A new report published today shows that manufacturers are not feeling the benefit of ‘green’ red tape culls and calls for bolder Government action on environmental legislation.
The report from the EEF, the organisation which champions manufacturing and engineering in the UK and the EU– shows that manufacturers want to see the Government go further in reforming legislation and streamlining data reporting. According to Green tape: manufacturers’ views of progress on Defra’s regulatory reform agenda, seven in ten (71%) say that cutting ‘green’ legislation in line with the ‘one in, two out’ policy is important to their business, but less than one in ten say that red tape culls to date have saved them time (7%) or money (9%)
Four in ten (41%) think that government has not gone far enough in challenging the burden of environmental red tape – just a quarter (25%) think efforts have had the right focus. Over a third of manufacturers (37%) also say the attempts to reform ‘green’ red tape have been ineffective because they focus on the UK, rather than the EU where the majority of legislation originates. They now want to see bolder moves to reform and stem the flow of regulation emanating from Europe. The report recommends that the work of the EU Red Tape Business Taskforce continues, but should broaden its remit.
The report comes days before the Government closes a consultation (14 September) seeking views on how it can ease legislative burdens associated with waste regulation as part of its current focus on cutting the costs of regulation by £10 billion.
The findings show that the call for environmental legislative reform comes from across the board. Almost three quarters of manufacturers (73%) want to see legislative reform of environmental and climate change policies, while 56% say same of improved data reporting. Smaller companies are most likely to want to see ‘green’ legislation trimmed back.
Manufacturers also want to see bolder moves to reform and stem the flow of regulation emanating from Europe. The report recommends that the work of the EU Red Tape Business Taskforce continues, but should broaden its remit.
Terry Scuoler, CEO of EEF, which collectively represents 20,000 companies of all sizes, from start-ups to multinationals, across engineering, manufacturing, technology and the wider industrial sector. commented:
“Our report shows that manufacturers remain committed to addressing environmental and climate concerns, but are still having to wade through unnecessary levels of complexity and red tape in order to do so, which in too many cases is holding them back.”
“The previous government got off to a good start in identifying the roadblock caused by poor legislation and began to take steps to simplify the stock of guidance and legislation in this area.”
“There is, however, a real appetite in the sector for bolder reform that increases fairness, creates markets and improves the environment without damaging competitiveness, impeding innovation or creating barriers to trade, investment and efficiency. “
Click here to download the report in full.
Near-real-time microbial monitoring of wastewater discharge and bathing waters is now possible thanks to the BactoSense ID solution created by Swiss-based bNovate Technologies.
ABB has launched AquaMaster+™, a digital platform for smart water network management, designed to help water utilities monitor, analyze and manage their water networks, preventing pipeline water losses and optimizing operations.
Craig Nienaber, Business Development Manager for Safe Access Solutions (SAS) at HUBER Technology, explores why the company is seeing a growing level of interest in its safe access solutions for critical infrastructure providers, including their application in wastewater treatment assets.
Albion Water, the first NAV (New Appointment & Variation) to have been established in1999 and now under the ownership of SDS Water Group, has appointed Andy Holland as its new Director of Business Development.
Southern Water has released film and images showing what it’s like to walk inside Hampshire’s expanded Yew Hill underground reservoir for the very last time, before it gets filled with water.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.