A new project which has been developed by the environmental division of White Young Green (WYGE), consultants to the built, natural and social environment, is set to help trade associations to achieve environmental best practice.
The project, which is one of only nine projects being funded by the Defra BREW (Business Resource Efficiency and Waste) programme office, will develop and deliver environmental management support packages and run pilot programmes to test the support packages.
The project is based around the BS 8555/Acorn framework phased approach to environmental management which allows an organisation to progress in a step by step manner and reach a level of environmental management that is appropriate to them. This offers a viable alternative to full ISO 14001 or EMAS implementation, but also supports progression to both of these standards.
It is currently being run over a one year period within 20 member companies in three different trade associations sectors; the Horticulture Trades Association, Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association and the Cleaning and Support Services Association.
Paul Burr is project manager at WYG’s environmental division at its Manchester office. He said: “We came up with the idea after developing a sector-specific BS 8555 package for the construction sector, the Easy Access Project, which is now being rolled out by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association in the form of training workshops supported by a CD containing guidance materials and templates.
“The BREW project aims to follow a similar path but we are using the experience gained from the Easy Access Project to ensure efficiency and success in the roll out of this project. By working with the trade associations we can encourage businesses to make changes to their environmental practices and maintain not only consistent standards across the sectors but also achieve more efficient delivery of the programme as a whole.”
For the delivery of this project WYGE will undertake baseline audits of participants at their individual sites; develop guidance workbooks and training materials for each of the BS 855 phases; deliver group training for each phase; help with the implementation of the phases; finalise materials gathered, publish them onto CD; and organise certification audits for each company.