The cards grade Agency progress on 17 of its main environmental and organisational targets – 40% of which were not being tracked before. If a goal is awarded a green card, it is within target, if it is amber, it needs attention and if it is red, it needs action.
Barbara Young, chief executive of the Agency, welcomed the idea: “This is our first attempt at a much more transparent assessment of our performance,” she said.
The 17 areas being measured are central to the Agency's five-year corporate plan and the scorecard will be presented to the public and the Agency board every quarter and re-assessed annually.
Radical
Ms Young said: “We are trying to make radical and effective change in the Agency, but not all the data has been collected in the past. By the end of the next financial year, we will have a really clear idea of how well we are performing against our five-year strategy and a very valuable management tool which allows us to put effort and resources where they are both needed.”
The first quarterly scorecard was presented to the Agency board on October 16. Seven goals were given a green card, eight were amber and one – wiser, sustainable use of natural resources – was red.
Measures which the Agency does not report on anywhere else but which are included on the scorecard, include an emissions reduction programme and reports on farm visits.
Waste
Director of environmental protection, Paul Leinster, said: “The scorecard shows us that there is a need to review the resources we are devoting to licensing and regulation – particularly for waste permitting, Pollution, Prevention and Control (PPC) permitting and producer responsibility.”
But he said the Agency's new management programme, BRITE (Better Regulation Improving the Environment), would increase efficiency.
Subscribe for free