Government has committed to be open and transparent on the areas below, to increase accountability and to lead by example.
The table below sets out the steps The Authority has taken in regard to:
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Climate Change Adaptation
Biodiversity and the natural environment
Procurement of food and catering services
Sustainable construction
People
Climate Change Adaptation:
Description of steps taken to adapt the estate to a changing
climate.
Risk assessments have been completed to understand the
risks and the actions required where weather and climate
risks have been identified.
Biodiversity and Natural Environment:
Including action taken to promote, conserve and enhance
biodiversity, including use of Biodiversity Action Plans or
equivalent and the management of Sites of Special Scientific
Interest.
The Authority does not have responsibility for Sites for
Specific Scientific Interest but takes such action as to
promote, conserve and enhance bio-diversity. This has been
achieved through the specification of environmentally friendly
measures of control on its Grounds Maintenance contract,
maintaining and planting trees and having “wild” spaces.
Procurement of food and catering services:
Including action taken within the context of overarching
priorities of value for money and streamlining procurement, to
encourage the procurement of food that meets British or
equivalent production standards where this does not lead to
an overall increase in costs; and to reduce the environmental
impacts of food and catering of services and support a healthy
balanced diet.
The Authority has a food and catering service that:
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Provides quality, fresh food, procured locally where
possible;
Offers healthy options to staff;
Procures locally sourced and Red Tractor Accredited
produce
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Disposable packaging is UK Sourced where possible;
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Packaging is made from PLA and are
compostable/biodegradable;
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Napkins are made from recycled material;
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Plastic cutlery are made from a
biodegradable/compostable material.
Waste from food and catering services are segregated at the
available points in all the catering outlets. The food waste is
also recycled to produce energy.
Sustainable construction:
Including the management of construction waste to best
practice standards, the application of BRE’s Environmental
Assessment Methodology, the government’s sustainable
timber procurement policy, and the extent to which standards
used at the London 2012 Games are being applied/exceeded.
People:
Including for example, reporting on social and environmental
The Authority is not involved in large construction projects.
However, each project is subject to sustainability
assessments. Contractors that tender for work on The
Authority projects are required to complete a pre-project
sustainability questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed to
assess the competence of the contractor in terms of
sustainable business practice and environmental compliance.
The contractor will not be appointed unless satisfactory
answers are received. The questionnaire covers areas such
as environmental; accreditations e.g. ISO14001, policy,
reporting, procurement, and measures taken to reduce
environmental impacts. Also, where contractors are
responsible for removing waste from an ONS site, all waste is
disposed of in line with the waste hierarchy and copies of the
Waste Transfer Notes are retained by The Authority.
Furthermore, all contractors working on site are required to
confirm that they have read and understood the
environmental induction. The environmental induction
requires site visitors and contractors carrying out works to
behave in a sustainable and efficient manner, minimising
resource use and reducing waste created.
The timber procurement policy is also sent out with all tenders
for work. This helps the organisation to ensure that all
suppliers/ contractors sign up to the commitment to complying
with this policy.
The Authority has not completed any office relocations within
this period.
assessment of office relocations and action taken to promote
staff wellbeing.
The Authority has a health and well being steering group.
The role of the steering group is to provide strategic
leadership of all health and wellbeing activities. The remit of
the steering group is to:
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To identify all current health and wellbeing related
activities across The Authority;
To establish a simple and transparent process for
assessing new proposals for health and wellbeing
activities;
To initiate activities/initiatives to support health and
wellbeing of staff in support of the Attendance Strategy;
To provide the Board and Human Resources as to
the appropriateness of new proposals in the context of the
Attendance Strategy;
To manage a budget which is invested in initiatives
that directly contribute to staff health and wellbeing in
support of the Attendance Strategy;
To communicate and actively promote to staff
through internal communication media the existence of
the steering group and its role;
The organisation is also committed to making a sustainable
positive impact on the community in which it operates. The
organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility Volunteering
opportunities aim to:
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engage staff within the organisation;
be involved, where practicable, in local communities
in order to have a positive impact on society;
demonstrate responsibility in environmental, social
and community issues;
raise our profile as an employer in our locations.