Groundwork Business Briefing

From 1 July 2007 legislation will require virtually all work and public places to become smoke free. To understand what this will mean for your business, Oldham and Rochdale Councils are holding an event to explain more. The two hour event is being held at Grange Arts Centre, Rochdale Road Oldham, on 16 April, and will be repeated on the 17th
and again on the 18th, to ensure no-one misses out. Two FREE places are available for every business in Oldham and Rochdale.

A survey by the FPB found that 47% of small business managers spend more than seven hours a month understanding updates to regulations as well as implementation, action and monitoring. 19% said they spend up to a week, with the average time spent being 14 hours. When asked how time-consuming health and safety regulations were in terms of both administration and time spent understanding them, 57% said administration was very time consuming, while 56% said understanding health and safety regulations was very time consuming.

Business Environment Association (BEA) membership with Groundwork EBS can take the hassle out of complying with new
health and safety regulations by reducing jargon and breaking down what it means for your business, saving you both time and money.

In recognition of World Water Day, Groundwork has donated 2 water butts to Springhill Hospice to enable them to use
rainwater rather than tap water on their garden and plants.

Groundwork is looking to give 3 more water butts away to local companies in a competition. Watch this space for
further details!

Water is often an overlooked business cost and its supply is taken for granted. As businesses pay both for the water they use and the water discharged from their premises, it is in the best interests of businesses not to let any of this resource go to waste. Careful use and management of water can lead to significant cost savings. A company reasonably new to water efficiency will typically save 50% of their water consumption by implementing some relatively inexpensive measures.

15 March signalled the deadline for producers of electrical equipment to join a WEEE compliance scheme, while 31 March was the deadline for those registering as a producer. However, Adrian Harding, an Environment Agency Policy
Advisor, says: "if you missed the deadline, you should be looking to sign up as soon as possible, rather than waiting anxiously for the Environment Agency to come calling."

The timetable of new regulations is all leading towards WEEE day on 1 July, when producers will begin to take
responsibility for financing their share of treatment and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

The British Government urged drivers to pump up their tyres, avoid over-revving engines and remove clutter from their cars in a campaign to reduce emissions of climate-changing gases.

Transport Minister Gillian Merron said carbon dioxide from car exhausts could be cut by 8% if all drivers in Britain followed the government’s ‘’Smarter Driving’’ tips. The total reduction would be over 5.5million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide, and would also save motorists over £2billion in fuel costs.

As of May, compost will be classed as a product if it meets a quality protocol issued by the Environment Agency and the government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). At present, compost made from source-segregated waste only ceases to be ‘waste’ once applied to land. This definition along with subsequent legal requirements has limited the development of markets for the material. The new protocol means that compost produced to the BSI’S PAS 100 standard will cease to be ‘waste’ once it has left the site of production and users will no longer need an exemption.

The Environment Agency is to also examine the protocol for ten other waste products, including tyres, waste oils and wood.

New guidance for the constuction industry on safe isolation practices when carrying out electrical work has been published by the Health and Safety Executive and the Electrical Safety Council.

This publication is available to download from the Electrical Safety Council web site:

www.electricalsafetycouncil.org.uk/pdf/ElecSafConst3-10-06.pdf