Frequently Asked Questions |
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Listed below are some of the frequently asked questions relating to the Guidelines for Environmental Management and Reporting, issued October 2000. We welcome any further questions or comments that you may have and ask that these are sent to: [address] Any questions/comments received will be processed and replies provided where appropriate. As part of our monitoring of the interest and uptake of the Guidelines, we will monitor use of this site and add further information and details as and when required. The Frequently Asked Questions are presented in two sections: 1. Administration 2. Technical |
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ADMINISTRATION |
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| Q1 | Where can I obtain further explanation and assistance with understanding and applying the Guidelines? |
| A | The FORGE Group and ABI and BBA will be monitoring uptake of the Guidelines and, subject to demand, may develop a seminar programme giving further information about establishing Environmental Management and Reporting systems. These seminars would be led by members of the FORGE Group who have participated in the development of the Guidelines and are all responsible for the implementation of Environmental Management and Reporting within their own organisations. It is also possible that the seminar programmes would include contributions from some non-financial service stakeholders who were involved in the drafting process.
Please indicate your interest in attending a supporting seminar by e-mailing forge@bba.org.uk, deryck.wright@abi.org.uk or david.leighton@abi.org.uk |
| Q2 | Where I can find out more information concerning the seminar programmes? |
| A | Details of the availability of any seminars will be posted on the ABI and BBA websites where appropriate. |
| Q3 | Where can I obtain further copies of the Guidelines? |
| A | The Guidelines are available in downloadable PDF format at: [address]. Limited paper copies of the Guidelines will be held by the ABI and BBA at the following addresses: |
| Q4 | Are these Guidelines going to be adopted internationally? |
| A | The Guidelines have been developed with the UK financial services sector as the primary intended audience. However, they have been shared with a number of international organisations including, in addition to BBA/ABI membership, the United Nations Environment Programme, other European banks and insurers. As part of a UNEP initiative, international Environmental Management and Reporting Guidelines are being developed. It is possible that these Guidelines may form a starting point for this work. |
| Q5 | Can I make comments on the Guidelines? |
| A | Comments are welcome – in particular identifying where more detailed guidance would be beneficial, where clarification of points within the Guidelines is necessary, additional points that need to be included and suggestions for making the Guidelines more accessible and user-oriented. Please send any comments to: [address] |
| Q6 | Have these Guidelines achieved support from outside of the financial services sector – for example pressure groups? |
| A | During drafting, an extensive stakeholder consultation process was completed involving [35] organisations. This sought opinion and input from a wide variety of organisations from pressure groups (e.g. Friends of the Earth, World Wild Fund) through non financial organisations (e.g. Reuters, BBC), regulatory organisations ( e.g. Environment Agency, SEPA) and specialist trade associations (e.g. Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales, Council of Mortgage Lenders). All of the stakeholders gave their support to development of the Guidelines. Particularly noteworthy support was received from the pressure groups and the Environment Agencies of England and Scotland. As identified above, it is possible that these organisations will contribute to the seminar programmes. |
| Q7 | Is there any form of certification associated with these Guidelines? |
| A | No, these Guidelines are for voluntary adoption with the appropriate scope and level of implementation being left to an organisations’ own discretion. |
| TECHNICAL | |
| Q8 | How do these Guidelines relate to ISO14001 and other environmental management standards? |
| A | These Guidelines follow the management system and reporting principles presented in ISO14001 and EMAS developed by the International Standards Organisations and European Union respectively. They are therefore aligned with these, but have been refined and altered in their detail to reflect the specific requirements and characteristics of the financial services sector.
During drafting close consideration has also been paid to other emerging guidelines that are under development in the UK. In particular the SIGMA project and Project ACORN which are both also sponsored by the DTI. |
| Q9 | Why should we adopt Environmental Management and Reporting processes now? |
| A | There is firm evidence that environmental management is now impacting the financial services sector – both negatively and positively. Insufficient consideration of environmental issues can be seen to be having an impact on business performance of banks and insurance companies. It can also be seen to be an area of increasing public interest with resulting increase of reputational risk . Equally, there are also opportunities to achieve market differentiation by developing new “green” products to match increasing customer demand. |
| Q10 | Is this another new management system? |
| A | Most organisations will already have many parts of an Environmental Management and Reporting system in place, but due to a lack of structure and coherence are failing to achieve the full benefits. Therefore, little of this is new – but it identifies how to make sure what is there actually delivers benefit internally and externally. The Guidelines identify the important components and the means to bring these together into a formalised, structured system that provides information on performance and achievements. |
| Q11 | Is public reporting of environmental performance a statutory requirement in the UK? |
| A | No, however there is encouragement from government, regulators, pressure groups, employees and customers on companies to demonstrate environmental commitment and performance. Even in the absence of regulation, public environmental reporting is emerging as accepted good practice and failure to report any environmental information may have negative impacts on an organisation in the not too distant future. |
| Q12 | What management processes are most closely related which may offer a platform for the introduction of Environmental Management and Reporting? |
| A | Within the financial services sector, Environmental Management and Reporting systems have closest synergies with either risk management and/or health and safety management systems. The synergies with risk management are closest in terms of “indirect” impacts – those arising from products and services, whereas the synergies with health and safety are closest in the areas of “direct” impact – operational impacts including energy use, waste production etc. Integration of Environmental Management and Reporting systems into these existing management system frameworks is advised where appropriate. |
| Q13 | How long does it take to implement an Environmental Management and Reporting system? |
| A | The length of time will vary for each organisation depending upon:
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| Q14 | How much does it cost to implement an Environmental Management and Reporting system? |
| A | In the same way that the time taken required will vary (see above), the cost will vary. Costs will be at their highest in the 12-18 months when the core of the system is developed. Ongoing costs to maintain the system will be less although some new operational costs can be expected, for example costs associated with environmental reporting. Taking into account the benefits that proper attention to Environmental Management and Reporting can bring, most organisations are seeing that the investment is worthwhile with the potential for improvements in the cost:income ratio. |
| Q15 | What are the most common areas of difficulty? |
| A | The most common difficulty is securing sustained Board level commitment to an Environmental Management and Reporting programme. If senior management are not committed, there will be difficulties throughout implementation.
Other common areas of difficulty include:
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| Q16 | What are the key factors to success? |
| A | The fundamental factor to success is having Board and senior management commitment. Other factors include:
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| Q17 | What are the key measures of success? |
| A | Key internal measures can include:
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