British Safety Council

Fact sheet: Environment performance, auditing and sustainability (in the workplace)

Spend on Environmental Protection

  • Gross spending on environmental protection in 2004 by UK industry amounted to an estimated £3.2 billion
  • The primary spending sectors were:
  • Food, beverages and tobacco products (18% of total)
  • Chemicals and chemical products (17% of total)
  • Coke, Petroleum and Nuclear Fuel (12% of total))
  • Operating expenditure accounted for 81% of the total environmental protection expenditure, with capital expenditure making up the remainder
  • 34% of the total expenditure was spent on wastewater, 29% on solid waste and 37% on air, soil/groundwater and other areas
  • 21% of companies surveyed, separately identify environmental protection expenditure in their management accounting system.

Source: DEFRA

Environmental practices reporting

  • From April 2006 all stock market listed companies were required to disclose in their annual report any important environmental issues that affect their business performance. 1
  • Over half of the top 250 UK companies now report their environmental performance 1
  • The use of environmental reporting systems is more widespread in companies with over 250 employees. 2

Source: 1The Environment Agency, 2DEFRA

Waste & recycling:

  • In 2003/04 in England, businesses produced 59 million tonnes of waste, of which 42% was recovered. Construction and demolition produced a further 91 million tonnes.
  • The retail sector is the second largest single waste producer at 13 million tonnes.
  • For every tonne of household waste produced, commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce another six tonnes.
  • Nearly one tonne of waste is produced by services (shops, banks and insurance companies); a further two tonnes by manufacturing industries,  and three tonnes by the construction industry
  • The UK recycled 55.4% of  packaging waste in 2004 compared with 53% in 2003

Source: The Environment Agency

Environmental business concerns:

  • 70% of companies are concerned about the rising cost of energy
  • 45% worry about waste management
  • 30%  worry about carbon emissions

Source: British Standards Institution (BSI) 2006

Environmental Management System (EMS):

  • 29% of companies do not have an EMS
  • 94% recognise that an EMS can improve environmental performance
  • 54% believe an EMS can enhance corporate reputation
  • 10% believe an EMS enhances competitive advantage and achieves cost savings
  • 76% believe customers will be more interested in companies with an EMS in the next 10 years

Source: British Standards Institution (BSI) 2006