1. NetRegs: Environmental Compliance Help for Universities and Colleges
Minimising Risk, Maximising Benefit - EAUC 10th Annual Conference
NetRegs: Environmental Compliance Help
for Universities and Colleges
Nottingham University
Tuesday 11th April 2006
Tim Fanshawe - NetRegs Business Development Manager

2. Overview Sustainable Development (SD) & Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR): the Big Picture!
Background to NetRegs concept & current situation
Future possibilities & guidelines for
the Education sector

3. Sustainable Development & Corporate Social Responsibility:
the Big Picture
An International Issue
EU Thematic Strategies to Member State Regulations
Insurance Industry pressures - climate change
Supply chain and customer pressures

4. Small Businesses: pressures & constraints
lack of time and resource
fear of legislation and the regulator
lack of consistency of information

5. Survey of Business Awareness SME-nvironment 2005
93% - unaware of impact they could have on environment
86% - cannot name any environmental legislation unprompted
75% - do not have an environmental policy
94% - do not have an environmental management system

6. Interaction of key public and private sector bodies
with SMEs on environmental issues
A lack of joined up thinking increases the administrative burden on small businesses
NetRegs: delivering consistent information across the UK for SMEs
Business Support
Organisations across
whole UK
BSI
Trade Associations
Environment
Agency
Scottish
Protection
Environment and
Heritage Service NI
Local
Authorities
and LGA
Cabinet Office
Regulatory
Impact Unit
FSA
Better Regulation
Task Force
Departmental
Regulation
Units
Executive
Small Business
Service / Business
Connect Wales
RDAs
Govt
Offices
DTI
DEFRA
NAW
DoE NI
HSE
4.0 million UK businesses
(99.2% of which are SMEs)
This slide shows pictorally why there is such an issue of inconsistency in the messages that small businesses receive on environmental issues.
1st step: highlights the small business community making up 99% of all UK business.
2nd step: highlights the large range of organisations that to a lesser or greater extent either bombard small businesses with information or request information from them on environmental issues. Just the one Business Support Organisation bubble at the bottom covers several hundred individual organisations!
It is no wonder that businesses cite inconsistency of information as one of their key issues.
3rd step: re-inforces the need for something like NetRegs to deliver this consistency to small businesses.

9. What modern regulation looks like
High risk,
more
intervention
polluters take
responsibility
risk-based
proportionate
focussed on
outcomes
cost-effective
trust-based
What modern regulation looks like
Low risk,
less intervention

10. Alternative approaches
The different regulatory approaches
Direct regulation
Alternative approaches
Bespoke permits
Environmental taxes
clear
outcomes
Standard permits
Trading schemes
Education and advice
Registrations
Directly applying
legislation
Negotiated or
voluntary agreements

11. What modern regulation means
An approach that delivers for the environment and for business:
focusing on outcomes
risk-based (targeted protection at lower cost)
changing attitudes - regulatory prescription to corporate responsibility
using alternatives to direct regulation

12. The SME Engagement & Retention Process
Achieved
BS8555,
EMAS,
ISO14001
Interested
but
NOT active
Want an EMS
& Continuous
Improvement
Want to
go beyond
compliance
Not
interested
Getting
Started
Continuous Business Improvement Process
'the road to compliance and resource efficiency'
85% of 4m businesses are here!

13. What is NetRegs? A website designed to help small businesses
understand their environmental obligations
A UK wide initiative built in partnership
by the three environmental regulators in the UK
Free, anonymous and available 24 hours a day

14. How can NetRegs help businesses?
There are four ways to get information:
General advice on specific issues - Management Guidelines
Detailed advice for business groups - Sector Guidelines
(over 100 are covered)
Links to other information/organisations - More Resources
Links to key future and current legislation - Legislation

16. Website Demonstration

17. Achievements so far guidance for over 100 sectors as well as general
guidelines and information
Survey of Business Awareness
Focus Groups
Excellent feedback from businesses, trade
associations and business support organisations
Web site use increasing

18. Current Activities Promoting the site Maintaining & adding content
Improving user-friendliness
Enhancing the service

19. The Future for NetRegs Hampton Review
Business Development and Revenue Generation
BREW Projects for 2006
New sector specific guidelines for Education

20.  The SME Engagement & Retention Process Incentives
Established BREW work
Established Core NetRegs site
IPP Directive
Life Cycle
Assessment
&
Ecodesign
Yr 2 BREW fund areas
Incentives
Additional
NetRegs
Sectors
Other NetRegs development areas
NetRegs
Basic
Compliance
Information:
Sector
Guidelines
Management
Future
Legislation
Reduced
Licence &
Permit
Charges
Illegal
Waste
Tipping
Programme
Activities 
More
Resources
e.g. links to
Envirowise
Business
Directories for
Pollution Abatement
Equipment
Guides
to using
NetRegs
Illegal Waste
Year 2 work
Incorporating:
SME Strategy
What do I do with
my waste? Tool
(£150k)
Reduced
Insurance
Premiums
NetRegs
Compliance
Self assessment
Tools (£400k)
Basic
Registration
& Manual
Updates
Personalise
NetRegs
to meet business
demand for automatic
updates (£1,200k)
[regionalisation]
Sustainable
Business
Award
Schemes
Not interested
Interested but
NOT active
Getting Started
Want an EMS
& Continuous
Improvement
Want to go
beyond
compliance
Continuous Business Improvement Process
Achieved
BS8555, EMAS,
ISO14001
85% of 4m businesses are here!

21. Conclusions Helping business deal with environmental risks
Delivering consistency
Helping business deal with environmental risks
Driving sustainability

22. Workshop Questions Where do you look for information?
(eg internet , trade press, websites etc ?)
How do you search for information?
(eg keywords, topic areas etc ?)
What style of language works best?
(eg e-newsletters, academic docs etc ?)