Members Say Government is Not Joined–Up on Sustainable Resource Management

UK Government is failing to provide effectively joined-up and coherent business guidance on improving resource efficiency across their departments and agencies.

89% of IEMA Members polled this week say that according to their experience, they do not believe that Government departments and agencies are joined up in their delivery of coherent and clear messages to help organisations improve the efficient use of resources. Not one respondent from the 400 polled stated that they believe the approach is “very well joined-up”.

Parallel to Government’s shortcomings, 88% of respondents said that the sector they work with or within – which includes both public and private bodies - is not doing enough towards achieving Circular Economy goals.

Josh Fothergill, IEMA’s Policy & Engagement Lead on Sustainable Resource Management, said that together, these findings show that much more needs to be done by the next Government to work in partnership with business to embed circularity and enable the transition from waste to resource thinking: “There are huge opportunities for the UK to better connect Government and business in this area. Our poll results clearly show how keen our Members are to see the UK be a leading international player on Sustainable Resource Management so that we capitalise on the available savings and sustainability benefits”.

In the same week that Commissioner Karmenu Vella’s announced that the European Commission's Circular Economy package will be “more ambitious”, 97% of those polled by IEMA said they believe that the UK should take a strong leadership role in shaping the EC’s forthcoming package of proposals. 80% said that they believe that more research and action is needed from the next Government to make the economic case for resource management, urging for the delivery of a “Stern for resources” review.

When asked if there is a need to develop Government-issued advice on incorporating resource productivity and security within corporate reporting, 89% stated there is. Further to this, a massive 96% think that the Government should establish a specific strategy to support the development of remanufacturing in the UK in order to tackle future resource threats and take advantage of the job creation potential.

Josh Fothergill says that these results outline the shape of what Government and Business must address in the short and medium term in order to embed a circular approach to resource management across the economy: “So far there are isolated yet inspiring stories of organisations who are really leading the way on resource management, but they are too thin on the ground. We know that businesses that get this right can achieve £1 million plus savings, so what our Members want to see is greater clarity, leadership and coherence to make this a reality for all businesses”.