Phil Piddington, chairman of the ESA (Environmental Services Association), last week revealed that the association had carried out a consultation exercise in which compliance issues had come out as top of an agenda from members.
He told the audience, at the ESA’s annual reception, that “ESA already has strong links to the Environment Agency and other regulators and we want to work with them to establish best practice and then disseminate this across the sector.”
Reflecting the aims of the Resources and waste Strategy, which provides “a strong framework upon which we can plan for the future”, Mr Piddington said that the second theme arising from the consultation exercise was around creating the right conditions for investment in a circular economy.
‘Ready to invest’
“ESA’s Members stand ready to invest in the services and infrastructure that we need to meet the ambitious targets set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy,” he declared adding: “The potential is huge – if long-term policy stability and regulatory clarity can be secured, then ESA’s Members will invest roughly £10 billion in the next ten years.”
Putting numbers to the forecast, Mr Piddington said the Association had estimated such an approach would create 50,000 jobs and the infrastructure delivered would save over seven million tonnes of CO2-equivalent each year, whilst recycling an additional 10 million tonnes of materials and generating an additional 7.8 GWh of heat and electricity.
Zero carbon
The third theme, listed by the chairman, was “the need to keep an eye on the long term future and what we’re all trying to achieve. Putting our industry on a path towards a zero carbon and zero waste economy is central to this.”
“ESA and its members will be at the forefront of delivering change”
– Phil Piddington
He concluded: “Our industry has already achieved a huge amount – reducing our emissions by 85% since 1990, as highlighted by the Committee on Climate Change. But there is still a lot more we have to do to reach net zero. We will need to decarbonise our fleets, our offices and our operations over the next 30 years. This will require investment and innovation.
“ESA and its Members will be at the forefront of delivering further change in the next 20 years as well – putting us firmly on the path to a zero carbon and zero waste future, whilst driving up standards and delivering the best outcomes for the environment, for the economy, and for people.
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