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THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY STATEMENT OF THE CHANCELLOR OF THE
EXCHEQUER'S DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES This policy statement sets out our environmental commitments. It
has been endorsed by the Economic Secretary and is consistent with
our corporate policies. It is underpinned by the individual Environmental Policy Statements
of each Department and Agency, and a wide range of programmes and
activities designed to reduce our harmful impact on the environment.
Everyone working for the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments
and Agencies or on our behalf is urged to support this statement.
This policy statement updates and replaces all previous statements.
It will be reviewed regularly by the persons listed below and, if
necessary, a revised version will be issued to reflect the latest
developments. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments and Agencies
will communicate this policy and any developments in an appropriate
and effective way. 1. Introduction Organisations of all kinds are, increasingly, determined to achieve
and demonstrate sound environmental performance by controlling the
impact on the environment of their activities, products and services.
They do so in the context of growing environmental awareness, increasingly
stringent legislation and other factors promoting environmental protection
and best practice. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments and Agencies are concerned
about the environment and recognise that good environmental management
must be an integral and fundamental part of our corporate business
strategy. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments and Agencies have committed
themselves to introduce the recognised environmental International
Standard (ISO14001) into a number of their locations to assess the
potential benefits. Following a full appraisal, consideration will
be given to extending Environmental Management Systems across the
Departments and Agencies. 2. Scope of Policy Statement This statement applies to all parts of The Chancellor of the Exchequer's
Departments and Agencies. It covers all buildings, goods and services
used and provided by the Departments and Agencies and everyone working
for us. It covers the immediate impacts of our activities and policies.
It excludes:
3. Environmental Commitments This policy supports the United Kingdom's strategy for sustainable
development. It sets out a programme of continuous improvement to
reduce the harmful impacts of our operations on the environment and
to prevent pollution. In the course of our operations and within resource constraints,
we will improve our environmental performance by: Resources 3.1 conserving energy, water, wood, paper and other resources, particularly
those which are scarce or non renewable, while still providing a safe
and comfortable working environment; 3.2 reducing waste through re-use and recycling and by using refurbished
and recycled products and materials where such alternatives are economical
and suitable; 3.3 ensuring that any products used or derived from wildlife, such
as timber and plants, are from sustainable sources, and comply with
EU and international trading rules such as CITES (the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species); Pollution 3.4 monitoring relevant discharges and emissions to air, land and
water to assess what action is necessary to reduce pollution or the
risk of pollution; 3.5 phasing out, where practical, ozone depleting substances and
minimising the release of greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds,
vehicle emissions and other substances damaging to health and the
environment; Management - Regulations 3.6 meeting, and in some cases exceeding, all relevant, current and
foreseen statutory regulations (including the Environmental Information
Regulations), official codes of practice and other requirements that
we adopt; specifying contractors do the same when working on our premises;
developing and maintaining, emergency procedures for effectively dealing
with significant hazards where they exist and limiting the risk to
health and the environment; Management - Communication 3.7 communicating openly with staff and other stakeholders; educating,
training and motivating our colleagues, and relevant others, to encourage
them to support our environmental programmes and jointly develop new
ideas and initiatives; 3.8 responding appropriately to reasonable external requests for
environmental information; Management - Purchasing 3.9 encouraging manufacturers, suppliers and contractors through
our contracts and other means to improve or develop environmentally
preferable goods and services at competitive prices; Management - Estates 3.10 ensuring, where practicable, that buildings occupied by us are
designed, constructed and operated to optimise their environmental
performance; Management - Environment 3.11 demonstrating that, where relevant, environmental issues are
considered when making decisions, planning and developing policy,
programmes and projects; 3.12 monitoring progress against the environmental aim and other
indicators and producing a regular report for internal and external
consumption. 4. You can obtain further information from:
Signed ................................................................... |
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