Resource for the Masses

In the same month that world leaders meet to discuss future policy on climate change at the G8 summit, practitioners will come together to discuss how an accurate set of data and resource flow management systems will help to give Government a head start in achieving future environmental targets and implementing realistic policy. The Biffaward Mass Balance Meeting will take place on 26 July at Newark Town Hall and will include key contributions from organisations that are influencing the mass balance programme and who will discuss how this work will feed into new resource flow initiatives. The event will also include input from Government on its current thinking with regard to resource flow initiatives. The aim of the Biffaward mass balance programme is to provide accessible, well-researched information about the flows of different resources through the UK economy based either singly, or on a combination of regions, material streams or industry sectors. More than 36 separate mass balance projects were funded with the data being collected in one central database. Despite funding for research projects has been long since removed from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, the mass balance approach and related data collection methods are becoming more commonly used when assessing environmental impacts. A complete set of national 'environmental accounts' can help to identify areas for reduction and set accurate and realistic targets for change. It will also help to inform Government and European legislation. This meeting, therefore, comes at a crucial time when the UK Sustainable Development Strategy is being implemented. Martin Bettington, Chairman of Biffaward, said: "The mass balance programme has the potential to play a crucial role in current and future legislation. The meeting will provide the opportunity for the whole movement to come together to ensure that the mass balance programme continues to progress in a way that will benefit the different sectors, regions and, importantly, the environment."