In developing its strategy for improving the sustainable development performance of business, Government is considering the various tools at its disposal. One of these tools is encouraging businesses to adopt best practice already implemented by other companies, including potential competitors.

In the area of environmental performance, opportunities exist to make more effective use of resources and consequently achieve reductions in emissions and waste. This need not require major technological advances or major changes to companies' operations. Frequently, modest changes have the potential to reduce  impact on the environment as well as being cost-effective to undertake.

For several years the Government's Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme has aimed to stimulate such improvements. The Government is currently considering what role, if any, the programme should play in the future.

Background

The Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme was launched in 1994 by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the then Department of the Environment (DOE). It is aimed at helping UK companies to take cost-effective steps to improve their environmental performance by reducing waste at source. It was recognised that many companies lacked the necessary information on environmental threats and opportunities on which to base decisions, such as on investing in pollution prevention or pollution abatement technologies. This was leading them to adopt more costly and environmentally less sound measures than might otherwise have been the case. 

The programme principally operates through the dissemination of information and best practice. This includes the provision of benchmarking studies and guides and case studies of good practice. These are disseminated through a Helpline and events such as seminars and workshops. The programme has targeted particular sectors of industry, such as foundries, and particular environmental problems, such as emissions of VOCs. Much of the programme's work has been developed in collaboration with sector bodies such as Trade Associations. There has also been a limited element of support for collaborative R&D projects with industry.

To date the Helpline has taken over 90,000 calls from about 60,000 sites. The programme has produced some 150 publications to encourage and help businesses to reduce waste at source. It holds around 50 events per annum, for around 10,000 delegates.

The programme budget is currently about £5.7 million per year. Studies to assess programme impact  have shown that the programme has helped a range of companies to make annual savings of over £50 million with corresponding reductions in waste. For more details on how the programme operates, see the attached 1998 Summary.

The initial programme was anticipated to run from 1994 to 1999, and was subsequently extended to run until 2002. The Government is now considering whether to extend the programme for another 3 years and, if so, what form the programme should take. It need not necessarily continue on the same model as the current programme. 

We would welcome views on any aspect of this but in particular would like responses to the following questions.

Lack of reliable information

The rationale for the current programme is largely based on evidence that companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are hindered in improving their environmental performance by a lack of reliable information and impartial advice. Because companies do not have access to the right information at the right time, they are unable to plan and invest in the most cost-effective way. This leads them to adopt short-term end-of-pipe solutions rather than adopting cleaner technology approaches. As a result, the solutions adopted tend to be more costly and result in a less than optimal environmental outcome.

Recent surveys, such as the 1998 UK Business and Environment Trends Survey indicate that lack of reliable information is still a problem for business. Surveys carried out for the programme also indicate that this is still an issue.

1. Do you believe that lack of reliable information is still hindering companies from taking cost-effective steps to improving their environmental performance?

Role for government support

Companies can get information from a range of sources. These include the press, trade associations, research associations, the Environment Agency and other regulators, Business Links, consultants, and equipment suppliers. Indeed, in the current programme, the managing contractor works with these other organisations as much as possible in defining business needs and in disseminating the information and advice produced by the programme.

Evidence suggests that the  current programme is not always the main source of information and advice for businesses even in the sectors that have been targeted, although existing information sources are enhanced by information from the programme and, on many occasions, use it directly.

2. Does this imply that government should not aim to add to the existing sources of information; or is there also a need for impartial information from a government source?

Many other service providers offer help and advice at the local level. The current programme aims to interface with these as effectively as possible. However, one of the reasons for having a national Environmental Helpline is to ensure a consistency of service availability and quality across the UK. 

3. Is there a role for a national Environmental Helpline, given the existence of other information sources; and how should any national service interface with locally delivered services?

Emphasis and priorities

The current programme aims to promote the take-up of cost-effective technologies and techniques which improve environmental performance. There are two generic themes - waste minimisation and cleaner technologies. The principal target audience is small and medium sized companies (SMEs). The programme has targeted specific industry sectors, such as foundries, or environmental issues, such as emissions of VOCs. On the whole, the programme has concentrated on the provision of advice and information on technical aspects of the manufacturing process. There has been comparatively little effort in other areas, such as:
 

• process technology development

• product design and development

• non-technical issues such as cultural and economic factors which affect business and its relationship to the environment.

The current programme has also aimed to stimulate the take-up of good environmental practice within process industries rather than directly assist suppliers of environmental goods and services.

4. Should any future programme continue to target similar issues as before or is there a case for the programme to shift its emphasis into other areas?

The programme has aimed to promote technologies and techniques which improve environmental performance and also result in cost savings. However, on occasions, it has covered issues where environmental legislation requires improvements which might reduce resource use but where the necessary investment will not be paid back directly through lower operating costs. At issue here is the need to meet the required standards as cost-effectively as possible - usually by reducing waste at source rather than by employing 'end of pipe' technology.

5. To what extent should the programme focus on helping companies meet environmental legislation at minimum cost, rather than promoting improvements which are cost-effective in their own right?

The programme has aimed principally at promoting relatively straightforward concepts which companies can adopt without too much difficulty. Its main area of success has been in promoting waste minimisation. There has been less success in promoting the more complex issue of cleaner technology. Although this offers the potential for a step-change in performance, the initial costs involved are likely to be higher than the simple management procedures involved in waste minimisation.

But incremental improvements in reducing waste are unlikely to be sufficient in the long term to achieve the sustainability objectives which will be necessary. It has been argued that the level of resource efficiency needs to improve by anything between four and ten times - the 'Factor 4/10' targets. To achieve this level of improvement may require substantial R&D as well as promotion of existing best practice. The current programme budget is small in relation to the scale of the challenge. Other schemes such as collaborative R&D LINK programmes and research funded by the Research Councils will be relevant here.

6. How should the priorities of the programme be balanced between stimulating short-term incremental improvements and step-change improvements? If the emphasis were on the latter, would it be necessary to have a greater emphasis on R&D?

It is also necessary to consider the degree of focus which the programme should have. It could promote generic concepts such as waste minimisation and cleaner technology which are applicable across a range of sectors, or it could address specific issues in particular industry sectors. If it is to take the latter approach, criteria must be developed on which to make decisions about how to give more focus. These could include the degree of environmental threat, the nature of the businesses involved, potential degree of replication, potential commercial opportunities at home and overseas, or other factors. However, in many cases, it must be recognised that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to measure some of these criteria.

7. Should the programme be largely targeted at specific sectors or should it do more of a cross-sectoral nature?

8. If you believe the programme should target specific areas, what criteria should be used to determine priorities?

Routes of communication

The current programme disseminates information through several mechanisms:
 

• Guides and case studies are published showing companies how they can improve their performance. Benchmarking guides show the range of performance within a sector and assist companies to identify the scope for improvement. Good practice guides show how improvements can be made, while case studies demonstrate how other companies have achieved improvements. A small but growing amount of this information is now published in electronic formats rather than on paper.

• The Environmental Helpline offers free advice as well as access to the programme guidance material. Callers may receive up to two hours free advice over the telephone, and, where appropriate, small and medium sized companies can have a half-day visit from an environmental counsellor.

• A range of promotional events is organised to disseminate information, including seminars, workshops and site visits. Many of these are arranged with sector bodies such as Trade Associations.

• The programme assists the development of waste minimisation clubs through the provision of help and advice, although it does not provide direct financial support for clubs.

• Direct marketing techniques, trade press and business press are used to raise awareness of the programme and its messages.

9. Assuming that any continuing programme continues to have similar objectives to the current one, are these the most effective mechanisms that can be used, or should others be developed? 

10. If the programme priorities should be altered, in what way should the promotional mechanisms change? 

Position in Wider Policy Framework

The current programme does not exist in isolation. There are other programmes whose function is also to disseminate information and best practice to business, such as the Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme, Biotechnology Means Business (BMB), and Connect for Better Business. The current programme works together with these other programmes and opportunities for collaboration are taken where this is likely to add value and reduce confusion to business. For example, the Environmental Helpline has recently been merged with the energy efficiency Helpline. 

The programme  also has to support the Government's overall policy objectives. This includes the Sustainable Development Strategy and the implications that it will have for business. Arising from the strategy may be a number of initiatives including the development of sectoral sustainability strategies, voluntary agreements, company environmental reporting, and environmental management systems.

In addition, the programme needs to support the competitiveness agenda and the aim to develop the knowledge-driven economy, and it needs to support environmental objectives to reduce solid waste (including packaging), emissions to air, and water consumption and effluent production.

11. What role should the programme play in relation to wider policy initiatives? Should it be largely independent of these or should it, within its own constraints and priorities, play a role in supporting these other initiatives?

Evaluation of Effectiveness

In any programme the Government will want to be able to assess its effectiveness. In the current programme this is done through a variety of means such as surveys of business attitudes in the targeted sectors and before and after benchmarking studies. In any future programme, we will want to be sure that we can measure its impact. 

12. Assuming that the future programme continues to be principally an information and best practice dissemination programme, how can impact best be measured?
 

Responses

If you have questions or queries, then please get in touch with:
Douglas Robinson at the DTI on 0171 215 1054,or 
Andrew Field at the DETR on 020 7944 6627.

Comments should be sent to :

David Percival
DTI
Environment Directorate
Zone 404
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9SS

DTI Web Site

E-mail : david.percival@envd.dti.gov.uk

by 5 February 1999.

Questionnaire available for download in Word 6.0 format (34kb)

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Department of Trade and Industry 

December 1998