Our environmental policy

It is our policy to meet our national and international legislative obligations, to develop local sustainable communities, enhance the local environment, deliver environmentally-friendly services and enforce environmental legislation to help stem the depletion of the world's finite natural resources.

We are committed to preventing pollution of the environment through compliance with legislation and the continual improvement of environmental performance by:

• reduced use of energy from fossil fuels
• reduced use of water
• reduced disposal of waste to landfill through the action of
• reduced consumption of materials and goods
• reuse of materials
• recycling of waste and use of recycled materials wherever possible
• reduced use of natural resources
• prevention of groundwater pollution and contamination of land
• protection and enhancement of habitat and biodiversity
• enhancement of the quality of the built environment

This will be achieved through:

• the implementation and maintenance of this policy in all areas and our activities
• management of environmental performance in all our service areas
• compliance with applicable legal requirements to which we subscribe and to other requirements which relate to the environmental aspects of our activities. For example best practice guidance from central Government
• the ISO14001 environmental management system, which shall provide the framework for setting and reviewing objectives and targets for managing the most significant environmental aspects of our activities
• implementation of our Green travel plan, other initiatives and working practices

Progress on this policy will be reported on annually.

For further information, please see our environmental policy document below.