Although recycling is now commonplace (83% of companies recycle), the BSC survey revealed:
· Only one in three firms has a nominated member of staff responsible for environmental performance (32%).
· Just one in four has an environmental management system.
· Less than one in five firms has carried out an external audit to help reduce their carbon footprint.
Now you can find out how green your company really is in just five minutes!
The new tool is designed as a quick and easy way for companies to benchmark their environmental impact. Taking only 10 minutes to complete, the online tool provides a quick rating to indicate the company's current position on compliance, pollution prevention and waste management so that it can make an informed decision on how to improve its environmental impact.
Apart from the corporate responsibility aspect, the business benefits of a proactive approach to all aspects of environmental management are significant. Financial savings can be made in terms of direct costs for raw materials, energy, water and waste savings as well as prevention of fines and remedial costs from breaches of legislation.
Brian Nimick, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council said; "We recognise that companies are being put under increasing pressure to 'go green' and reduce the impact that they are making on the environment and the climate. In response, we've developed this free, new tool specifically for them, to quickly and easily check their current performance against a range of environmental indicators and obtain guidance on areas for improvement, which the British Safety Council can provide. The better the knowledge they have about the gaps in their risk assessments, the better the action they can take. "
The new assessment tool is part of the BSC's aim to help organisations to achieve greater operational health, safety and environmental performance. The BSC already has a successful health and safety diagnostic tool which is aimed at SME's. Details can be found at www.britsafe.org/envtool