United Kingdom
Pollution Inventory
DEFRA is proposing amendments to the Sewerage Undertakers (Pollution Inventory) Direction 2001. The current Direction requires water companies to report on an annual basis to the EA emissions from sewage treatment works to controlled waters. The draft Sewerage Undertakers (Pollution Inventory) Directions 2003 proposes to amend the list of substances and thresholds to be reported. Thirty-three substances would be added and 21 removed, with the threshold adjusted for 20 other substances. It is proposed that the new Direction will apply to information reported in March 2004 relating to 2003 data. There would be a legal requirement for sewage works in England to comply with the provisions. The changes are necessary under the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER) and bring into line reporting requirements with those of other industries reporting to the Pollution Inventory. However, DEFRA has stated that it does not expect any additional monitoring to be necessary, as those substances not originally monitored can be estimated by methods currently under development. All comments must be received by 18 February 2004.
(DEFRA, 26 November 2003)
Company Law Review
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published a report arguing that companies should be forced to report on their social and environmental policies and performance, including greenhouse gas emissions. The IPPR is an independent charity funded by donations, that publishes policy analysis and reports aimed at encouraging a more environmentally sustainable way of life. The report refers to the new government proposals for a fundamental revision of British company law which will require around 1,000 of the UK’s largest companies to publish an Operating and Financial Review (OFR). It says that the government should play a more active role in determining what parameters to report, rather than leaving this to company directors as currently proposed. It says that improving disclosure and openness in company performance on ethical and environmental policies will be a spur to stakeholder involvement and would lead to improved business practice.
(IPPR, November 2003)
Green claims
Guidance produced jointly by DEFRA and the DTI has been produced to inform business on the claims they can make for their products’ environmental properties. The guidance, which adds to the existing Green Claims Code, says that firms need to do more to ensure that all claims are true, legal and trustworthy. Although the government is keen to encourage the provision of environmental information on products, it says that consumers should be reassured that any green claims can be substantiated.
(DTI/DEFRA, December 2003)
European Union
Aarhus Convention
The European Commission has adopted three legislative proposals to align EU legislation with the provisions in the Aarhus Convention (see article by Andrew Ryan). The Convention is an international agreement, signed by the EU in 1998. It lays down rules to aid citizens’ involvement in environment matters and improve enforcement by granting public access to environment information, participation in decision-making and access to justice for infringement of environment law. The Convention entered into force in October 2001 and has partially been transposed into EU law by two Directives; one concerns access to environmental information (2003/4/EC) and the other, public participation in environmental decision making (2003/35/EC). Member States have to transpose these two Directives into national law by 2005. The latest legislative package is aimed at fully transposing the Convention. It consists of: a proposal for a Regulation on the application of the Aarhus principles to the EU institutions and bodies that applies to all three pillars of the convention (COM (2003) 622); and a proposal for a directive on access to justice on environmental matters (COM (2003) 624) which will allow citizens and their organisations to participate in the enforcement of environment law. Member States will have a large degree of flexibility when implementing the EU legislation into domestic law. The third part of the package is a proposal for a decision on the conclusion by the EU of the Aarhus Convention (COM (2003) 625). This will enable the EU to ratify and become a party to the Convention.
(European Commission, 24 October 2003)
