially, but will reduce to 1.4 in 2016. This seems to be another example of the policy being needlessly complicated. There are some oddities here, and the language used suggests a lack of enthusiasm for new dedicated plant. The REA has set up a campaign to address these aspects of the proposals, - see the website for more details, - www.backbiomass.co.uk. Liquids will now revert to receiving the same support as regular biomass, although a cap will be introduced. At present, many bioenergy technologies receive extra support (an ‘uplift’ of 0.5 ROCs) if they are part of a sufficiently good quality combined heat and power (CHP) system. The proposal is that this will be withdrawn from April 2015. Thereafter, the RO would support power only, with the Renewable Heat Incentive supporting the heat. There was concern over this before, but this is a serious problem now that the 1MW+ biomass tariff in the RHI has been cut by over 60%. Developers will be very cautious of proceeding with projects as they will not be able to risk missing the deadline. The only solution that is within the Government’s control is to retain the CHP uplift until 2017.
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Another unwelcome change is the proposed new definition of advanced gasification and pyrolysis, which will now only be available to fuels burnt in an engine. Several current projects developed under the current definitions now risk dropping from 2 ROCs to 0.5 ROCs. This has sent shockwaves through the sector – even those not directly affected are alarmed at the precedent of arbitrary changes to definitions. DECC are aware that their evidence base is flawed and we are putting together evidence to help address this. The energy crops definition has also been made more restrictive, so that only species on a list contained in the legislation are eligible. This raises obvious concerns about reduced flexibility and innovation. At present, almost all technologies are ‘grandfathered’ – that is, the number of ROCs they will receive for the duration of their support under the scheme is fixed at the level when they were accredited. Energy crops, bioliquids and the CHP uplift will now be grandfathered – leaving only regular co-firing as the exception. Finally on bioenergy, we need a lot more detail on sustainability. There is widespread acceptance of the Government’s decision to make receipt of ROCs conditional on meeting sustainability criteria from April 2013, but the idea was to give industry 2 years of practice before then. At the moment, far too many details remain unresolved. We also need to know what will happen if the rules change in the future. As I warned at the beginning, this is a very complex area, even by energy policy standards. The REA is pulling together expertise with our members, both as part of our response to the consultation and informally via a series of meetings with DECC officials. The RO has to do the heavy lifting to reach our 2020 targets and beyond, and the network will need major new capacity in that time. The sector has huge potential so we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure that the decisions made over the next few months unlock the billions of pounds worth of investment that are needed. The REA is the trade association for the full range of technologies across the power, heat and transport sectors. It has just under 1000 members, ranging from sole traders to major multinationals. Visit www.r-e-a.net for more information.
LAND MANAGEMENT Page 100 - 102
Why We Still Need The Brownfield First Approach, Paul Miner, Senior Planning Campaigner, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
Page 103 - 108
Stabilisation and Solidification of Contaminated Soil and Waste Part 5: Durability, Longevity, and Monitoring of S/S Systems - Dr Colin Hills, Director, Centre for Contaminated Land Remediation, University of Greenwich
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WHY WE STILL NEED THE BROWNFIELD FIRST APPROACH By Paul Miner, Senior Planning Campaigner, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
In November 2011 CPRE published a new report: Building on a small island: why we still need the brownfield first approach, produced by the planning consultancy Green Balance. The report presents evidence which demonstrates overwhelmingly that existing national planning policy on prioritising the development of ‘brownfield first’ has been successful and that it should be retained. The report examines the implications of moving away from an emphasis in national planning policy on prioritising the re-use of brownfield land. In the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) it is proposed to cease referring explicitly to the need to development on brownfield sites (or ‘previously developed land’) before greenfield. Instead the draft NPPF refers to using land of ‘lesser environmental value’. The report also considers the implications of other related recent Government policy changes to drop the minimum housing density range which has until recently been national policy. Currently, Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) requires that local planning authorities prioritise |100| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
the development of suitable brownfield land for new development before greenfield sites are considered and to promote residential densities that make efficient use of land. Great strides have been made over the last 15 years to secure more use of brownfield land and build at minimum residential densities of at least 30 dwellings per hectare. These have assisted in urban renewal, avoidance of countryside loss, efficiency in land use (including reduced aggregates extraction and carbon emissions) and transport, and the associated social benefits of all of these. There is a real risk that these achievements will be reversed if the new Framework does not clearly continue the existing emphasis. The report finds that the justifications for the proposed policy changes, set out in an Impact Assessment to the draft NPPF, do not stand up to scrutiny. There appears to be an underlying misconception that brownfield land will not be replenished sufficiently at the same rate as it is being built on and therefore the existing policy, if continued, constrains land supply. Our analysis, which is based on the Government’s data, demonstrates, however,
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that brownfield land continues to come forward as part of the process of urban land recycling in a dynamic market. Indeed, across England as a whole replenishment has exceeded reuse since 2001. The detailed reasons to support the change of policy in the Impact Assessment inadequately understand the land and housing markets, and at times give misleading impressions. Case studies examined local authority areas and regions (in particular South East England) where there might be particular difficulty in sustaining house building rates, especially if brownfield sites were no longer forthcoming. Evidence over many years showed that these areas continued to supply large quantities of housing, almost entirely on brownfield land, often on ‘windfall’ sites that would have been difficult to predict in advance. With urban densities often high or very high, there is concern that ‘town-cramming’ may be taking place to the detriment of dwelling sizes, the availability of private gardens, and family life. Half the London boroughs have recently had average housing densities in excess of 100 dwellings per hectare (dph), for instance. The evidence suggests that good design, construction and management can resolve these problems, so that urban living can be enjoyable and affordable to families and other households on modest incomes. Ministers have argued that the reference to using land of ‘lesser environmental value’ will help address concerns that the existing brownfield first policy led to sites of high biodiversity value being developed. While the report recognises the concerns about the biodiversity value of some sites it does not come to the same conclusion about the need to radically reword the policy. It notes that in responding to the draft NPPF, Wildlife & Countryside Link (an umbrella body of environmental NGOs) stated that this should be addressed by retaining the brownfield first approach, but removing sites of proven high biodiversity value from the definition of brownfield. Key findings from the report, based on a statistical review of the available data on supply and use of brownfield land, include: •
31,160 hectares of brownfield land are available and suitable for residential development: enough to deliver nearly 1.5 million new dwellings. This is higher than the corresponding figure for 2001.
•
36,680 ha of brownfield land have been redeveloped for new housing since a national brownfield target was introduced in 1995. Had this development taken place on greenfield
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land instead, an area of countryside at least seven times the size of Southampton would have been lost to new housing.
•
The rate of greenfield land developed for housing could increase by as much as 158% per year from current levels, based on both the scenarios produced by the Government and the possible consequences of a loss of policies over brownfield and density.
The report recommends the retention of the ‘brownfield first’ approach in the final National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and also that the final NPPF should: • Allow for the reasonable expectations of ‘windfall’ sites coming forward in a local authority’s five year supply of developable land for new housing; •
Include policies which specifically encourage well- designed housing development at medium densities (at least 30 dwellings per hectare) or high densities consistent with other planning objectives, including the provision of family accommodation within urban areas at densities above 50dph; and
• Encourage local planning authorities to set targets for the re-use of previously developed land, based on local circumstances. Finally, the report argues that land recycling and housing density should remain part of the suite of indicators of sustainable development produced by Defra. This involves local authorities continuing to provide annual data on the proportion of brownfield land being redeveloped, along with average densities of new housing. A concern is identified that worrying gaps in the evidence may open up in the coming years without a continued commitment to the collection of relevant data.
Stabilization and Solidification of Contaminated Soil and Waste Part 5: Durability, Longevity, and Monitoring of S/S Systems By Dr Colin Hills - Director of The Centre for Contaminated Land Remediation at the University of Greenwich
The future use of an S/S-remediated site and the environmental conditions operating below ground may impact on the materials used to stabilize contaminants and their capacity to immobilize contaminants in the longer-term. Cement-based S/S stabilized wastes are vulnerable to the same physical and chemical degradation processes that affect concrete and other cement-bound materials. Stabilised/solidified-treated material employing cement as part of the binder system will, however, differ from conventional concrete in significant ways. Concrete is normally used as a construction material and comprises a properly proportioned binding agent, aggregate and sand; selected strictly to optimise the durability and load-bearing properties of the hardened product. During S/S treatment, mix designs are based on the properties of the contaminated media being treated so the selection of aggregate material is generally not an option. Concrete used in building materials typically has a minimum Unconfined Compressive Strength of 20MPa (3000 psi) or greater, whereas S/S-treated materials usually have UCS performance standards starting at 0.3MPa (50 psi).
• The leaching of contaminants from the S/S soils was generally below instrument detection levels • The microstructure of S/S materials was complex and involved interactions between all three system components; namely soil, contaminants and binder, and that this relationship was subject to modification due to aerial and sub-aerial environmental loads, experienced during treatment and after site closure • Potential risk-indicators were identified, but there was no indication that these were impacting upon the efficacy of contaminant containment • Waste forms appeared to be subject to carbonation, but was not a cause of concern as a densification of waste form microstructure resulted through an infilling of voids and micro-cracks • Some soils are naturally alkali sensitive and soil minerals were identified at two sites that were subject to this reaction when solidified by a cement-based binder.
Despite the very different design specifications, and nearly 60 years of the use of S/S in the USA, it is encouraging to note that there are no reported major failures of S/S waste-forms in that country. Thus, it can be assumed that S/S is a reliable, relatively easy to use management strategy that can mitigate the risks associated with contaminated soil and waste. This deduction has been supported by the findings of the PASSiFy project, which examined samples of S/S material taken directly from remedial operations in the USA, UK and France. The key conclusion from this work can be summarised as: • The S/S materials examined passed their original acceptance criteria • S/S soil and waste behaved like cement-bound materials and contained mineral phases and microstructural features consistent with this observation ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |103|
Table 1: Factors affecting the durability of S/S systems [2, 3, 4] Factor
Description
Effects
Carbonation
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reacts with the calcium phases in the cement, neutralising pH and forming calcium carbonate
Chemical changes can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on contaminant mobility. Calcium carbonate reduces permeability
Sulfate attack
Sulfate ions penetrating the hardened mass react with the hydration products to form expansive minerals, including ettringite, gypsum.and thaumasite
Ettringite and gypsum can generate high internal stresses. Thaumasite formation consumes hydration products weakening the structure
Chloride attack
Chloride ions can result in the crystallisation of salt. In very high concentrations, an expansive reaction with hydration products can form chloroaluminates
Internal stresses can lead to cracking
Chemical attack
Magnesium ions can substitute for calcium. Ammonium ions can aid in the transforming of insoluble calcium hydration products into calcium salts
Substitution results in a loss in binding properties. Calcium salts are soluble and are leached out
Freeze-thaw
Freezing and melting of water in the pore spaces
If it occurs at the surface scaling can occur, or disruption of the structure at depth
Wetting-Drying
Can be caused by rising and lowering groundwater, or by penetration of groundwater or floodwater
Disruption of paste and aggregate can cause expansion and cracking, scaling, and crumbling
Salt Weathering
Sulfates and chlorides can crystallise within the hardened material
Cracking can result from a build up of stress in the structure
Microbial Activity
Microbial activity can alter the chemical environment primarily through the formation of acid, and indirectly attack the S/S material
Dissolution of the binding phases
Alkali-silica
Alkalis in the pore solution react with siliceous
Cracking can result from a build
reaction
constituents of the S/S material to form an expansive gel
up of stress
Acid Attack
Acids found in groundwater include humic, carbonic and sulphuric. Mineral acids may also occur as a result of ground contamination. This results in the dissolution of the cement phases
Weakening of the solidified material
The PASSiFy study highlighted that a number of risk-indicators were present in the samples examined, but these did not indicate the onset of deleterious reactions. As waste forms appeared to behave much like cement-bound materials, the interactions between the soil fraction, the waste and the binder system could be explained. The waste forms examined were carbonated to a lesser or greater degree, and ettringite and other phases were formed within the pore space. This is an important observation, because as cementitious construction and other products are ubiquitous and are well-understood systems, the behaviour of S/S waste forms over long periods of time should be relatively easy to predict; providing the contaminated S/S soils treated and the binders used are well characterised, and the environmental loads impacting upon a waste form are known. As S/S waste forms behave like cement-bound systems a summary of the factors that may potentially adversely affect them is given in Table 1, shown above. It can be seen that durability and longer-term performance could (in theory) be compromised by reactions that may be both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature.
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IN-SITU
EX-SITU
normally best determined after the remedial operation as the precise quantities of soil treated and its final placement, including the cap, may vary in detail from the original pre-construction design.
Regulatory Impetus and guidance for post construction monitoring A post-construction monitoring program may be required after treatment by S/S and guidance is provided by regulatory agencies, but may vary greatly depending on the agency involved and site-specific factors. As an example, the USEPA guidance document on post construction completion activities lists the following
Figure 1: Durability factors affecting S/S systems (courtesy of PJ Gunning)
The need to monitor remedial operations involving S/S to protect the environment (and build a set of performance-related data) has been recognised in certain situations, and it is therefore useful to examine case studies involving S/S. Figure 1 shown above, shows a conceptual model highlighting the factors that may influence the durability of S/S waste forms. Figure 2 presents data taken from modelling studies used to predict the long-term behaviour of cementitious systems, including S/S waste forms. It can be seen that the life expectancy (the time in service where contaminants are not significantly released) of different systems is predicted to extend from 10 to 1000’s of years. As such, it is should be noted that performance, whether modelled or real, is dependent upon the binders being employed, the contaminants being treated and the environmental loads impacting upon the waste form. In the USA, a number of superfund sites have been subject to post completion monitoring and performance reviews for a number of years. Similarly, in the UK S/Sremediated sites have also had longer-term monitoring strategies implemented.
Post Construction Monitoring Once treatment by S/S is complete, including the cap and any ancillary features, a period of monitoring may be required. The objectives, and especially the requirements, of the monitoring program are often very site-specific, and depending on the requirements of the site owner and regulatory agency involved. In the authors experience, it is usually best to define the objectives and general requirements for post-construction monitoring during the remedy design phase before construction of the S/S remedy begins; including the:
• • • • • • •
Long-Term Response Action (LTRA): Generally applies to the first 10 years of fund financed ground and surface water restoration. Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Includes the activities required to maintain the effectiveness and the integrity of the treatment, including continued operation of ground and surface water restoration remedies after LTRA. Five-Year Reviews: Required by statute for USEPA Superfund sites to assure protectiveness for any remedial action that leaves hazardous substances on a site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposures. Five-yearly reviews are also conducted as a matter of policy in other situations. Institutional Controls (IC): Using non-engineered instruments, such as administrative and/or legal controls, that typically minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination and/or protect the integrity of the remedy by limiting land or resource use. Remedy Optimization: Performing reviews to improve the performance and/or reduce the annual operating cost of remedies without compromising protection of the environment. National Priority List (NPL) Deletion: Removing sites or portions of sites from the NPL (National Priority List) because no further response action is appropriate. Reuse: Working with the parties seeking to redevelop Superfund sites to ensure that their activities do not adversely affect the implemented remedy.
• Frequency of monitoring events; • Longevity of the monitoring programme • General reporting requirements Details of the monitoring system, such as exact placement and design of monitoring wells, are
Figure 2: Longevity of S/S systems according to different studies ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |105|
Except for NPL Deletion, these activities may apply to any S/S remediation under any jurisdiction, since the S/S process leaves (immobilised) contaminants in place within the S/S waste form. Therefore, activities that assure the continued protectiveness and maintenance of the S/S remedy are important.
and managing any risks to the environment. Guidance for conducting 5-yearly reviews includes check-lists (USEPA, 2001), which can be a valuable resource for designing and managing post construction inspections, monitoring, and reporting, for any site. A number of completed 5 year review reports are available on the USEPA website.
The need to monitor remedial operations involving S/S to protect the environment (and build a set of performance-related data) has been recognised in certain situations, and it is therefore useful to examine case studies involving S/S. Table 2 below summarises the characteristics of S/S site investigated and reported in the literature.
Additional guidance is available from the Environment Agency on the use of S/S, especially in Section 5 and Appendix 4. The EA document (page 56) suggests that: Specific objectives for long-term monitoring for a re-use scenario may be: • To demonstrate whether S/S remains effective: • To provide a basis for implementing mitigation measures; • To identify detrimental changes in the re-use scenario (e.g. water table rise); • To provide a basis for ceasing monitoring.
For Superfund sites at which contaminants are left in place after construction completion, a review is required every 5 years to ensure the remedy is well maintained
Table 2: Case studies on long-term durability of S/S sites [4, 5, 6] Site
Contaminants
Remediation Method
American Creosote Works Superfund Site, Tennessee, USA
VOCs, PAHs, and metals in the groundwater, soils, surface water, and sediments
Ex-situ treatment with a pugmill using a blend of 5% cement, 4.5% fly ash, 1.3% powdered carbon. Covered with a geosynthetic clay liner and clean soil
10y
Remedy performing as designed (USEPA 2009); current Evidence of weathering including carbonation(1)
Soil treated ex-situ with cement, fly ash, and water
20y
Remedy functioning as intended (USEPA 2007) current. Evidence of weathering including carbonation(1)
10y
Remedy remains effective and goals have been met (USEPA 2009b) current ref*. Evidence of natural weathering including and carbonation (1)
Pepper Steel and Soil contaminated Alloys, Inc. Superfund with arsenic, lead, Site, Medley, Florida, and PCBs USA
Age (yr)
Monitoring Observations
South 8th Street Landfill Superfund Site, Arkansas, USA
Soil contaminated with PAHs, PCBs, and lead.
In-situ auger mixing with 25% limestone (pre-treatment), 20% cement, 10% fly ash
Georgia Power Company and Electric Power Research Institute, Georgia
Soil and groundwater contaminated with PAHs, BTEX, and cyanide
Treatment by pumping cement slurry through hollow-stem augers to achieve a 10% cement mix.
12y
All original chemical and physical targets met, apart from compressive strength. Evidence of natural weathering including sulphate attack and carbonation
Selma Pressure Treating Site, California
Soil contaminated with chromium, arsenic, copper, dioxins/furans, and PCP
Ex-situ treatment using a proprietary liquid silicate reagent. Material replaced and capped
5y
All original chemical and physical targets met. No weathering data available
Halton, UK
Soil contaminated with lead, arsenic, zinc and lead. Risk to nearby river.
In-situ treatment with 6% cement and 0.5% proprietary additive. Covered with a permeable membrane and topsoil
5y
All original chemical and physical targets met. Evidence of natural weathering including sulphate attack and carbonation
Caerphilly, UK
Soil contaminated with PAHs and TPHs
In-situ treatment with 12% proprietary mix and covered with topsoil
1y
All original chemical and physical targets met. Evidence of natural weathering including sulphate attack and carbonation
Quarry Dump, USA
Soil contaminated with TPHs
In-situ treatment with 25% cement and covered with a concrete cap
10y
All original chemical and physical targets met, apart from permeability. Evidence of natural weathering including sulphate attack and carbonation
*Individual relevant reports: (1) USEPA (2009), Five-Year Review Report, Second Five Year ReviewReport for American Creosote Works, Inc. (Jackson Plant), EPA ill TNDOO7018799 Jackson Madison County, Tennessee, July 2009. |106| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
likely to be detected (most soluble) should the S/S material fail to maintain its control over release. Although sampling/monitoring is often done quarterly (or seasonally) for the first couple of years, the frequency may be reduced thereafter to for example, annually if no issues are detected. It should be noted that immediately after S/S treatment; especially if S/S was carried out in-situ, there will be a slightly elevated pH in the groundwater contacting the treated material. This is normal, should dissipate in a few months, and does not indicate a failure of the treated material.
The EA document also discusses what topics should be included in a monitoring report and the decision basis for discontinuing monitoring. The ITRC (Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council) has also recently published guidance on Development of Performance Specifications for S/S. Included in Section 7 of this document is post construction monitoring, which is referred to as “stewardship”. The ITRC states (page 56) “Long-term stewardship of a completed S/S remedy may include monitoring of environmental media in contact with and potentially affected by the remedy, monitoring of institutional controls, monitoring and maintenance of engineering controls, financial assurances, and periodic review(s) by the controlling environmental agency “. •
Specific features common in monitoring programs Monitoring programs at sites treated by S/S often include monitoring for the following purposes: • To assure that the S/S treated material continues to meet its original design performance property of reducing the release of contaminant load to groundwater or surface water bodies through low permeability and low leachability. This determination is usually made by locating groundwater wells immediately adjacent to the monolith and sampling for a selected list of Contaminants of Concern (COCs) along with field measurements for pH, Eh, and other selected indicator parameters. Immediately adjacent is relative as it is influenced by the rate of groundwater movement and physical access, including avoidance of compromising the cap. For example a distance of 3 m (10ft) to 30m (100ft) from the edge of the monolith would be normal. Often a subset of the COCs present in the S/S treated material is selected with preference for those most
• To document that groundwater quality is improving after remediation. Often on sites where S/S is implemented as the ‘source control technology’ to treat contaminated soils, groundwater has also been impacted through the release of COCs. Thus, once the source has been successfully managed by S/S, it is reasonable to expect the groundwater quality to improve. For some sites, this has led to selection of MNA (monitored natural attenuation) as either the primary, or secondary, method for remediating impacted groundwater. Thus, monitoring wells are installed and a monitoring plan developed to assess the magnitude of groundwater improvement over time and the eventual achievement of groundwater quality objectives. To document that engineering controls are functioning properly and maintenance is being conducted, on for example, fencing, the cap, surface water and runoff controls, and may include the installation of impermeable barriers or walls. Caps, surface water and other surface engineering controls are inspected during the period and after unusual precipitation events. Subsurface engineering controls, e.g. impermeable barriers, are monitored indirectly (via groundwater monitoring) in the same manner as the S/S treated material. If the site has a vegetative cap, this is inspected and repaired where necessary. It is important that invasive trees and shrubs are removed from caps as their roots can be damaging and may even invade the treated S/S material.
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To document accordance with national or local institutional controls, including deed restrictions and other instruments to prohibit for example, excavation or the construction of wells within the S/S waste without specific prior approval from the regulator agencies. There may also be restrictions on how the general site can be used, and any inappropriate activity is noted during periodic site inspections.
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To document the exit strategy, that may be specific to the nature of regulatory oversight, and the site-specific characteristics. Under the USEPA Superfund program, S/S-treated soils are considered as containment cells, and 5-yearly reviews are required in perpetuity. Sites remediated under State programs in the USA follow the requirements of individual states, which are highly variable. The EA guidance on S/S, as previously mentioned, provides information on the potential decision basis for discontinuing monitoring. However, in either case the site owner, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders will need to agree on what aspects of monitoring can be discontinued and on what basis.
Stabilisation/Solidification To summarise, Stabilisation/Solidification technology has been routinely used in the USA for the treatment of soil and waste for nearly 60 years. During this time there have been no reported major failures and S/S remains a best available demonstrable technology. Stabilised/Solidified treated materials employing cementitious binders have potential to behave in the same way as other commonly employed, cement-bound systems. Waste forms are predicted to perform in their environment of service for up to thousands of years. The environmental loads operating on S/S waste forms will vary from site to site and it is known that risk indicators have been identified in treated materials extracted from historical remedial operations; nevertheless they continue to meet their original performance specifications. Post-completion monitoring of S/S sites may be a requirement after S/S and adequate guidance is available in the UK and elsewhere to ensure the maintenance of waste form performance and the continued protection of the environment.
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LABS AND TESTING Page 110 - 113
“The devil made me buy it!”, Alan Hasson, General Manager Of Ashtead Technology’s UK Instrument Division
Page 114 - 115
New National Water Quality Instrumentation Service, Ian Rippin, CEO, National Laboratories
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |109|
t
Ashtead Technology Ltd
t
“The devil made me buy it!”
...reasons for renting
By Alan Hasson - General Manager Of Ashtead Technology’s UK Instrument Division
Imagine the situation. You are standing in the power tools section of your local DIY store gazing longingly at the dazzling array of equipment with which you could transform your home into something worthy of an Ideal Homes exhibit. Your attention is caught by a particularly attractive offer: 12” Dual Bevel Compound Miter Saw (with laser tracking!) for £300 - seems like a really good deal! A little devil on one shoulder says “Go on! No more messy edges. Wouldn’t that be great!” but the angel on the other shoulder says “hang on, there’s a recession on you know. |110| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
How often are you actually going to use that saw? Can you really afford to spend the cash? And where will you keep it? If you really need a miter saw, why don’t you just hire one?” Luckily, your partner arrives and you don’t have to make a decision, but the dilemma that you faced is one that many of us have to deal with in our everyday working lives. For the miter saw - see a gas emissions monitor; a dust meter; a noise meter; a water quality monitor; an infrared camera or an industrial borescope. For the angel - see your boss. For the little devil - see yourself, and for your partner … see the Finance Director!
Most of us prefer to buy equipment when we need it and only consider renting when we need to try something before committing capital expenditure. However, there are many drawbacks to equipment purchase, and in this article I will describe the main benefits of renting by exploring the many circumstances under which new instrumentation becomes a requirement.
Non-frequent use Let us suppose that you want to carry out an energy efficiency survey and a maintenance check on key machinery using thermography. Infrared cameras can be used within industry to inspect, maintain and optimise equipment by scanning and visualising the temperature distribution of machinery and electrical equipment quickly and accurately. Because equipment usually gets hot before it fails, engineers are easily able to locate problems or identify ‘hotspots’ and avoid any costly operational failures, downtime or health and safety hazards. In addition, energy efficiency is vitally important to lower costs and reduce carbon footprint, so infrared cameras are also useful for identifying poor insulation and energy loss. In a recent BBC programme ‘DIY SOS’, a FLIR infrared camera was employed to illustrate the effects of improved insulation. It might be necessary to conduct infrequent surveys for both energy efficiency and predictive maintenance purposes. However, if you and your colleagues can find use for this equipment every week, it might make more sense to buy the instrument. So, this simple example demonstrates that the decision to rent is often dictated by the frequency of intended use. However, there are a number of other advantages to renting.
Fast Replacement Suppose the infrared camera breaks down, you spend a couple of hours trying to fix it, give up and then try and convince the manufacturer that it should be replaced under warranty. Rental companies such as Ashtead Technology provide trained engineers that can assist in troubleshooting equipment at any time or arrange for a replacement unit to be dispatched immediately. If a rented instrument malfunctions, it is replaced quickly because the rental company is anxious that the instrument performs to specification, so that the rental fee is valid and so that you might rent it again.
Clean and good to go Infrared cameras are usually kept in good condition, however if your instrument is a water quality monitor and, for one reason or another, it was not cleaned adequately at the end of its |112| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
last use, you might find that time is wasted servicing and calibrating the instrument when you next need to use it. Rented equipment is always delivered clean, checked (calibrated if necessary) and ready for use, and if you had rented a water quality monitor it would have been delivered to site on the prescribed day, at the right time. Let us also suppose that a colleague in a different department heard that you had your own equipment, and asked if he could borrow it for use on a site in another part of the country. Will he look after it properly and return it in its original condition? And will he return it when he said he would?
Latest technology In the following year, your colleague calls again, and asks if you can bring your (purchased) infrared camera to an important site where they have a specific maintenance issue. However, when you get there you discover that the job requires a camera with a greater temperature range. So, your colleague rents the latest thermal camera and you are frustrated to discover that imager technology has moved on since you made your purchase and the rented model is much easier to use. You would love to have the new model, but having purchased the (now) older model, you are stuck with it, unless you can find a way to dispose of it. However, it did cost a large amount of money, and might be of use one day, so you keep it, and lock it up in a storage area (even though your company is still paying the depreciation costs). In all of these scenarios, you would wish that you had rented rather than purchased your instrument (or miter saw!)
Alternatively, the company also offers a ‘Rent To Own’ (RTO) facility which sidesteps CapEx restrictions to provide immediate access to the most up-to-date equipment with the option to either buy at the end of a 12 months rental period with a one-off purchase payment or to simply return the equipment with no additional penalties. RTO provides an alternative opportunity to own the latest instrumentation without placing major nonoperational costs on the balance sheet. This scheme does not replace traditional rental but does provide outright ownership if desired and allows customers to release valuable capital for more pressing requirements.
Calibration and maintenance skills
Choosing the right instrument There are simple applications for which it is only necessary to identify cold or hot spots, so an entry-level device is the most cost-effective. However, professional thermographers require greater detail, resolutions and features such as the facility to take visual images and to record audio notes with the same instrument – mid-level instruments are therefore necessary. At the top-end of the market, the most advanced thermal cameras offer incredible levels of resolution across a wide temperature range which is important in applications such as research. Each time you rent a thermal camera, or indeed any other equipment, you have the opportunity to choose the model that suits your application. The next time you need a camera, you would be able to rent the latest, higher quality model, and at the end of each renting period you simply return the instrument, so you have no storage or disposal problems.
The Financial Case The strongest case for renting is of course financial. Credit is in short supply and pressure has mounted on capital expenditure budgets which has heightened the need for equipment hire. A further financial reason for renting is the cost of depreciation – equipment is often written down over 3 years, sometimes less, which can have a significant effect on the bottom line.
The case for renting technical instruments is even stronger than it is for other equipment because they often require external calibration, or at the very least skilful maintenance with specialist equipment. It makes sense for this work to be performed by fully equipped and trained technicians. The expertise of the rental company engineers is also vitally important in helping customers to select the right equipment and secondly, to use it to its best effect. Advice from rental company engineers is particularly valuable because they do not have to promote one manufacturer and can therefore suggest the best equipment for each application.
Summary The case for renting is stronger if the equipment is expensive to buy, or not destined for frequent use. However, anybody considering instrument purchase should always consider instrument hire, not least for financial reasons. Some equipment may require skilled calibration and maintenance, coupled with specialist equipment, and the cost for this could be preclusive. Renting also makes sense for customers that need access to the latest technology, or if they do not wish to bear the cost and inconvenience of maintenance and storage. So, the next time you find yourself thinking illogically at a hardware store or considering purchasing a piece of equipment for use on your job, remember to listen to the angel on your shoulder! www.ashtead-technology.com
Some customers have a frequent requirement for instrumentation so some rental companies offer preferential financial schemes. For example, Ashtead Technology offers a Perpetual Rental Program (PRP) at a fraction of the standard rental rate. Ashtead’s PRP combines the convenience of ownership with all the benefits of renting such as maintenance, annual calibration and repairs.
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |113|
New National Water Quality Instrumentation Service By Ian Rippin, CEO, National Laboratories The Environment Agency (EA) has created a new National Water Quality Instrumentation Service (NWQIS) to improve the quality and efficiency of water quality monitoring in England and Wales. The new service is part of the National Laboratory Service and will fulfil the field monitoring requirements of the EA. However, it will also be available to other Public and Private sector organisations. Chris Hunter has been appointed to manage the NWQIS. He says: "The new service will centralise the Agency's water quality instrumentation activities to deliver several important benefits. For example, there will be greater commonality amongst both the instruments that we use and the procedures that we use for set up, calibration, operation and service. This will lower costs and improve data accuracy and repeatability." In recent years, the quality and reliability of water quality measurements has been reinforced through the development of the EA's monitoring certification scheme MCERTS. The scheme is based upon the premise that quality data is dependent upon the proper use of methods, standards, services and equipment, trained and qualified personnel, effective planning, quality assurance and quality control. Under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) the EA is responsible for monitoring the quality of groundwater and surface waters such as rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters. A wide range of instrumentation is employed for these purposes, including handheld water quality meters such as the YSI 556, logging multiparameter water quality 'sondes' such as the YSI 6600 and complete water quality monitoring stations with communications capability to provide highintensity, almost real-time data. Prior to the establishment of the NWQIS, the Agency's water quality instrumentation was purchased and operated by local offices, but now, under the coordination of Frances Houston, all water quality monitoring equipment is purchased and managed centrally. |114| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
As Frances explains, "This reduces the variety of instruments that we use, which helps in a number of ways. Firstly, it simplifies the stocking of spares and accessories. Secondly, it provides greater availability of spare or replacement monitors, so that we can quickly replace units that are damaged or lost. Thirdly, it helps us to build a closer partnership with suppliers, which means that we are able to influence future product development, and finally, central control enables us to ensure that all staff utilise the most accurate and reliable instruments." Before the NWQIS could be established it was first necessary to undertake a review of all of the EA's monitoring instrumentation, so most of it was sent to the EA's Reading offices for assessment before either reconditioning or disposal. In recent years the YSI 556 multiparameter water quality monitor from YSI Hydrodata (EA framework partner) has been the workhorse of the EA's water monitoring teams; Matt Loewenthal reports a typical operational lifetime of over ten years for the 556. However, the Agency is now moving to the newer MCERTS approved YSI Pro Plus multiparameter water quality monitors and a full capital asset replacement programme is under way. Matt says,
"This will ensure that our regional staff have access to the latest technology which is provided with our own operating procedures so that we can ensure, for example, that pH is monitored in Penzance in exactly the same way as it is in Carlisle." As a major user of multiple parameter water quality monitoring instruments, the Environment Agency has been one of many organisations all over the world that has helped drive the new features that have been built into the Pro Plus water quality monitor. For example, the instrument now automatically recognises all cables and sensors from the Pro series and a large number of meters can be configured from one PC using the instrument's Data Manager software. This is a particularly important feature for NWQIS, because it helps ensure that every instrument is set up in the same way and that readings are not affected if a sensor or sonde needs to be changed. The creation of the NWQIS will also provide greater access to technology such as that which enables realtime web-enabled display of live water quality data and Matt's team has already installed monitoring systems of this nature at sites across the UK. This includes the remote water quality monitoring installations that have been installed as part of Defra's Demonstration Test Catchment (DTC) project on the rivers Eden, Wensum and Avon. The overall aim of this project is to provide the infrastructure from which an evidence base could be assembled to test the hypothesis set by Defra, that it is possible to cost effectively reduce the impact of agricultural diffuse pollution on ecological function while
maintaining food security through the implementation of multiple on-farm measures. In other words, the project is seeking to find ways to reduce the impact of agriculture on water quality by changing farm practices. It is anticipated that the project will examine issues such as fertilizer use, slurry/manure management, soil conservation, drainage etc. NWQIS staff have installed continuous water quality monitoring stations at numerous locations in each of the three river catchments. These monitoring stations measure and record a wide range of water quality parameters, and transmit the data in almost real-time to remote servers that are able to display the data on the project's web sites. (www.edendtc.org.uk). The protection and improvement of water quality (ground water, surface water and marine water) is one of the Environment Agency's key priorities, so water quality monitoring has performed a vital role in the detection of diffuse and point source pollution. As a result, Agency staff have accumulated an enormous wealth of experience and expertise in the methods and technologies for accurate and reliable monitoring, and the development and installation of real-time monitoring systems for Defra's DTC project is a good example of the ways in which NWQIS is able to leverage that expertise. Summarising the benefits of the NWQIS, Chris Hunter says: "EA and NLS staff possess a considerable level of water quality monitoring and data communications experience and expertise, so it makes sense to pull this together in order to share best practice. We believe that this will benefit the EA and other clients, whilst also helping to protect the environment in England and Wales." For more information visit www.natlabs.co.uk ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |115|
TRANSPORT Page 118 - 119 Keeping Sustainable Mobility On The Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Short-List, Roman Jakic and Bruno Miguel Camacho Pereira, CIty-VITAlity-Sustainability Page 122 - 123
Sustainable Fleet Management, Ian Featherstone, Fleet Advice Manager, Energy Saving Trust
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Pe uno Miguel Camacho By Roman Jakic and Br ility ab - CIty-VITAlity-Sustain
n reality. No two cities in ch city operates in its ow ea : ree ag l wil rs de lea y priorities. The details European cit cities face distinct sets of ng uri bo igh ne n Eve e. considerations vary, Europe are the sam environment and safety y, erg en h, alt he , ess sin d for its residents. of economic, social, bu those that are best-suite are ce pla in t pu s yor and the solutions that ma sustainable public ues – such as access to iss e cor of ful nd ha a But there are l to all cities. transportation – universa and energy better, more sustainable er, an cle te mo pro to lised CIVITAS is an EU initiative Advisory Committee rea s. The CIVITAS Political gie ate str rt ange po ch ns , tra ue an iss common efficient urb le cities to rally around a ab en to ism an ch spread, s me ha a s Consensu that by providing hal Statement” was born. nc “Fu the r yea s thi r ent is a tool could happen. Earlie ned it. The Funchal Statem sig ve ha ies cit n ea rop Eu and now more than 200 fund and guide European Union to help the e rag cou en pe ho we reaffirms the cities’ that will – mobility. The agreement ble ina sta su for es ach tlight on their city-based appro transport, and puts the spo an urb ble ina sta su to ts original commitmen emissions. targets to decrease CO2 bility.” The immediate e “sustainable urban mo fin de to w ho ow kn to nt ‘green’ bus fleet, building Many people wa measures: developing a al” pic “ty ly ng mi see e h an alternative assumptions includ ring a Mayor’s vehicle wit we po or y, cit a oss acr a network of cycle lanes prise a much more broad But CIVITAS activities com . les mp exa id val are fuel. These city’s rental bike spectrum of measures. y they are attracted to the wh you l tel l wil um lgi nstanta, Romania, Students in Gent, Be n mobility planners in Co ba Ur . res asu me n tio city system and its theft preven s service to connect the ertime double-decker bu mm su a for e nd zon ma en de wh c met publi se, France was redefined in Toulou ity bil Mo . ort res first the ach be d Hove are centre with its . Residents in Brighton an rns tte pa ry live de ved tio arging sta n changes there impro t-side electric vehicle ch ee str a joy en to on nd Lo UK residents outside of scheme.
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In Funchal, Portugal, we will present the Funchal Statement at the CIVITAS Forum, an annual event that has attracted as many as 400 city- and EU-level politicians and urban mobility experts in the past. The Funchal Statement comprises a two-way commitment for the signatory cities. First, the cities are committing to their citizens. Leaders are promising to put in place solutions that will, among other things, reduce traffic jams, prevent lost time, and minimise wasted fuel. Second, signatories are committing to making sure that the European Commission understands how critical their support is to making sustainable transportation a reality in cities. Without long-term funding from the European Commission, initiatives like CIVITAS will have limited success in the short-term. And that is a key point of the Funchal Statement. To keep integrated urban transport strategies on the short term agendas of our cities, we need long-term EU support. Considering that four out of five Europeans live in towns and cities, failure is not an option. The concept of cities joining together to agree to change is not new. Think Agenda 21. Or the Covenant of Mayors. Or the European Initiative on Smart Cities. Or the European Green Capital project. But the Funchal Statement is different. This time, it is not European powers proclaiming that cities must join together for an agreement on urban mobility – it is the reverse. This time, the impetus for change came from the ground up. This time, the idea was born in a city hall.
This time, 200 cities will stand up and proclaim the need for change. Despite the fact that seemingly countless problems face today’s municipal managers, we need to make sure that mobility makes it on the short-list of city priorities. It’s no secret that the issues that tend to gain attention and inspire change are those that have the promise of long-term funding. Advancing the goals of sustainable transport is about much more than hardware, technology and infrastructure. It’s about health and education, and in many cases, it’s about changing mindsets and influencing individual behaviour. At the same time, transport specialists know that we need to continue to innovate and give citizens transportation solutions that are sustainable. And leaders need to educate about why choosing a sustainable mode of getting from point A to point B is so vital, and we need to give the public sustainable options for getting from point A to point B. The presentation of the Funchal Statement is a clear indication that 200 European cities will make sustainable urban mobility a priority. And the promise of EU support will help keep it on their agendas for the long-term.
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Sustainable Fleet Management By Ian Featherstone, Fleet Advice Manager, Energy Saving Trust
It’s a tough remit for fleet managers these days. The day to day issues of vehicle breakdowns and accidents divert attention from the complexity of new tax regimes, health and safety measures and being green. A difficult balancing act between solving today’s urgent problems and having the vision to create new policies to meet the challenges of the future and persuade sceptical colleagues to accept them. Except recently it has become harder, with fuel price increases of 25% in the last 18 months and the spectre of higher fuel duty from January 2012, the daily pressure to save fuel and money intensifies, where does this leave the green transport agenda? Arguably near the bottom of the to-do list, as many organisations struggle for survival, but what is green fleet management all about? In our view it’s selecting the most efficient vehicles for their intended role, driving them in a safe and fuel efficient manner and finding ways to reduce the mileage driven while still providing the goods and services the organisation is in existence to provide. Green fleet management pays, and here’s why. It isn’t just about the vehicles, and in this regard organisations often fall short. Company car drivers, since personal taxation changed to reflect the g/km CO2 rating of their cars in 2002, have migrated towards more efficient cars, they may not understand the relationship |122| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
between fuel burnt and CO2 emissions, they may not even care, but they know that a car with a low g/km figure saves them money. Employers have often been slow to recognise the scale of the savings possible- if higher emission cars are available more cheaply surely they are the cost effective option, and a quick calculation comparing the cost of increased fuel consumption versus reduced purchase or lease price should confirm it? Usually the answer is no, Company Car Tax and Fuel Benefit Tax (on private fuel) affect the driver but the company pays too. Employer’s class 1A National Insurance liability on the benefit in kind, capital allowances, leasing disallowances, VAT scale charges (for private fuel provision) and Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax). If these elements aren’t taken into consideration, it is unlikely that the cleanest, lowest cost cars will be selected. If this doesn’t convince, Company Car Tax, Fuel Benefit Tax and the associated National Insurance liability increases by 38.5% in April 2012 for a 120g/km car, which for the last 2-3 years has been considered the low- emission benchmark. The lowest benefit in kind percentage rates (excluding plug-in hybrid and electric cars) will be reserved for cars with emissions of 99g/km or below and 94g/km the year after. The environmental screw is being turned year on year and transport
professionals must look ahead, plan and perhaps most important of all, keep their colleagues in the loop. Keeping up with developments takes effort and the range of emissions and therefore fuel economy can be quite startling even when comparing different models from the same vehicle range from the same manufacturer as the following table illustrates.
Grey fleet, vehicles owned by employees and driven on business journeys are often neglected. From an environmental perspective, grey fleet cars are on average older, less fuel efficient and higher polluting than the average company car, pool or rental vehicle and the employer still has a duty of care to ensure that the vehicles used for business journeys are fit for purpose, roadworthy and insured correctly. Cost can be an issue too, particularly when high mileages are travelled. Many grey fleet drivers, particularly in the public sector reclaim amounts above the HMRC recommended rates; the claims are therefore taxable and provide an incentive to drive more miles, increasing further the cost to the employer. Monitoring grey fleet or indeed any mileage claims, usually results in lower claims, sometimes up to 25%.
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders - New Car CO2 Report 2011 The blue bars represent the CO2 range in each segment and the horizontal line within each bar the average CO2 for that segment. The area below the line gives an indication of the reduction that can be achieved through careful vehicle choice. Commercial vehicles have made great improvements in efficiency too, but relying on improvements in technology isn’t enough, regularly reviewing the size of van and power requirement for a particular role is good practice. Technology too provides benefits in efficiency and driver management. Telematics, as well as enabling the location of vehicles to be determined and routes optimised also allows analysis of speed, driving style etc. If the benefits of fitting a telematics system aren’t convincing, fitting speed limiters will reduce the risk of damage to the reputation of an organisation from speeding liveried vehicles, saving fuel and reducing emissions and risk in the process. Driver behaviour is the single biggest influence on fuel economy, but also the toughest to manage. Data from a large sample of fuel card users indicates that the average company car driver uses 15% more fuel than calculated using the quoted combined mpg figure for a given vehicle. Driver training, for fuel economy or safety, teaching a smooth driving style and anticipation, can help save fuel, reduce accidents and wear and tear on vehicles. Our own short (around 50 minutes) Smarter Driving Programme taken by more than 30,000 company car and van drivers on average, results in a 15% improvement in fuel economy after training.
The challenges of today can seem overwhelming, but what of tomorrow? Should electric and alternative fuelled vehicles be considered? After all, the history of alternative fuels hasn’t always been a happy one for a variety of reasons, but things may well be changing and fleets need to keep abreast of developments. Hybrids powered not entirely by petrol or diesel can make sense in the right place today. As fuel and drivetrain choices proliferate, the supply of fuel, vehicle performance (range, payload etc.) and driver training are some of the operational issues to consider, infrastructure and fuel costs, vehicle and driver taxation and incentives some of the financial complexities. In reality this is no different to the best practice in conventional vehicle selection. The decisions made by organisations running a fleet efficiently today will just become more complex. One thing’s for sure, the decisions won’t become easier but they will be important to get right. A universal solution, a silver bullet when it comes to solving our future transport energy needs is unlikely; sustainable biofuels, hydrogen, electricity and yes, efficient petrol and diesel engines will all play their part as we strive to meet our emission reduction goals and reduce our dependence on ever more expensive nonrenewable resources. More information is available on our website www. energysavingtrust.org.uk/fleet as well as other resources such as copies of our free monthly newsletter, Fleet Briefing which each month analyses a topical fleet management issue. You can also phone us on 0845 602 1425 or email transportadvice@est.org.uk
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MISCELLANY Page 125
Environment Prosecutions
Page 126 - 128
Britain: A Green Economy, John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning
Page 129
Product Guide
Page 130 - 138
Case Studies
Page 139 - 140
Famous Last Words, Chris Hines MBE Hon.D.Sc, A Grain of Sand
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROSECUTIONS Local fly tipper fined Water company fined for sewage overflow Anglian Water Services has been fined a total of £32,000 after two separate pollutions into the same Lincoln stream. Sewage and trade effluent twice escaped from the drainage system and ended up in the Roaring Meg Drain causing a serious impact on invertebrates. The company was also ordered to pay full costs of £3,974.
A local fly tipper was sentenced following claims that waste from his van, left by him at his friends rented property in West Bridgford Nottingham, became fly tipped at the nearby War Memorial recreation field. Robin Sidney Oldham of Valley Road, Sherwood, Nottingham pleaded guilty to one charge under The Environmental Protection Act.Nottingham Magistrates Court heard that documents containing Mr Oldham’s address had been found fly tipped in a pile of waste which included an old vehicle bumper, an electric fan and polythene wrapping next to The War Memorial Playing Field in West Bridgford, Nottingham.
Dairy farmer fined for polluting stream A North Devon farmer has been ordered to pay £5,000 in fines and costs for polluting a stream with slurry The Environment Agency received a report of pollution in a roadside ditch at Glebe Farm, Hollacombe near Holsworthy. A liquid was running into the ditch from a gap in a hedge. The pollution was discovered by a Devon County Council highways inspection officer. Agency officers visited the farm the next day and noticed the ditch was filled with farm slurry. There was a strong smell of animal waste. The pollution was being washed downstream into a tributary of the River Claw.
Million tyre man jailed A man who illegally dumped more than a million used tyres across England was jailed for a total of 15 months. The case against him was brought by the Environment Agency. Carl David Steele, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, dumped hundreds of thousands of tyres at environmentally sensitive locations in Essex, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Worcestershire and Lincolnshire, which avoided legal disposal costs.
Water company fined for polluting Sussex river with raw sewage Odour incident costs West Bromwich company nearly 20,000GBP Robinson Brothers Ltd of Phoenix Street, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty at West Bromwich Magistrates Court to charges relating to the escape of odorous gas. The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 32 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000. Robinson Brothers Ltd were fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,584.09 plus a victim surcharge of £15.
Southern Water was fined £3,000 after it admitted polluting 2km of a Sussex stream with raw sewage, killing up to a hundred brown trout and devastating the fish population for the second time in five years. The Environment Agency received calls from members of the public after dead fish were seen in the Sunnyside Stream in East Grinstead. Environment officers who went to the site found nearly 100 dead brown trout along 2km of the stream. Water sampling taken at the site found that dissolved oxygen in the stream was as low as 25 per cent along the stretch and there were traces of ammonia in the water.
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By John Hayes MP. Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning |126| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
This Government wants to build a more sustainable Britain; a national economy rebalanced so it is better equipped to meet global challenges, and a society balanced by the cohesion that springs from recalibrating our estimation of what value each of us brings to civil society. For too long too many have assumed that the only prowess that matters springs from academic accomplishment, and for too long we deluded ourselves that a narrowly based prosperity would be endless. A Britain where all feel valued because each feel valued is, by its nature, bound to be more sustainable because it is more capable of promoting and preserving the common good. To achieve this we must think again about the means of production and the character of consumption. At the heart of this reconsideration is the green economy, but it cannot be seen in a vacuum â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sustainability must permeate all we do. Across all sectors and in businesses of any size there is a pressing need to address the issues of climate change, limited resources and establishing sustainable energy supplies. Put simply, a green economy is one where value and growth are maximised across the whole economy, while natural assets are sustainably managed. This means an economy that will be supported and enabled by a thriving low carbon and environmental goods and services sector. Environmental damage will be reduced, while energy security, resource efficiency and resilience to climate change are improved. But sustainability isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just about low carbon and green energy. It is also about building a workforce that can adapt to new jobs and new ways of working. This government recognises that to make this vision real the skills and education system must support the transition to a green economy. The breadth and depth of skills we will need is vast. Just within the energy sector itself we estimate that there will be the need for up to 100,000 new workers by 2015 for the energy efficiency Green Deal; 70,000 more workers in offshore wind by 2020 and around 10,000 jobs for new nuclear builds. Across the whole economy we need leaders and managers who understand the green economy and are planning for it. And we need workers of all kinds who understand green issues, have the necessary specialised skills, and react accordingly. Building on our Skills Strategy, we are working closely with the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to identify the skills needed to support the transition to the green economy and then to sustain it. Skills Academies are a way of bringing businesses together to ensure we meet the skills needs of key sectors. The National Skills Academy for Nuclear is leading on preparations for a nuclear new build programme, working closely with leading nuclear employers and the relevant sector skills bodies across manufacturing, engineering
construction and process industries to build skills capacity to meet emerging skills needs. A National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies was launched in February this year. Its goal is to ensure there is a qualified and highly-skilled workforce to equip plumbers and electricians with the skills and professional standards to install solar and other microgeneration technologies. It will play a critical role supporting the Government’s targets for renewable energy and low carbon transition. It will galvanise employers to invest in skills and ensure there is demand-driven and quality-focussed provision to meet employer’s needs across England. And the Government has announced funding to support up to 1000 Green Deal apprenticeships as part of a package of measures to create a skilled workforce for the cross-Government action plan on climate change. We are working with the skills and training sector to improve the range and quality of green skills provision in further education and are discussing with the TUC how, through their Unionlearn programme, we can raise awareness and understanding in the workplace. Sector Skills Councils – employer-led organisations that work to address skills gaps in their sector – will work together to communicate the skills needs of the green economy. To which end, the £50 million Growth and Innovation Fund will support innovative skills projects. We will continue to support STEM skills, with more higher level apprenticeships to meet the dynamic demands of an increasingly high-tech economy. A demand-led skills system, driven by the needs of employers is the best way to determine and deliver the skills we need. That is why, this Summer. we will launch our Green Economy Roadmap, providing businesses with clarity on how we will help them bring about the transition to a green economy. The Roadmap will help businesses to start to think about how they should manage these challenges and exploit the opportunities. A work-force with the skills needed for UK businesses to seize the opportunities the green economy presents will help to build Britain’s sustainability. But a sustainable future also depends on a paradigm shift in the cultural assumptions about what we make and do. We cannot afford to continue to waste natural or human resources. Appreciating what we have, nurturing latent talent and gauging the future by measures of sustainability will make Britain stronger and fairer.
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PRODUCT GUIDE Ancon addresses thermal bridging at Ecobuild Ancon Building Products is joining other leading manufacturers of sustainable, energy-efficient construction solutions and showcasing its products at ECOBUILD. Stand number N1110 will address important issues such as thermal bridging, featuring Anconâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s range of low thermal conductivity wall ties and thermal breaks for junctions such as balconies and masonry support levels. Ancon designs and manufactures high integrity structural fixings and supplies to customers in a variety of construction sectors including residential, commercial, infrastructure and stadia.
Verdo Renewables has
been appointed as the preferred supplier for bagged wood pellets and wooden briquettes by the Travis Perkins group. The group, which includes Travis Perkins, City Plumbing Supplies, Benchmarx Kitchens and Joinery, Keyline Builders Merchants and the BSS Group, has over 1,500 outlets across the UK. Verdo Renewables produce premium quality ENPlus accredited wood pellets, wood briquettes and horse bedding. All Verdo Renewables products are manufactured from locally sourced virgin timber and are FSC accredited. Please visit www.verdorenewables.co.uk
SEPA deploys latest technology for emergency response service Instrumentation specialist Quantitech has supplied the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) with a range of the latest environmental monitoring technologies that will be used by the Airborne Hazards Emergency Response (AHER) service to improve the provision of information about airborne hazards during a significant incident such as an explosion or a major fire. This will allow NHS Scotland and the emergency services to assess the potential risks to human health and mitigate them. The monitoring equipment includes advanced portable Gasmet FTIR multigas analysers in addition to Tecora Echo high volume and Delta low volume air sampling equipment. The instruments have been deployed in mobile vehicles and provide SEPA with the ability to respond quickly to emergencies by monitoring airborne particulates and almost any gas. Quantitech's Dr Andrew Hobson has been responsible for providing initial training on the instruments. He says, "We are delighted that the Gasmet DX4030 portable FTIR gas analyser has been chosen for this project because it was developed for applications in which almost any gas might need to be identified, so it is ideal for incident investigations. "The FTIR analyser can be located in a backpack and effectively provides laboratory grade analysis in a field instrument. A Bluetooth connection to a handheld PDA provides simultaneous measurements for up to 25 compounds and the collection of a complete sample spectrum means that over 250 compounds can be analysed and the unit can potentially analyse over 5000 compounds." The introduction of the new service has been led by SEPA in partnership with other agencies and will help protect the public during emergencies by providing interpreted and informed scientific advice on airborne hazards to NHS Scotland and the emergency services. Further information is available at www.quantitech.co.uk ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |128|
Map Shows The Way For Voltis Home Customers Cutting energy bills for customers is boosting business for one Essex electrical contractor so impressed with the trial installation of a domestic voltage optimisation system that it has invested its own money in marketing the power saving solution to customers. Map Contract Services, based in Woodford, installed a MarshallTufflex Voltis Home unit in the home of an employee to assess its performance, ease of installation etc. The optimiser proved straight-forward to install, taking less than an hour, and returned savings of more than 10% as soon as it was turned on. MAP is now offering Voltis Home HD to all customers with a single phase electrical supply of up to 60Amps, both domestic, social housing and light commercial users. The company has invested in its own marketing material, backed up with information from Marshall-Tufflex, and already has a number of interested customers. Company spokesman Jack Creed said: “We’re expanding the MAP portfolio to include ‘green’ solutions to help reduce customers’ energy bills and had heard about domestic voltage optimisers. We compared several systems on the market and selected Marshall-Tufflex’s Voltis Home as our preferred choice. The system is much like an isolator to install – it’s very simple and took less than an hour.” www.marshall-tufflex.com www.savepowerathome.co.uk
The Met Office team with Rapanui to launch range of weather related eco clothing The Met Office has released a new range of weather related eco clothing made by leading UK eco fashion brand Rapanui. The collection features a range of bold weather related designs inspired by the imagery, science and history of the Met Office and is made using eco fabrics in a wind powered factory. Mart Drake-Knight co-founder and designer at Rapanui said: “The Met Office is the international authority on climate change research, as well as being our national weather service that provides weather forecasts that we can trust and rely on.” “At Rapanui we think that it’s not that people don’t care about climate and the environment, it’s just that they don’t know where to start when it comes to organic, ethical or low carbon alternatives. Our brand is about making eco fashion cool and accessible. We were delighted when we were invited to design these Met Office t-shirts. I think as well as being a nod to the Met Office’s heritage and expertise, we managed to add a bit of ‘Britishness’ and humour to capture the spirit of ‘the weather’ as a subject.” T-shirts are available online via the Rapanui website www.rapanuiclothing.com/metoffice
It’s Easy to be Eco with Baggee™ With around 13 million plastic bags being used each year in the UK, it’s high time someone came up with a solution to bring this figure down and, let’s face it, make it easy for us all to do so... With Baggee, the new must-have ethical accessory for 2012, whether you’re a retailer or consumer all these dreams come true in one: with just one revolutionary yet simple plastic ball, consumer habits can now change for the better. Baggee is a flexible, hollow ball created from BSI compliant, medical grade recyclable material sourced in the UK. Attached to a keychain, each Baggee is ready to be stuffed with plastic bags, tissues, nappy bags, surgical gloves, plumbers shoe covers... in fact, any scrunchable thing your heart desires. The wonderful thing about Baggee is that they are ideally sold at the till point, just as your customers realise they’ve forgotten to bring a canvas bag or old plastic bag to carry their fabulous new purchases. The idea is simple, the aim is simple, and with such an amazing add-on sale concept, you’ll wonder why someone hadn’t thought of it sooner... For further information on Baggee or Doggee, contact the Baggee team on 020 8616 2297 or visit www. baggee.com ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |129|
CASE STUDY
LANDSCAPED AREAS BRING LEARNING TO LIFE FOR PUPILS
Environmental consultancy Wildscapes has been working with a number of Sheffield schools to enhance their landscaped areas and make learning outside in the natural environment much more accessible for them. The work involved four projects: Dobcroft Infant School, Wildscapes improved the biodiversity of the school’s Green Flag accredited wildlife garden by providing landscape maintenance and pond work, as well as installing rustic furniture and creating planting schemes. Wherever possible, pupils can now take lessons in the landscaped area, to develop an understanding of how plants, insects and animals grow and the need to protect the environment. At Waterthorpe Infant School, the landscape design consultancy enhanced the natural play area of the school grounds, creating a bog garden, planting a native hedgerow and providing outdoor seating. At Woodthorpe School, Wildscapes created a memorial garden for an exteacher, including planting cherry trees and a wildflower meadow and installing large stoned-filled gabion cages, along with burying a time capsule. Wildscapes also worked with Dore Primary School to create wildlifefriendly landscaped grounds for the school and local community and designed and built a striking timber amphitheatre. This has enabled teaching staff to really bring outdoor learning to life through lessons in the amphitheatre, which will also be used to host musical performances in the summer months. On all the schemes, the young people took part in interactive planting days with Wildscapes’ landscape designers. Wildscapes’ Chief Executive Vicky Smith explains: “The Government, through its recently-released Environment White Paper, is |130| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
encouraging people to develop a passion for the natural world from an early age. It is great to see so many Sheffield schools putting this into practice and really helping future generations to develop a greater appreciation of our environment by learning through nature.” Dobcroft Infant School Teacher Collette Waters says: “It was very important that the work was carried out in such a way that our existing wildlife was protected. Wildscapes’ knowledge and expertise meant we were able to create a community wildlife garden, which is not just for use by our pupils, but is also open to the general public for outdoor learning.” She adds: “We are delighted with our new landscaped area and have received some fantastic feedback from pupils, parents and the general public. It is so important to young people’s development that they can learn outdoors and we have the perfect environment for them now to do so.”
CASE STUDY Wildscapes is an environmental consultancy based in Sheffield that provides ecological surveys, ground maintenance and landscape creation to protect biodiversity across the Yorkshire and Humber regions. As well as undertaking surveys and advising on ecological issues, Wildscapes designs landscapes and provides land management services, which improve the environment for wildlife and for people. For more information, contact Wildscapes on 0114 279 2667 or visit the website at www.wildscapes.co.uk.
Linda Baldwin of Sheffield Wildlife Trust said: “By encouraging children to play outdoors and gain confidence in their abilities, we can help increase their activities and levels of fitness, as well as boost their self esteem. This can result in children spending more time outside and help them develop a sense of responsibility for looking after their natural environment.”
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CASE STUDY
WHO NEEDS RHI WHEN THERE’S SAS By Spaceair Lee Housing Association is a community-based organisation that aims to provide good quality accommodation. Swan House was originally built for students; split into four blocks, each block contains four 5-shares and eight 2-shares, all are served by the
system comes with pre-fabricated piping kits to optimise the energy efficiency of the system and wattmeter’s to monitor the energy usage of the Space Air Daikin Altherma air/water heat pump, the kits and meters are also covered in weather and vandal proofed enclosures.
original under-floor heating system since 1979, serviced by electric wires within the floor construction. The original under-floor heating installed had no controls to vary temperature; it was either on or off.
Each block now consists of 2 x 16kW heat pump units a total of 128kW with a nominal COP of 3.08 (the original system had a nominal COP of 0.8 when installed). The out of date under-floor heating system has been replaced with radiators provided with TRV’s (thermostatic radiator valves) for residents to control the internal temperature. Independent reports suggest that by replacing the old under-floor electric system with the Space Air Daikin Altherma HT high temperature heat pump provides a 68% reduction in heating fuel use and cost and a payback period of 15 years. Based upon 8p/kWh this equates to an annual saving of £18,986 in year 1.
Lee Housing was looking for an efficient heating system, where all components could be stored outside of the apartments, due to space constraints. Climate Facilities, a Space Air / Daikin approved dealer, offered and installed the complete Space Air Daikin Altherma HT System. Space Air for over 30 years has designed and manufactured accessory components to compliment the Daikin product range, one of which is the weatherproofed enclosures. These were made for the indoor unit (containing a secondary DX cycle and heat exchanger to reach those higher temperatures efficiently) so it could be positioned outside the building along with the outdoor unit, as per the tender request. Every Space Air supplied |132| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The Daikin Altherma HT system is MCS certified and holds the European Eco-label accreditation. For further information on this project contact Space Air Solutions (SAS) on Tel: 01483 252 252 or email altherma@ spaceair.co.uk quoting Swan House.
STENI PANELS PLAY THE LORD OF THE MANOR
CASE STUDY
Seven colours of rainscreen cladding panels from Steni UK have helped a new exemplar centre for the performing arts become a landmark for the community sooner rather than later. The Colour panels, in colours ranging from dark rich red through to a light yellow, were cut to size in Steni’s factory to save time on site, then installed in a stunning harlequin pattern to emphasise the main body of the new Creative Media Centre at the MCE Academy, a specialist Performing Arts College in York. One of only 17 in the country to receive grant aid from the Department for Education, the £3million BREEAM “Very good” centre was built by main contractor Hobson & Porter over eight months, linked to the 900-place former Manor CE secondary school that was built on an unused agricultural field just two years earlier. Architects Morgan Lloyd Jones were unaware of Steni’s cut-to-size capability when they involved the manufacturer in a review of rainscreen cladding materials for the project. It was the sheer size of Steni’s colour range - 44 standard colours and three gloss levels - that originally impressed them. Steni’s cut-to-size capability means that panel sizes from 850mm to 3,500mm can be cut automatically to length at no extra cost and in section widths at a nominal charge – a facility which is believed to be unique to Steni. All contractors need to do then is attach the panels to the fixing system, either by screws or structural adhesive. At MCE Academy, some 700m² of 595mm x 595mm squares of Steni Colour panels, which are manufactured from fibreglass reinforced polymer composite with a smooth surface of 100% acrylic that is electron beam cured without the use of solvents, were screw fixed by specialist sub-contractor Farracrest.
He added: “It would have been impossible, given the number of different colours we are using at the creative media centre, MCE, for the panels to have been cut anywhere but the factory due to the sheer scale of the operation and the accuracy required to achieve our design requirements.” Morgan Lloyd Jones’ brief was to provide an exemplar arts and media centre on the 6.5 hectare site – a range of suitable spaces providing diploma courses in the performing arts and industry-standard creative and media facilities for 14 to 19-year-old students, community arts groups and other schools. The main component of the 1,650m² building is a 200seat auditorium designed for drama, dance and music. Two rehearsal/dance studios are adjacent to this space, with support spaces. There are also creative media spaces, an Apple computer training centre, conference room, and public spaces such as a gallery and seating areas. The lightweight, 7mm-thick Steni panels clad the central part of the building - the auditorium and public spaces, better known as The Hive. Will Jones said: “The planning department was very enthusiastic about the approach to the design. It was viewed as a landmark building in York due to its location close by the ring road. The visual appearance was an important consideration for both the image of the city and also that of the end user.
Will Jones, of Morgan Lloyd Jones, said: “Steni’s ability to cut the panels in the factory is an ideal scenario for a multitude of reasons and was certainly one of the contributory reasons why we specified Steni.
“They project the symbol of The Hive, an image full of vitality, busy movement, colour and artistry, mirroring the users of the building. They sell the building and its function, acting as a metaphor for the host of activities taking place in and around. Externally, they can be used as a backdrop for performances and as enclosures for social and recreational activities.”
“Not only does it minimise waste and time on site, which is something all contractors are trying to achieve, but from our point of view, this cutting facility provides quality reassurance knowing it has been accurately manufactured in the factory under controlled conditions.”
He added: “The visual impact of the Steni panels is balanced by more neutral finishes to adjacent areas of the building. The rendered panels to adjacent building blocks are secondary to the central area but reflect the Steni-clad area via the colour hues used.” ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |133|
CASE STUDY Optimising The Business Case For Sustainable Energy Projects: Sark7 Provides Due Diligence For Prospective Investors Using The DecisionTools Suite A biofuel plant case study The DecisionTools Suite enables Sark7 to develop profitable business cases for sustainable energy projects, thereby acting as a due-diligence tool for prospective sustainability entrepreneurs, investors, project managers, providers and organisations. This case study takes a biofuel plant as an example where @RISK models the project’s Net Present Value (NPV), PrecisionTree informs strategic scenario decision-making, and Evolver suggests plant optimisation strategies. Background Sark7 is an international consultancy that specialises in integrated analysis for sustainable energy projects. The aim is to bridge the gap between populist enthusiasm surrounding ‘green’ initiatives and the intensive financial risk analysis demanded by capital investors and participants. A key aspect of Sark7’s value proposition is the indepth decision-making insight provided by intensive, integrated computer-based modelling and simulation. Scott Mongeau, founder and consultant at Sark7, had previously used Palisade’s risk analysis software for market risk and investment analysis in a corporate treasury environment. As a result he believed the DecisionTools Suite was the ideal vehicle to objectively assess the profit potential of sustainability initiatives, separating ‘over-optimistic hype’ from realistic profit margins. Finite resources and risky alternatives The petroleum industry is sustainable energy’s main competitor (as well as partner on occasion). Its established and streamlined supply chains and embedded position in the global economy give it distinct advantages. However, finite oil reserves are resulting in increasingly risky and costintensive exploration activity to locate and exploit new supplies (such as Athabasca Oil Sands, deep sea drilling and project development in politically unstable regions). |134| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Sustainable energy industry sectors such as biofuel, solar and wind power each have unique selling points, but they also have practical challenges. In particular, across the board, profit margins are uncertain and tight, and therefore require detailed analysis and complex business cases. The frequent involvement of untested technologies, government incentives and complex, novel supply chains demand integrated probabilistic risk analysis. DecisionTools Suite enables due diligence A case study outlining the building and running of a biofuel plant provides a useful illustration of how the DecisionTools Suite has played a key role in developing a profitable business case for a sustainable energy project. It uses techniques commonly applied in petroleum exploration and engineering initiatives.
Sark7 used @RISK to model a biofuel project’s Net Present Value (NPV),
CASE STUDY PrecisionTree to inform strategic scenario decision-making, and Evolver to suggest plant optimisation strategies. This approach offers a duediligence tool for prospective sustainability entrepreneurs, investors, project managers, providers and organisations. Scott Mongeau, founder and consultant at Sark7, explains: “Calculations of this nature are highly complex because so many factors need to be taken into account, which requires input from a wide variety of expert sources. Palisade’s DecisionTools Suite enables all the uncertainties to be integrated into a holistic risk simulation, so the end result is a more accurate reflection of the ‘big picture’ than it is possible to achieve from a set of scatter-shot static spreadsheets, which amount to patchy, tenuous ‘best guesses’.” @RISK determines feasibility Sark7 uses many inputs for the @RISK model to determine the NPV of a biofuel plant project. These include: the capital costs of building the biofuel plant; the most efficient configuration for annual yield; the (variable) price of feedstock (the raw material used to make biofuel) based on historical commodity price analysis, and the energy, yeast, enzyme and processing costs used to generate the biofuel; research and development costs; different oil and ethanol price scenarios to determine potential turnover; and competition simulation to determine the range of prices that can be charged for the end-product. In addition, the costs of financing the overall project (such as the interest payable on a bank loan and optimal capital, depreciation and tax scenarios) are incorporated into the model. @RISK enables probability distributions for each of the major inputs, in order that the variables of each can be measured and analysed. The model results in aggregate probabilities and sensitivities showing which factors have the most influence on whether a project will be successful (ie profitable). Overall, the @RISK model demonstrates that, given proper integrated engineering, financing, and risk hedging (via option and future derivatives), a biofuel plant can be managed in a profitable fashion – profitability being at risk where the margin between feedstock and ethanol prices narrows significantly. @RISK balances profit and risk Modelling in this holistic fashion with @RISK enables biofuel projects to address a fundamental principle of finance. Rather than looking at potential profit in isolation, it is important to balance the highest profit that can be gained for the lowest aggregate risk exposure across integrated implementation, technical, economic and financial aspects. It also ensures that sustainability experts factor in ‘real world’ issues such as the costs of commodities, which can be volatile because they are linked to global systems and events and therefore, where possible, should be hedged via financial instruments such as futures and options to reduce risk. PrecisionTree analyses options Throughout the whole project, PrecisionTree guides the decisionmaking process by enabling different scenarios to be analysed depending on the particular combination of integrated roll-out factors considered. For example, the option of whether to build a large scale biofuel plant can be weighed up against developing a smaller plant by
comparing central risk / reward factors such as the investment required and the chance of technical success. Equally, options such as technology licensing and capital market financing can be integrated into decision tree models as alternative profit scenarios for like-to-like, riskbalanced assessment. At major stages, project abandonment via sale of the plant can be considered as flexibility of this nature adds potential value as a formal risk management contingency. Evolver solves the optimisation issue At the crux of this type of integrated analysis is an understanding that implementation, technical, economic and financial decisions all overlap in terms of creating a unique risk / reward profile for a roll-out scenario. Changing the plant configuration adds to capital and financing costs, but creates the potential for high yields, though balanced by technical risk. Evolver provides the ability to run this as a complex, multivariate optimisation issue, in which a balanced set of factors and assumptions result in the highest potential reward for the lowest possible aggregate risk. Therefore it identifies the most cost effective, efficient, advanced plant possible while controlling financing costs and economic risk exposures. Evolver runs through random configurations, quickly developing candidates for ideal configuration and narrowing-in steadily on the optimal set of integrated design and implementation factors. Commercial potential Investors in a profitable biofuel plant will also want to know that it is feasible to roll it out on a larger, commercial scale with additional plants in new territories, including the potential for licensing-out similar implementations. Analysis of the risks and return on investment outlined above provide some data as to whether this is financially viable. This is supplemented with further inputs to the @RISK model that reflect regional variables such as competition, agricultural supply, tax rates, labour and transport costs and local biofuel prices.
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CASE STUDY The DecisionTools suite enables a focus on finance Using The DecisionTree Suite enables an in-depth level of detailed financial analysis suitable for presentation to potential capital investors who have sophisticated information needs. It provides them with the essential information that they require to understand whether a project is of interest to them given a specific risk threshold and expectation of returns. For example, in addition to the cost of building the plant, they can see the technical and economic risks involved (and the likelihood that they will happen, along with the consequences if they do) and therefore the risk-balanced return on investment they are likely to see. “Proposals of this nature need to focus on the financial elements of a project, which is the information that investors want at their fingertips when considering whether to back any initiative, regardless of whether it is ‘green’,” explains Mongeau. “Environmental experts and enthusiasts need to be realistic about whether their proposal is financially viable if they are going to attract the funds that will make it a reality. Palisade’s risk analysis tools provide them with the language that is familiar to the financial world, as a result of which the project is more likely to receive funding. Sustainability criteria can therefore be met at the same time as providing investors with a risk-balanced return - so everyone wins.” Technology that streamlines human input Using the DecisionTools Suite therefore enables the business case for a biofuel plant to be presented to potential investors, who can see immediately whether it meets their funding criteria. This includes having a clear understanding of the risks involved in the programme, and the knock-on effect this could have on their finances. The example uses a biofuel plant, but the principles are equally applicable to sustainable energy initiatives such as wind or solar energy. “Palisade’s risk analysis software is simply ‘the best thing since sliced bread’, especially in our increasingly complex, uncertain global world. Because it runs in Excel, it is accessible to everyone and doesn’t become the exclusive domain of technical experts. Despite being highly sophisticated technology, it actually streamlines human conversations because it allows for integrated, like-to-like analysis of risks from the standpoint of highly
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specialised but distributed experts. Integrated simulation allows for the assessments of lawyers, economists, engineers, managers, and financiers to come together so that the proportional risks in mega-projects, large implementations and new technologies are clear to all,“ concludes Mongeau. About Sark7 Sark7 is an international consultancy that specialises in integrated analysis for sustainable energy projects. The aim is to bridge the gap between populist enthusiasm surrounding ‘green’ initiatives and the intensive financial risk analysis demanded by capital investors and participants. About Palisade Palisade Corporation is a software developer that produces decision support tools for professionals in many lines of work. The company was founded in 1984, and at present more than 400,000 people use Palisade’s software in fields that range from finance to oil and mineral exploration, real estate to heavy manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals to aerospace. Its software is used by many Fortune 500 companies, including Shell Oil, Procter & Gamble, ExxonMobil, Chase Manhattan, and by prominent economic and financial consultants.
KAWNEER SYSTEMS HELPS UNIVERSITY WITH BREEAM AND TRANSPARENCY
Glazing elements by leading architectural aluminium systems supplier Kawneer have helped the first phase of the redevelopment of the city centre campus of the University of Wales, Newport (www.kawneer.co.uk/pr/ uown) achieve a BREAAM “Excellent” rating. Kawneer’s AA®100 curtain walling, AA®601 top-hung casement windows, and AA®605 low/medium duty swing doors and series 190 heavy-duty commercial entrance doors, which feature on all elevations of the striking building, have also helped BDP architects achieve the design objective of it being open and transparent to the community. The £35 million building on the banks of the River Usk, next to the city’s new landmark footbridge, houses the University’s Faculty of Arts and Business. This creates a magnet for cultural activity along the riverfront as well as a centre for enterprise that embraces a contemporary arts centre, extensive exhibition space and a national photographic archive. A collaboration between the university, city council and Newport Unlimited, the urban regeneration company for the city, the new campus is part of a major redevelopment of Newport’s city centre. The glazed elements were installed by approved specialist contractor AB Glass for main contractor Willmott Dixon Construction who specified Kawneer
CASE STUDY
systems with secondary steelwork to achieve the required spans (typically 10.5 metres at ground floor and up to 17 metres at first floor). A BDP senior architect said this combination was in preference to a steel curtain wall system as it was the “most economical solution”. She said: “Until working on Newport, the design team had thought that a steel curtain walling system would be the most economical solution for large spans as it negates the need for secondary steelwork. But current market trends are proving that aluminium and secondary steelwork is just as competitive and a solution favoured by contractors so will probably be specified more and more very early in the design.” She added: “As the concept of the building was to be transparent and open we wanted to retain as much curtain walling as possible and the Kawneer systems have certainly complied with the aesthetic requirements of the project. We had to use a high acoustic and solar performance for the glass as the building is on a very exposed, tight urban site next to a busy road.” The Kawneer systems interface with brick, zinc and timber soffit. In semi-circular floating pods suspended from the first floor slab at the front of the building, much attention was paid to the isolation of these structures and the curtain walling to minimise movement on the latter. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |137|
GLASSHOUSES RECAPTURE EDWARDIAN PAST ACCOYA WOOD USED FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE HISTORICAL THREE GLASSHOUSES AT FOTA ARBORETUM IN IRELAND Glasshouses in the world renowned gardens of Fota House have been restored to their former glory with the use of Accoya® wood. The restoration project was commissioned by the Irish Heritage Trust after its purchase of the estate in 2007. The 19th century property in Cork, Ireland, had been abandoned almost 40 years ago and had deteriorated to a virtual ruin. Fota House is located just outside the city of Cork, near to Cork Harbour, where changeable weather continuously impacts upon the local buildings. Accoya wood, supplied by Abbeywoods, was selected as the material of choice for the restoration of the glasshouses due to its renowned durability and stability in all weathers.
The Fota House restoration began over a year ago. The glasshouses were given paramount importance to the project as they embodied the Edwardian horticultural heritage. The word ‘Fota’ itself in the traditional Gaelic language translates as ‘warm soil’, hence the presence of many exotically cultivated plants in the gardens of the estate. It was here that the Smith-Barry family started planting the most exotic species of trees as far back as the 1840’s. With a view to reinstating as much of the glasshouses’ original historic feel, it was essential to save as much of the initial construction as possible. The restoration project of the three glasshouses was in fact more of a challenge than it initially seemed. It required much patience and attention to detail as every element of the construction needed to be carefully documented before being dismantled. Moreover, every element which could be, had to be reused, making it a meticulous and lengthy process, but the results proved to be well worth the wait. Some of the roof members had to be replaced but most were salvaged and carefully repaired. The rot was worse along the top edge of the rafters and at the birds-mouth joint where they joined the vertical window frames. The rot was removed to sound timber |138| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
and skilfully cut Accoya splices were stitched-in. The traditional way to repair old timbers would be to cut a new splice, label it and send it away for preservative treating and then fit it when returned. The use of Accoya sped up and simplified the process by avoiding the need for preservation. Accoya was also the obvious material for the parts that could not be reused. Not only for its aesthetic appeal but for the exceptional durability it possesses. Accoya wood has created a visually beautiful construction that will last for decades. The wood guarantees 50 years of durability which is a measure of rot-resistance. Its properties match or exceed those of the most dense tropical hardwoods. Additionally, its dimensional stability enabled the new splices to be fitted without the risk of differential movement making the joint lines visible through the paint. The conservation architect John O’Connell and his team were in charge of the project, which apart from the glasshouses, included four Edwardian hothouses. “Even before we started working on the project we knew that it would be quite a challenge. This time it was more about reviving the old feel and making sure that we maintain as much of the old structure as possible. It is always easier to work on projects such as this if the material used is as good as Accoya. There was a lot pressure but it was a great experience to be part of such a historical project”, said John. The combination of the extraordinary work of the architects, construction specialists and highly skilled joiners along with the use of white coated Accoya wood, has converted the aged and derelict building into wonderful glasshouses that recapture its previous essence.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
The Deal! Chris Hines MBE Hon.D.Sc A Grain of Sand
Sometimes you don’t see the wood for the trees! As a species living our daily lives on planet Earth this is often the case.
that we should make sure our lives count then that justifies your footprint. Give something back, be part of the solution and then your impact is balanced.
I’ve been privileged to live on this amazing planet for nearly fifty years. For the last twenty one years I’ve been an environmental campaigner and a driver of positive change. This has often been a difficult path to follow, running against the opinion, conflict, often making decisions on principles rather than security of income and career, but I think I have been fairly true to my beliefs.
Being part of the solution is vital, because we are all part of the problem. In the 1990s when I was running Surfers Against Sewage, one of the key factors that helped us stand out as a campaign was that not only did we know what our aim was (clean seas) and what the problem was (400 million gallons of crude sewage every single day, despite Margaret Thatcher’s claims that it was “all treated”) we also had found the solution and were strong advocates and supporters of water companies that did the right thing. I duck dived into the mouth of Jersey’s UV treated short outfall pipe to stand by my oral evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee. I’d said that I’d feel fifty times safer doing that than bathing on many so called “passed” beaches. Obviously Jersey’s tourist department thought this would be good PR. The technology was cleaner and cheaper and was soon widely adopted. We even opened sewage treatment works for Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water and Wessex Water.
During that time I’ve learnt and developed a few fundamental themes that I think can apply to anything and everything! Change is good, not just for changes sake but it is needed to make things better. Tension is inevitably part of the process and, like a shot of adrenalin in fight or flight, it helps focus minds. There is a need to inspire people and there is no better way than encouraging acceptance of “the deal”. The deal being that: because we get to live on this amazing planet in what for the vast majority of us in the western world is a pretty comfortable lifestyle, then we should all give something back. So take that bit of time every day just to look at something natural and amazing, for me it’s the sea and the trees but there is a little bit of magic everywhere. Try to be a little bit M.A.D, to Make A Difference. A young student asked me recently whether I felt guilty about having a car. There followed a discussion about where that threshold is. We all need to live and by the very act of living we have a footprint. Mass suicide of those who care is NOT the way forward as it would just clear the pitch for domination by those who are just interested in themselves and the money they can make! I concluded
Next up is communications and campaigning. Being ahead of the game, being savvy, being a bit campaigney. When you’re campaigning against or even trying to establish a new business or technology you are taking on what exists and guess what…Often those existing technologies, companies etc. don’t want to change. Understanding and appreciating the pressures on those is important. For some they have invested their careers and maybe large sums of money in technologies. Nowhere is this more evident than the big energy, oil and gas companies. They have a massive investment in continuing as normal. Of course they’ll play but essentially these are oil and gas people and the renewable element seems often tokenistic. Once you recognise that resistance to change then you understand that need for smart, highly efficient ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |139|
campaigning. You have to overcome them and play as good a game as they do with their huge lobbying, marketing and financial clout. When you consider the odds you realise how good you have to be. For Surfers Against Sewage in the early 1990s there were ten water companies, the National Rivers Authority (shortly to become the EA), DEFRA and the Government to overcome. Even the tourist industry didn’t want the issue dealt with, instead burying their head in the often filthy sand like the Mayor of Amity Island in some warped version of the Jaws film and novel. “No great browns in our water!” Two quick current examples of failure to have that quick, campaigning thought process: Firstly, why was no-one at the University of East Anglia prepared to be hacked? You’re taking on the oil and gas industry and they’re not going to get into your emails? Come on. I’ve heard people say that it’s unfair to expect academics to have to think about things like that. Well even if they didn’t the University’s communications department should have. A good rule of thumb is never put anything in an email that you wouldn’t be happy to see in public. Be smarter! The solar energy fiasco – what a bit of political manoeuvring. Harness the likes of the Telegraph and Mail to stand up against the big bad solar companies planning 5MW plants on behalf of households, and then when you’ve won that game you slash it for households. Divide and rule! Worth noting that the most efficient way of generating energy per pound of subsidy was always the bigger 5MW schemes due to efficiencies of scale. But anyway that middle class solar bling will now be binned too. There was even a case in Cornwall of a second home owner getting FITs from the solar PV used to heat the swimming pool at their second holiday home (pass the vomit bucket please!). You could see this coming but the solar and renewable industry took way too long to activate.
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Leadership is another key element of the deal. At this point I look at the letter that has just arrived from one of the big six energy companies advising me to choose the business energy experts. I look hard for the line about green tariff. I can find the energy saving but nothing about renewable. I ring the company and point this out, they say they are doing renewable but just not flagging it up to businesses. I ask them to note my call and encourage them to help lead the debate; after all if lots of businesses said they’re were interested then that would indicate that investing more in renewable portfolio would be a safe bet. This is all noted and taken on board by a very helpful manager. Its only later whilst writing this that I notice all the info about the make up of the energy is actually all there in a little box on the back of the page. THIS IS FRONT PAGE!!! If you want to be a leading 21st century company then act like one! Phew! This may sound all a bit heavy, a bit of sucking the joy out of life! For that reason I think it’s really important to celebrate sometimes. To applaud the amazing things we are doing, the progress that is being made against what at times seem staggering odds! Twenty years ago this was still on the fringe, it is now far more main stream but there is no room for complacency. The world needs us all to do our best. The stakes are massive but the prize is amazing. Just by reading this magazine you are becoming part of the solution. So raise your glass to the environmental industry sector and vow to give it your all to play your part in “THE DEAL!”