 Our greener borough
This new initiative aims to involve residents and businesses in a new environmental challenge.
We want to encourage you to make a personal commitment to protecting the environment. You can show that you can make a difference by adopting a more sustainable lifestyle.
Find out what we are doing to look after the environment including:
Find out what you can do to play a part and consider making a green pledge to help make our greener borough. You can also get links to local, national and international sustainable development sites.
Have your say on the creation of a new regional park - Wandle Valley Park
Environmental policy
Our first environmental policy was adopted in 1992 and its environmental action plan in 1996.
The policy is updated every three years and was last updated in October 2007, following consultation with local groups and residents.
The plan is updated annually, most recently in October 2007.
Results of the consultation
The results of the consultation are summarised in the committee report available for download below. You can also download the policy and action plan below. Both of these are divided into 13 environmental themes from saving energy, cutting back on waste, through to involving business. For each of these, there are targets and actions that are allocated to specific sections of the council to achieve. The plan and policy is monitored by a cross departmental working group of officers.
Downloads
 Consultation Report Paper No. 07-929 (October 2007) (48 kb)
Environmental Policy (Appendix 1) (81 kb)
Environmental Action Plan (Appendix 2) (227 kb)
For more information, email the environmental policy officer at envpolicy@wandsworth.gov.uk or phone 020 8871 6182.
Environmental purchasing
All organisations have an impact on the environment through their purchasing practices - both in buying goods and in procuring services though contracts. In recognition of this, the executive approved an environmental purchasing policy in October 2005.
This sets out a series of principles to be adopted in procurement, including:
- value for money and whole life costs;
- minimising waste; re-use and recycling;
- energy use and climate change;
- habitat destruction and wood products from sustainable sources; and
- minimising pollution.
Download the environmental purchasing policy (92 kb)
This was adopted as part of an overall procurement strategy.
Green procurement code
We are a signatory to London's green procurement code and conduct an annual audit of our recycled purchases. This is independently audited by the capital's waste partnership, London Remade, to assess the impact on the environment of companies switching to buying recycled.
Find more about the code at www.greenprocurementcode.co.uk
In 2005, London Remade estimated that our purchases of recycled paper saved the equivalent of 751 trees, nearly 207,000 kilowatts of electricity and more than 1.5 million gallons of water. Over £330,000 worth of recycled products, were bought - mainly paper, plastic bollards, litter bins and orange recycling bags. Overall, these purchases diverted more than 2,600 tonnes of waste from being disposed of in landfill sites and helped to create news markets for recycled goods.
As well as buying recycled products, we are also working with London Remade to cut back on our waste and recycle more.
For more information about our environmental policies and plans, email amcdonnell@wandsworth.gov.uk
Greening businesses
As part of the greener borough initiative, small businesses based in Wandsworth have access to support and information from southlondon.biz to become more sustainable and save money. for further information please see the contact and website details below:
Email gogreen@southlondon.biz, phone (020) 8947 0055 or visit www.southlondon.biz
Links
For local to global information on sustainable development:
Wandsworth Environment Forum - a voluntary network of local environmental and amenity groups and residents who meet to take action on sustainable development issues in Wandsworth. To contact the forum email envpolicy@wandsworth.gov.uk or visit www.wandsworthef.org.uk
Site feedback
If you have any questions about our environmental policy or action plan or want to let us know your views, email us at envpolicy@wandsworth.gov.uk. |
