Memorandum by the South East England Development
Agency on behalf of England's Regional Development Agencies
1. England's Regional Development Agencies
(RDAs) were established 1999. Their mission is to spread economic
prosperity and opportunity to everyone in the nine regions of
England by taking a business-led approach to economic and community
development.
2. England's RDAs welcome this inquiry in
waste reduction. They consider that, to date, policy drivers have
concentrated on "end of pipe" solutions once "waste"
has been generated rather than tackling the issue at the front
of the production process through sustainable innovation, design
and waste minimisation. In future a Cradle to Cradle approach
whereby materials from end of life products feed back into the
production process should be the goal for producers and designers.
3. In line with their regional priorities
members of the RDA network in England give businesses, particularly
SMEs, support on improving their resource efficiency including
waste reduction. However they acknowledge that this support is
at a relatively low level, fragmented and has not yet achieved
the critical mass to cause a major change in business behaviour.
Interest in producing sustainable products and services is still
a niche activity.
4. This paper outlines the RDA network approach
to resource efficiency and sustainable business and provides examples
of the range of activities that RDAs have undertaken and are planning
to take in these fields.
BUSINESS FRAMEWORK
5. The RDAs have an important role in providing
support to business on resource efficiency and sustainable innovation
and design. They are responsible for contracting Business Link
(BL) services in their region based on the universal Information,
Diagnostic and Brokerage model. Under this model a BL general
business adviser (GBA) diagnoses a businesses' need and, where
appropriate, "brokers" in the relevant support from
public or private solution providers.
6. Following a commitment announced in the
pre-budget statement in 2006 the RDAs have run a successful nationwide
Business Resource Efficiency audit pilot scheme that gave support
to 10,000 SMEs on resource efficiency during 2007/08. The final
results of the scheme are currently being collated. However, initial
figures indicate that over 10,600 companies will have benefited
from this support in the first, pilot year. This is an excellent
basis on which the RDAs, BL and specialist support providers can
build. It is an example of the mainstreaming of environmental
issues into business thinking.
7. During the period April 2005 until March
2008, under the former Business Resource Efficiency and Waste
(BREW) programme the RDAs were given a role in their regions to
co-ordinate the activities of national publicly funded bodies
delivering advice on business resource efficiency eg Envirowise,
NISP, WRAP and Carbon Trust. Most RDAs also supported regional
programmes for SMEs on resource efficiency and environmental sustainability
eg the South West England Regional Development Agency (SWERDA)
funded the Envision programme, One North East the Midas programme,
NWRDA the Enworks programme in the North West and SEEDA, the Sustainable
Business Programme in the South East. Following the change of
approach to the provision of business resource efficiency support
announced by Defra in February, many RDAs are seeking to use European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding to continue these regional
programmes in a manner that is compatible with the emerging Business
Support Simplification Programme (BSSP).
8. The BSSP is being designed around making
Business Link the primary access channel for SMEs for their business
support needs. Promoting Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Waste
Management (PRESWM) has been identified as one of the product
streams within the BSSP. The experiences of the South East England
Development Agency (SEEDA) and East Midlands Development Agency
(EMDA) in developing new delivery models for business resource
efficiency advice, using Business Links as the first point of
contact, are being used to develop the delivery of the PRESWM
product.
9. Research funded by SEEDA into Sustainable
Innovation and Eco-Design concluded that design is only one element
of the innovation mix required for new product development. There
is a need to get "buy in" from senior strategic managers
at the product conceptualisation stage in order to embed sustainability
into product design. SEEDA and other RDAs are currently running
the "Designing Demand" programme in their respective
regions and are planning to emphasis the sustainability strand
in their future activity.
10. Via former BREW funding, the South West
RDA have funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) specifically
on Resource Efficiency. These have provided a proactive link between
businesses and universities with a dedicated resource enabling
the application of innovative approaches to improved resource
efficiency.
BETTER DESIGN
AND THE
USE OF
MATERIALS
11. The RDA network actively supports better
design and use of materials through a number of its business support
programmes and signposting SMEs to national business resource
efficiency providers. These programmes contribute to waste reduction
through:
Adding value by reducing resource inputs
12. The Envirowise Cleaner Design and Design
Track service is a good example of delivering the support to businesses
that is needed at the waste reduction level of the waste hierarchy.
The London Development Agency (LDA) provides support to Envirowise
in London through its delivery partner London Remade. The future
of the service is being reviewed by Envirowise in light of their
financial settlement for 2008-09 from Defra.
13. Manfacturing Advisory Service (MAS).
It is important to note that it is not just the "resource
efficiency" programmes of the RDAs that are making an impact
on waste reduction. The Manufacturing Advisory Service, with its
focus on competitiveness in the manufacturing industry often has
an indirect impact on raw material usage and waste reduction.
For example between April 2005 to March 2008, MAS Yorkshire and
Humber supported 315 companies to reduce their scrap/defect rates
by an average of 17 per cent. With the widened remit of MAS post-March
2008 to include Resource Efficiency, it is expected that there
will be greater resource efficiency benefits delivered through
the Manufacturing Advisory Service.
14. MAS is working with London SMEs on areas
such as packaging design and production processes to advise them
how they can make efficiency gains, including on waste reduction,
saving cost for the business in the process.
15. With BREW funding, Yorkshire Forward
have provided small scale capital, consultancy and training grants
to businesses (Business Resource Efficiency Improvement Grants)
to help them to implement resource efficiency changes. Over two
years this programme has supported 205 companies to improve their
Resource Efficiency. Looking only at reduction in virgin raw material
only, the grant scheme supported 38 companies to reduce virgin
materials by over 89,000 tonnes.
Taking a sector approach
16. Many RDAs have sought to improve the
environmental performance of the priority business sectors in
their regions eg construction and tourism.
Construction
Most RDAs have delivered projects seeking to
improve construction industry resource management. In particular
the Greater South East (the LDA, SEEDA and EEDA) have targeted
the construction sector through their joint Construction Resource
Efficiency(CoRE) project.
In the SEEDA region the core programme has taken
a holistic approach to the construction sector supply chain, with
programmes of resource efficiency activity targeted at different
sections of the chain. For example, the client side specifiers,
both public and private, are given assistance to specify standards
of resource efficiency to be included in their projects. Major
contractors are supported to train their suppliers collectively
into their resource efficiency requirements. A successful SME
support programme has provided support on designing and implementing
site waste management plans and brokering relationships between
innovative waste management companies and the construction sector
to achieve greater diversion of construction materials from landfill.
17. SEEDA, the Environment Agency, WRAP,
NISP and other key stakeholders in the SE with the agreement of
Defra and other government departments will continue this work
in their pioneering three year pathway towards a zero waste region
initiative which has made reducing construction waste its year
one priority. The objective of this activity will be to meet the
proposed sustainable construction strategy targets in advance
of the target deadlines.
18. RDAs argue that it is important that
construction design, processes, products and materials are included
in consideration of the waste reduction agenda given that construction,
demolition and excavation waste accounts for such a high percentage
of England's waste. The LDA has recently published a guide for
developers Sustainable Development Guide: implementing sustainable
design and construction.[42]
This lifecycle approach to the construction process, centred on
the inclusion of a waste reduction target in the Site Waste Management
Plan, and including the pre-design stage, will help reduce waste
through minimum standards on developers and contractors for new
RDA development projects in London and the South East including:
— Reduction of waste during design,
demolition and construction phases.
— Use of recycled materials during
the construction phase.
— Undertaking a pre-demolition audit
to maximise the material recovered from the demolition of existing
buildings in line with the ICE Demolition Protocol.
— Encouraging the use of consolidation
centres, where available, to manage supply of materials and recovery
of recyclable material.
— Using prefabricated and standardised
modulation components to minimise waste where possible.
— In London all contractors will be
required to develop a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP), which
should include the entire development process from the pre-design
stage, and will need to set targets for waste reduction and recovery
with information on how these targets will be monitored and achieved.
Tourism
19. In 2007 the LDA launched Green Tourism
for London,[43]
an example of another sector-focused programme which helps businesses
to improve their resource and energy management. It is aimed at
hotels, guesthouses, attractions and venues in London. The scheme
has three main aims; to help businesses improve resource and energy
management, cut costs and, by awarding a Bronze, Silver or Gold
award, help visitors assess the true green credentials of the
business before booking. The scheme encourages waste minimisation
and to get a Silver Award businesses need to have implemented
a number of practical activities to minimise waste.
20. In the South West, the RDA have augmented
the regional support for the Green Tourism Business Scheme, a
programme operating on a similar principle to the Green Tourism
for London initiative. Over 200 tourism businesses have received
advisory visits to help them achieve "GTBS" accreditation
over the last year.
21. The South West RDA have also run sector-specific
resource efficiency programmes with both the Marine sector and
the Food/Drink sectors. SEEDA have supported initiatives with
in the aerospace sector on resource efficiency.
DESIGNING WASTE
OUT
22. In London, the Mayor has recently launched
his draft Business Waste Management Strategy Making waste work
in London. The London Development Agency will be a key partner
in the delivery of this Strategy.[44]
This draft Strategy recognises the importance of waste reduction:
the chapter "Designing Waste Out" emphasises the importance
of the role of better design and specification of materials in
reducing waste, and the role of producer responsibility legislation
in pushing businesses to take financial ownership for the environmental
impact of their products.
23. On packaging, the draft Strategy states
that the Government should make lifecycle thinking part of decision-making
at the design stage to ensure full account is taken of the waste
hierarchy. The draft Strategy also puts forward a proposal for
the Mayor of London to call a conference of producers, grocery
retailers and London boroughs to:
— Commit to reducing product and packaging
waste.
— Discuss the production and retail
of materials that cannot be recycled or composted in London (eg
compostable packaging) and use their resources to develop processing
and reprocessing capacity.
— Discuss the development of consistent
and clear product labelling.
Encouragement of more Sustainable Models of business
24. There is a need to encourage greater
innovation in the thinking into service provision ie moving away
from selling products to the end user towards the selling of services
which provides business with an incentive to reuse, recycle or
remanufacture the material elements of their services. Examples
of this trend are Interface Carpets who sell now a floor surface
provision service, Xerox who increase the life of their photocopiers
by refurbishing them and leasing them out at lower rentals and
Cartridge World who are in the business of refilling and reusing
computer printer cartridges.
25. SEEDA co-funded the initial research
into remanufacturing that identified that the sector was worth
£5 billion per annum to the UK economy and lead to the setting
of the BREW funded Centre for Remanufacturing by Oakdene Hollins.
The Centre has identified a number of characteristics and benefit
of remanufacture but also barriers to further development of the
sector. These mainly centre around the perception of the quality
of "second use" products.
GOVERNMENT POLICY
Producer Responsibility and full life costs
26. The RDAs support producer responsibility
as a key element of the Government framework to reduce waste.
For example, the Mayor of London's Draft Business Waste Management
Strategy considers that significantly higher post-2008 targets
than those proposed by Government under the Packaging Producer
Responsibility regulations are required to ensure that packaging
waste producers reduce the quantity of materials in packaging
products to achieve waste reduction.
27. However, they would wish to see more
certainty and consistency in the implementation of EU Directive
so that business has the confidence to invest in reprocessing
capacity for end of life products.
28. An overlying philosophy behind future
product policy should think about reducing resource consumption
throughout the life cycle of the product eg through lightweighting,
redesign and greater energy efficiency, process efficiencies through
programmes such as Manufacturing Advisory Service and improving
the longevity of products through better component design and
making repair easier and cheaper. If repair and reuse are not
viable options then products should be designed for disassembly
and recyclability. Consideration could be given to imposing a
penalty for goods which cannot be recycled.
Improved Data of arisings from Commerce and Industry
29. One of the main barriers to sensible
policy making on waste reduction is the lack of consistent data
on waste arisings from commerce and industry (C&I). This is
a significant concern and remains an outstanding action from Waste
Strategy for England, which has not been pursued with any vigour
by Defra or the Environment Agency. The last survey of C&I
data was undertaken in 2005-06 and the Agency has no plans to
repeat the exercise. This lack of data also impacts on investment
decisions by the resource management industry. Furthermore the
ongoing focus on, and targeting of, Municipal Solid Waste distorts
the perception of waste management priorities and the need to
reduce C&I arisings.
Procurement
30. As the reports of Sustainable Procurement
Task Force and the Commission on Environmental Products and Services
identified, public sector procurement can be used as a stimulator
of innovation of sustainable products through the forward commitment
concept which embeds full life costs thinking into purchasing
decisions.
31. In London, the LDA have supported the
Mayor's Green Procurement Code, which is a free support service
for London-based organisations committed to reducing their environmental
impact through responsible purchasing. Although much of the waste
focus is on promoting use of recycled materials, the Code does
tackle a broader range of green purchasing issues, including waste
prevention and resource efficiency such as through more efficient
use of materials.
32. Yorkshire Forward established Recycling
Action Yorkshire's "Buy Recycled" programme in September
2006 to encourage public and private sector organisations to buy
more recycled content products and to integrate sustainable procurement
into their everyday purchasing decisions. By turning attention
to the products and materials purchased by a business the full
cost of waste is highlighted, leading to a more balanced effort
to reduce and reuse materials as well as recycle waste. To date,
March 2008, the "Buy Recycled" programme has helped
to divert 47,302 tonnes of waste from landfill through the procurement
of recycled content products. This has led to a reduction in CO2
emissions of 34,319 tonnes.
SKILLS
33. A prime example of the RDAs investment
in skills in this area is Yorkshire and Humberside's Manufacturing
MASters Programme, a high level skills programme with an executive
MSc in Manufacturing Leadership. There is a full 30 hour programme
and at the same level but less content are a series of one day—six
hour taster courses (Tier 1).
34. The Tier 1 Taster Day and the Tier 2
30 hour module include "Managing Energy in a Manufacturing
Environment" and within the MSc "Sustainable Design
and Manufacturing" is an elective module.
35. To date, in a very limited time frame,
11 manufacturing companies and 40 delegates have taken advantage
of the "Managing Energy in a Manufacturing Environment"
under the Manufacturing MASters and capitalising on the BREIG
grant. 21 companies have taken advantage of the scheme with 97
delegates being trained.
CONCLUSION
36. The RDAs have demonstrated that they
can enable an effective and targeted Business Resource Efficency
support service, which over the last few years, has helped some
businesses—particularly SMEs—make considerable progress
in embedding waste reduction into their business practices.
37. The challenge for government, its agents
like RDAs and business, is to find the drivers to make waste reduction
a mainstream part of business culture for all firms.
April 2008
42 Available on the LDA website at http://www.lda.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.2445 Back
43
http://www.lda.avensc.com/page.asp?id=21 Back
44
The draft Strategy was published for consultation in February
2008 and is available online at http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/environment/bwms-draft. Back
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