The Living Wage for Wales is a collaborative effort to promote the benefits of Living Wage accreditation for employers, workers and the economy in Wales.
Cynnal Cymru is the Living Wage Foundation’s accreditation partner for Wales, supporting employers from the public, private and voluntary sectors with the process of accreditation. Cynnal Cymru uses its employer networks and understanding of how organisations operate to help them overcome barriers to accreditation. Cynnal Cymru also plays an important role in promotion of the Living Wage to employers.
Citizens Cymru Wales initiated the Living Wage campaign in Wales, and leads the Living Wage for Wales campaign strategy. As the home of community organising in Wales, its diverse member organisations across Wales set goals, identify campaign targets and train community leaders and workers to take action as part of Living Wage campaigns.
The Living Wage Foundation has dedicated staff time to support accreditation and initiatives such as Living Wage Places, and to co-ordinate marketing and communications around Living Wage Week.
The foundational economy community of practice started in July 2020 as part of the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy Challenge Fund. Its aim was to share learning and innovation, build relationships and encourage collaboration.
The Challenge Fund provided support to projects looking to try out new ways to address challenges – some emerging, some age-old – faced by foundational economy businesses or those relying on their services.
These included:
the recruitment, retention and skills of the workforce
the delivery structures and design of services
the recruitment, retention and skills of the workforce
the delivery structures and design of services
The aim was to explore a range of solutions that could potentially generate viable, adaptable models that could be scaled up and spread to strengthen local economies and community wealth-building.
Staring in 2019 with an initial 52 projects, it was always expected that some experiments would not succeed and conditions were made even more challenging by the impact of the pandemic.
A community of practice was also however put in place to help capture some of the rich learning and insights generated by all the projects taking part. The examples in the case studies below give a flavour of the projects supported by the Fund – their successes, challenges and above all learning, about how best the foundational economy in their area or sector can be supported. The Fund closed in March 2021 but, at the request of members, the community of practice has continued. Its role continues to be to share learning, encourage and expand dialogue and facilitate collaboration.
This St David’s Day, we are asking organisations across Cardiff to think about the little things they can do to ensure a fair day’s pay for their workers, whether it’s understanding how to become an accredited Living Wage employer, or reaching out to other organisations to encourage them to consider the real Living Wage, or helping us share the positive messages about the difference that paying the real Living Wage can make.
Cardiff Council is currently the only accredited real Living Wage local authority in Wales. The Council and partners are championing Cardiff as a Living Wage city which is having positive impact on the city and its employees. As of 1 February 2021, 45% of Wales’ total accredited employers were based in Cardiff and Cardiff employers had contributed to 69% of total uplifts in pay. Recent research by Cardiff University has shown that real Living Wage accreditation by 124 Cardiff employers has resulted in 7,735 workers receiving a pay rise which has added over £32m to the local economy in just over 8 years.
To hear more about the benefits of the real Living Wage from employers and employees in Cardiff please watch this video.
Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, said:
“The seemingly small things really can make a big difference, and I know the significant impact paying the real Living Wage has had in the lives of our own staff. We’re pleased to be supporting organisations across the city to enable them to do the same for their own employees, and this St David’s Day I would encourage any Cardiff business interested in paying the real Living Wage to get in touch to find out more.”
Cardiff Council understand the wider benefits that the real Living Wage can bring to individuals and employers, as well as to the City; and they have made a commitment to reimbursing accreditation fees for SME employers based in Cardiff through their accreditation support scheme. For more information about the real Living Wage in Cardiff please visit the website.
Cardiff Council also encourages local employers to provide a Payroll Savings and Loans Scheme to their staff, enabling their employees to save directly from their salaries and if needed, access affordable credit from an ethical provider. More information can be found on this on the Cardiff & Vale Credit Union’s website.
Cynnal Cymru is the accrediting body for the real Living Wage in Wales and are here to help you through the accreditation process. Get in touch, join the movement, do the little things.
We wish you all a happy St David’s Day. Diolch yn fawr!
Are you starting your sustainability journey? Looking to understand how to apply sustainability strategy to your organisation?Join Camille Lovgreen in our first open Integrated Sustainability Taster Workshop, where you can begin to understand what goes into sustainable strategy and look at next steps for your organisation.
Cynnal Cymru members receive one free place on the Integrated Sustainability Taster Workshop. Spaces are subject to availability – contact Abi to register your free place.
Things you should know
Cynnal Cymru launch new Premium Membership packages
We have launched three brand-new Premium Membership packages, centring around our Advice, Training, and Connections services. If you would like to find out more, please visit our website or contact membership@cynnalcymru.com to book in for a call.
Cardiff Refill Return Cup
A brand-new returnable coffee cup scheme will be launching in the Welsh capital next month. The Cardiff Refill Return Cupscheme – the first-of-its-kind in Wales – will enable Cardiffians to ‘borrow’ a reusable takeaway cup from a participating café and return it at a later date so that it can be washed and used again and again.
Pop down to your local People Planet Pint meetup to find out more about what’s going on with sustainability and how you can get involved.
12th September | Celebrating the Living Wage in Mid and West Wales | Halliwell Conference Centre, Camarthen
Join Living Wage Wales as they celebrate the progress of the Living Wage movement and to recognise the Living Wage Employers making a difference in the Mid and West Wales region. For further information please contact livingwage@cynnalcymru.com.
Join Bumblebee Conservation trust and Cardiff’s Ranger team to search and survey the bumblebees of Hendre lark part. This event is free to attend and suitable for adults of all abilities.
Join Policy Insight Wales as they showcase best practice organisations from across Wales and share insights to help you design and implement an effective ESG strategy.
Have you unlocked the power of storytelling in your work yet? Join Cynnal Cymru, Motion Manor, and NICW in a facilitated discussion on storytelling techniques that can engage your stakeholders, shed light on your important work, or refine your business goals.
Our thriving community of mutually supportive members provides an opportunity to share learning, challenge thinking and mobilise action, be this through co-designed events, hosting networking sessions or simply sowing seeds for future collaborations or thought-leadership.
If you would like to talk to a member of the team about how we can support your organisation, please contactmembership@cynnalcymru.com.
Every month in Cynnal Cymru’s excellent newsletter (subscribe here), we explore a different question or topic through the lens of our core organisational aims of a fair and just society, an inclusive low-carbon economy, and healthy, restored ecosystems.
Last month, we thought about how to handle complexity within times of change in our job roles or the wider sustainability conversation. This month, we’re thinking about what it means to craft and build a new future together. We’re a few weeks out from an election that saw the Conservatives leave office for the first time in 14 years, with Labour winning a majority of 172 seats. Labour’s campaign slogan was simple: Change.
The public policy landscape has started to shift already, with 40 pieces of legislation introduced by the new government (and an additional two carried over from the previous parliamentary session).
Unsurprisingly for an organisation called Cynnal Cymru – Sustain Wales, we have a core focus on sustainability. We also want to ensure that action on climate change leads to a better society, and doesn’t leave workers behind – that’s where our Fair Economy team comes in. For an organisation that has this focus on sustainability and a fair economy (such as fair working practices), there is plenty for us to sink our teeth into.
Sustainability
One of the new government’s flagship policies has been the creation of a new organisation called GB Energy – a new, publicly-owned green power company. The UK Government intends to invest over £8bn in this organisation over the next five years – a major spending commitment.
It’s still early days for GB Energy, and there’s more to learn about how it will operate as it comes into life. However, it seems that a core remit will be co-investing in emerging renewable energy technology and scaling up investment in more established technologies. Essentially, it will aim to unlock private sector investment in renewables by de-risking and clearing the way for this investment.
Chris Stark – former Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee – has also been appointed to lead a new ‘Mission Control’ that will aim to break down barriers and accelerate progress on clean energy projects.
UK Labour appears to lean on some of the work of economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato. Labour’s ‘five missions to rebuild Britain’, chime with Mazzucato’s 2021 book ‘Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism’. This book was inspired by the space race, which, in the US, took a ‘missions-based’ systems-engineering approach to coordination of the public and private sectors to put human beings on the moon.
Sound familiar? This appears to very much be the approach of the new UK Labour government with regards to its ‘National Missions’, ‘Mission Control’, and the public-private approach of GB Energy.
This plan is not without controversy. Many will question the need for private sector involvement, with the inevitable siphoning off of proceeds into private profit, particularly where the public purse is de-risking projects – although the government would counter that private expertise and buy-in is necessary.
There is a particular sensitivity in Wales, too. GB Energy has already announced a partnership with the Crown Estate in England and Wales. The Crown Estate owns a substantial amount of Britain’s land, including the majority of the seabed, and public money will be used to lease this land to develop windfarms.
There have been calls for the Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales, a position long supported by the Welsh Government. However, the UK Government does not have this as a proposal in its legislative agenda.
Fair Work: Policy Highlight
There is news on the fair work front, too. The King’s Speech included a new Employment Rights Bill. The UK Government has said this Bill will enhance a long list of working rights:
Banning ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts
Ending ‘Fire and Rehire’ and ‘Fire and Replace’
Making parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal available from the first day of employment (whilst retaining the option of probationary periods)
Removing the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay
Flexible working the default from day-one for all workers
Making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work (except in specific circumstances)
A new Fair Work Agency to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights
A new Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector, with potential expansion to other sectors
Removal of some restrictions on trade union activity
Simplifying the process of statutory recognition for trade unions
Introducing a regulated route to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces
This appears to be a strong set of proposals to strengthen workers’ rights in the UK. However, the detail will be crucial – for example, the ‘teeth’ that the new Fair Work Agency is given, the exemptions for employers around new rights such as protecting new mothers, and how broad the definition of ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts is.
The Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector will be particularly interesting, and is under-remarked on. ‘Fair Pay Agreements’ are essentially an industry-wide employment agreement, where government brings together trade unions and employers to agree minimum pay rates and conditions across the sector.
The UK model of collective bargaining currently focuses largely on the firm level. Research has found that this model poses a significant challenge to trade unions, which have to secure agreements workplace-by-workplace. It also found that no country which operates on this model has collective bargaining coverage of over 35%, with collective bargaining coverage only remaining high and stable in countries where multi-employer or sectoral agreements – such as these Fair Pay Agreements – are negotiated.
That the UK Government is now proposing to bring sectoral agreements into the social care sector, potentially as a ‘proof of concept’ for other low-paid sectors, is significant. If rolled out successfully and more extensively, this could be the start of a quiet revolution in the UK’s industrial relations settlement.
Given Cynnal Cymru’s longstanding work on the real Living Wage (we’re the Living Wage Foundation’s Accreditation Partner for Wales and host Living Wage Wales in-house), there’s a particularly interesting commitment to deliver a ‘genuine living wage’. The Low Pay Commission, which suggests the minimum wage rate (or National Living Wage as it’s now called) will now have to consider the cost of living when making its recommendation.
For our part, the real Living Wage is set directly according to the cost of living, based on a basket of household goods and services. That’s a different remit to the one of the new Low Pay Commission, so we’ll be keeping an eye on any differences in the two rates.
What does this mean for our future?
There is so much we could say around policy that relates to fair work and sustainability, and the impacts these changes could mean for our foundational economy too.
There is clearly a huge amount of change being undertaken that speaks to the things we care about at Cynnal Cymru, encompassed by our vision of a fair and just society, an inclusive low-carbon economy, and healthy, restored ecosystems. .
We know that legislation can’t deliver everything and it doesn’t work on its own. We also believe in the power of partners, citizens and action-focused advocacy to bring about the transformative change that we need.
Harry Thompson is Senior Programme and Policy Lead: Fair Work and Economy and manages the Fair Work and Living Wage team, which work towards Cynnal Cymru’s strategic goal of a fair and just society.
Counting down to the 2024 National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd next week, I am filled with a sense of excitement and nostalgia. This year’s festival is not just a celebration of Welsh culture; it’s like a homecoming, both for the Eisteddfod and for me personally.
The Eisteddfod has always been a special place in my heart. Growing up, it was more than just competition – it was a gateway to new experiences and learning opportunities. As a young attendee, I discovered hands-on science activities, engaged with charities, and explored new fields of interest from agriculture and Welsh wildlife conservation to animation and robotics. These experiences helped shape my interests and ultimately led me to where I am today, working for Cynnal Cymru.
It has been 68 years since the Eisteddfod was last held in Rhondda Cynon Taf, when the first modern Eisteddfod was held in Aberdare in 1956.
Pontypridd, one of the former coal and iron industrial centres of the three valleys, often does not get the recognition it deserves for its vibrant Welsh community and culture. By bringing one of Europe’s biggest festivals to this area, we are drawing attention to a community that really deserves it.
The aim of the Eisteddfod is not just to celebrate our past; it is also about shaping our future. Over 160,000 visitors were expected, it gives our organization an opportunity to engage with people from all over Wales.
Our presence at the Eisteddfod is about more than just showcasing what we do. It’s about making sustainability accessible to everyone, regardless of age, background or circumstances. The sustainability and environmental sectors are not only among the least racially diverse in the UK, but they are also dominated by individuals from middle-class backgrounds. We want to inspire the next generation of Welsh environmental champions, just as I was inspired years ago.
Wales has been at the forefront of sustainable policies and actions in the UK and beyond. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 is a great example of Wales’ innovative approach to sustainability. This groundbreaking legislation requires public bodies to consider the long-term impact of their decisions, work better with people and communities, and adopt a more joined-up approach to tackling persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities, and climate change. Wales was also one of the first countries in the world to declare a climate emergency in 2019 and has set ambitious targets for renewable energy and waste reduction. Our aim is to celebrate these successes and encourage even more people to join Wales’ sustainability journey.
The Eisteddfod embodies the Welsh spirit – inclusive, progressive, and deeply connected to its roots. It celebrates our language and traditions and our links with cultures across the world. As a sustainability charity, we see our participation as an opportunity to weave environmental awareness into the fabric of Welsh culture. By attending the Eisteddfod, we’re not just taking part in a festival; we are investing in the future of Wales.
It is necessary to create opportunities for young people who would not necessarily be able to access the world of sustainability and environmental work otherwise. And looking after our planet is an integral part of looking after our Welsh culture and communities.
We invite you to join us on Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th of August at the Voluntary Sector Hub. Come and discover how sustainability and the environment intertwine with Welsh culture, and help us build a greener, more inclusive future for Wales.
Alys Reid Bacon is the Living Wage and Human Resources Administration Officer. Alys is passionate about sustainability and is currently working on her PhD in Biological Sciences, titled, “The influence of genotype, environment & management factors on yield development, grain filling & grain quality in oats.”
Have you unlocked the power of storytelling in your work yet? Join Cynnal Cymru in a facilitated discussion on storytelling techniques that can engage your stakeholders, shed light on your important work, or refine your business goals.
We’ve all seen a powerful piece of storytelling that makes us stand up and take action. Maybe it’s a video that wakes us up to crucial climate issues, an interview with a community coming together for collective good, or an animation that spells out technical information in a way that makes sense to us. Storytelling is everywhere, and harnessing the power of storytelling is key to engaging our audiences in our work towards a sustainable future.
In this half-day event, Cynnal Cymru’s advice team will tell you about their recent imagining of a Wales in 2051, joined by speakers who are experts in storytelling. In a Q&A with the speakers and networking opportunities throughout, this exclusive event for Cynnal Cymru members will help you understand where you can develop storytelling opportunities, find new tools to craft engaging stories, and use storytelling to increase engagement in your work.
Who is it for?
This free event is open to all individuals and organisations over the age of 18. Priority attendance is available to Cynnal Cymru Members.
Speakers
Animation to Action: Unlocking your storytelling power with Anthony Green, founder of Motion Manor
Anthony Green’s storytelling background led him to found Motion Manor in 2021. Motion Manor is a B-Corp certified animation and motion design studio focused on creating a positive impact. They help organisations who are working to make the world a better place with awe-inspiring visual content. Through their work with the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), they have used visuals to inspire hope and show what a future proof society might look like across 7 different cities.
In his talk and Q&A, Ant will tell us about how animation and illustration can elevate socially conscious projects to inspire change in your audiences. Sustainability is at the core of his work, so he can answer your questions about the sustainability of animation and why animation works to engender passion and action towards the climate crisis.
Imagining and Enacting a Sustainable Future with David Clubb, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW)
Dr David Clubb is an expert in energy policy and digital communication. He is a Founding Partner at Afallen, a Cynnal Cymru member, whose projects are rooted in the Well-being of Future Generations approach, bringing value to all Wales’ citizens’ now and in the future. He was previously Head of Digital at RenewableUK and Director at RenewableUK Cymru.
The NICW is an independent advisory body that gives recommendations on the infrastructure Wales needs. They have worked in partnership with the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) to envision the implications for infrastructure in Wales in 2100. As the Chair of the NICW, David will talk to us about the power and importance of this project and how imagining a sustainable future is necessary to creating one. With expertise in pairing digital storytelling with practice structural change, David can answer your questions on how storytelling can uplift gritty technical information, speak to new audiences and help you with business development plans.
Creating a Vision We Can Achieve with Camille Løvgreen, Sustainability Advisor at Cynnal Cymru
Camille joined Cynnal Cymru’s advice team to support clients through a transition to sustainable business operations. This includes carbon accounting, creating action plans, and embedding sustainable principles into operations. Inspired by CAST’s visions of a low-carbon futures report, Camille and Karolina developed a series of stories designed to show readers that everyone can play a huge role in achieving a sustainable present and future. In her talk and Q&A, Camille will tell us about how utilising a creative approach can build hope and momentum without comprising on accessibility or reality.
Our thriving community of mutually supportive members provides an opportunity to share learning, challenge thinking and mobilise action, be this through co-designed events, hosting networking sessions or simply sowing seeds for future collaborations or thought-leadership.
If you would like to talk to a member of the team about how we can support your organisation, please contactmembership@cynnalcymru.com.
Living daily on this planet, particularly in Western countries, we are all faced with the reality of our disproportionate contribution to the climate crisis. We know that we have a responsibility to do something – but what? With so many conflicting and changing sustainability narratives, it can be difficult to know the right thing to do when faced with complex and complicated advice. How can you know that the information you’re receiving is accurate, timely, and the best option for you and the wider world around us?
We are in a time of climate anxiety, with so many apparent ‘quick fixes’ that make us feel good but turn out to do more harm than good. The fear of accidentally causing more harm can lead us to become frozen by indecision, stuck with old sustainability policies and practices and no real shift in our mindsets. It’s scary to look carefully at our climate impact, particularly when we know that everything we do necessarily impacts our environment and other people. Will we be judged by others for not knowing the newest advice? What if we can’t make the changes suggested to us because of issues like finances, staffing shortages, or accessibility?
As an organisation working to help people change their behaviours around climate and nature, we’ve thought carefully about the nuance and complexity of sustainability conversations. We know that shame is not a good motivator and that the weight of eco-anxiety can take a heavy toll. In order to make collective change, we must be each other’s allies and cheerleaders. Our model of training, membership, and advice services all seek to meet every organisation where they’re at, without judgement, and work together to get you to the next step of your journey. We also don’t shy away from recognising the emotional impact that dealing with these issues can bring. We aim to create space for understanding and managing that emotional impact.
Our staff have reflected on how they manage the complexity of sustainability conversations, as experts who have spent years working to help change mindsets and behaviours across small and large organisations. If we can carry the complexity of knowing our lives necessarily contribute to climate change, while still reducing our impact and protecting our land, we can find the hope that leads to action.
Making Climate Science Accessible
Our climate is one of the few things that impacts all of us all of the time. Yet climate science is often siloed and separated from the general public, who receive advice and instructions without always knowing why and the costs and benefits of both action and inaction. As sustainability experts, we must be open to these questions and concerns from the general public and translate what we know into language that resonates with them.
Phoebe Nicklin, our Policy and Engagement Officer, uses her background in community engagement to connect dense policy research with the people whose lives will be affected by it.
“It always comes back to the people for me. Who am I trying to make the world a better place for? I think about the people in my community, my friends and family, and future generations, and I’d like to make the world a better place for them. For me, when I get bogged down in details or disheartened at things not moving fast enough, I bring things back to that personal level. We like to say that by grounding it in the earth and bringing things back to basics the complexities become less scary.”
Connecting to people and their stories is crucial to maintaining hope for our future, and remembering that sustainability is interconnected with all our other social concerns. We believe that most people and organisations want to care about sustainability and the world around us. We are all living in the world, so why wouldn’t we? It is unfair to suggest that people don’t care about sustainability issues, when maybe they just don’t yet understand them. We’ve all experienced that feeling of embarrassment when we don’t know something we think we should. We aim to not make anyone feel that way, and we do that by creating ways for groups to engage in and understand climate science in the format that suits them.
“Most people don’t know the language of sustainability, and I don’t blame them – it’s really jargony. I want instead to connect them to the day-to-day of what does this look like in practice, making it more tangible so it isn’t this theoretically abstract thing. Our Wales in 2051 stories were an example of connecting people to those tangible things, bringing in practices towards a better quality of life with more inclusion, more collaboration, and seeing how that can look in real life.”
When we envision a better future for our communities, we may imagine access to nutritious food, great healthcare, and a thriving natural world. How do we get there from where we are now? The practical work to get us there can take different forms, and we must think about the ways people in all positions of society can come together to create change. If we think of sustainability as simply farming or cleaning rivers (although these are certainly crucial parts!), we neglect many of the human elements of this work that are blocking us from making progress.
What is blocking us from making change?
In a country suffering a cost-of-living crisis and still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not surprising that people are still focused on rebuilding and trying to regain lost ground, with less time to focus on sustainability. If people are struggling to meet their basic needs, how can they find the time and energy to take care of our world? In our roles as agents of change towards a better climate, we must recognise those who have been excluded from and forgotten in climate conversations. How can we claim to be looking after our planet without looking after those who are most marginalised within it?
“I’ve always been someone who wants to do a job that helps people. When an organisation becomes Living Wage accredited, they obviously have to pay the real Living Wage as a minimum. So in order to accredit, lots of organisations will give their staff a pay rise to meet that minimum. I think that’s the biggest part where I see that we’re making an impact, changing people’s lives for the better.”
Have you ever rushed into sustainability action, only to find that people don’t seem to want to engage with it? Especially within organisations, leaders can sometimes be out of touch with their staff, not knowing how to engage them with new sustainability practices. Instead of simply introducing new mandatory policies, we can dig a little deeper into understanding what our staff need. When our staff are paid well, feel respected, and trust us to support and nurture them, they are more likely to engage with new policies and practices.
How do we effectively change hearts, minds, and actions?
While most of us are aware of the climate crisis, we are all on different steps on our journey to understanding our sustainability responsibilities. Every individual and organisation has a different idea of the best steps for them. With different values, priorities and concerns, one path of action may be perfect for one organisation and impossible for another.
If we meet these conversations with rigidity, assuming that we know what is best for an organisation or individual, we are bound to experience resistance and may even end up pushing them further away.
Our new Sustainability Trainer, Chris Woodfield, is used to encouraging conversations with people on all steps of their journey, having started his career working within community activism.
“For me, it’s about framing what we’re doing. One tool I often use is called The Business Transformation Compass from Forum for the Future. It looks at what mindset we’re coming from, and looking to shift our thinking from a risk mitigation and zero harm mindset towards a do good and just and regenerative mindset focused on building capacity for justice and regeneration. This helps us look at the system as a whole to move beyond sustaining and maintaining to enabling life to flourish and thrive.”
Conversations around changing attitudes and habits can be tricky and need to be handled with care. If we want to turn sustainability aims into actions, we need to recognise that a sense of control and agency to act for the things that we care about are far more powerful motivators than fear or shame.
In our sustainability advice services and training courses, we think about the values and needs of each organisation and develop sustainability goals to match them. That’s where our membership programme becomes so useful. Learning from similar organisations across different sectors has helped our members discover appropriate sustainability goals for them, feel less alone on their sustainability journey, and practice peer accountability.
Can the sustainability journey be made easier?
In the past few years, our lives have all changed hugely, meaning our habits have changed, too. It can be difficult to focus our attention in a specific direction, which can result in our sustainability aims getting left behind. Even with the pressure on organisations to meet sustainability goals and a widespread awareness of climate issues, time-poor organisations may struggle to find the time to dedicate to meaningful sustainability work.
Noticing this, we’ve adapted things like our membership offer to fit with the needs of our members, particularly when it comes to their time. Our large quarterly member events always bring in a great crowd, alongside our digital events that are held each month, but developing this programme has required a lot of listening and adaptation from our Membership Officer, Abi Hoare:
“Members ask us for networking opportunities, and they are always so engaged at our in-person events. But there are always practical issues, from people’s availability to wider issues of transport infrastructure and budgets. With the shift to remote working, people are more spread out and structuring their lives around being online, so in-person events can be tricky. We balance our in-person sessions with online sessions, having taken accessibility concerns into consideration, but we’re always listening to ways we can expand and evolve our programme.”
If your events are under-attended, it’s worth thinking beyond the idea that people don’t ‘want’ to engage, and questioning how these events might be inaccessible. This could be down to practical issues, such as the space used and the time chosen, as well as interconnected issues such as clear event marketing, pricing, and the return on investment for your attendees.
Many organisations are struggling financially, particularly in the third sector. One question that comes up sometimes is why should we budget for sustainability? When budgets must be cut, it makes sense to ensure that this sustainability work is, in itself, sustainable for us. This is why we think carefully about our pricing structure, offering different tiers and kinds of support to meet each organisation’s needs and budget.
Fiona Humphreys, our Finance Officer, has seen the organisation grow and evolve over three years. She has reflected a lot on the value sustainability training provides.
“As climate science changes so rapidly, we need to ensure that we continue to develop alongside it. The paid services we offer factor in our team’s research into evolving climate science, and purchasing our training helps an organisation to remember the value and importance of climate consciousness. We put a value on our work because we believe it has worth – and doing so allows us to offer pro bono work where it’s most needed, while also ensuring that we can continue to provide a service that is both up to date and effective in helping our clients become more sustainable.”
When we have conversations around the need for sustainability action, it’s important to remember the nuanced factors that affect people’s behaviour. Through our training, advice, fair work, and membership services, we work with organisations of all sizes to take the next step towards more sustainable ways of working. When we’re honest with ourselves about our progress and our pitfalls, we can begin the journey of deepening our positive impact on the planet. Even as experts, we all have a way to go, and we hope you’ll join us in navigating this complex journey.
Ready to start your sustainability journey?Get in touch to hear about our membership, training programmes, and sustainability advice.
Running a successful and responsible business is perhaps more challenging today than ever before. In a complex landscape of risks and opportunities, technological innovation is moving at an unprecedented pace, resource availability and social instability are immediate challenges, and companies must navigate capricious policy conditions while competing versions of reality have destroyed trust. Nonetheless, stakeholders want businesses to address the pressure our planet and its population are under.
Sustainable Development provides businesses with a clear unifying vision for a viable and prosperous economy of the future.
Ambitious sustainability targets have been set at every level from individual companies to international pacts. Approaching the midpoint of the UN ‘Decade of Action’, the time to deliver on these commitments to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and inequality is now. However, progress is not happening fast enough, and in some cases is reversing. Business professionals must be equipped and empowered with robust solutions to respond to the challenges spanning all three tenets of ESG.
Through panel discussions, fireside chats, hands-on practical workshops, and extensive networking opportunities, the UN Global Compact Network UK’s Annual Summit will bring together stakeholders from across sectors for practical, output-focused discussions, to give you the strategic insights needed to bridge the ambition to action gap and transform your business for people, planet, and prosperity.
All key takeaways from the day will be captured and made exclusively available to attendees, forming a strategic action plan to accelerate sustainability solutions.
Over the past six weeks, Karolina Rucinska and Camille Lovgreen have shared a series of short stories, each one highlighting a key element of sustainable development that has helped shape a post-Net Zero Wales of 2051.
In this post, we aim to distil the key lessons we’ve learned and talk about how we came to write the stories. We know from trailblazers like the Arts Council of Wales and Futerra how important storytelling can be in moving towards transformational change. We also know that these stories need to reflect people from all walks of life and recognise that we can all drive change, whatever our role or job title. These stories aim to ignite conversations and add more puzzle pieces to the exciting, complex mix of solutions we’ll need to reach a fairer, more secure future.
Whether it’s through sharing these stories, applying some of these initiatives in practice, or sparking conversations about sustainable development, we believe that each of us has a part to play in this ongoing narrative.
How it all started
We, Camille and Karolina, originally wanted to organise a series of hands-on workshops to help SMEs explore how different, and sometimes overlooked, skills can help ready their workforce for a low-carbon economy.
But to do so we needed an introduction, preferably a vision-setting piece that describes the impact green skills can make on one’s work. And we wanted to describe the impact of green skills in every line of work, not just in the energy or manufacturing sector.
Before we knew it, we had created six characters and a future vision in which people in Wales live better lives through a complete system makeover.
How it went
Every week, we published a story, set in the future, describing a day in the life of a person who meets a journalist who wants to learn about what went well for Wales.
In doing so, we described what Wales could look like and what work, housing, schooling, farming and local governance could look like.
In telling these short stories and giving voice to our six characters – Adi, Cameron, Luke, Aman, Cleo, and Gwen-Eddo – we wanted to highlight the role of skills that made that future possible and, more importantly, the role of government in creating conditions to use, elevate, and apply diverse skills, knowledge, capabilities and lived experiences.
Although it was fiction, we drew inspiration from real people, social enterprises and initiatives, and the solutions we hear and read about but which have not yet become mainstream.
Many ideas we presented in our stories were based on Welsh social enterprises. Having lived, studied, and worked outside Wales, we also drew on inspiring examples from other countries that show different, more inclusive, more holistic ways of doing things. We know that there are many more examples, from all sectors, that we could not include.
When writing the stories, it became apparent that each sector we described, whether infrastructure, farming, or education, had to support another sector and that the demise of one business can negatively impact the ability of another business to stay afloat. This reinforced us in the conviction that all sectors are connected, and with them, the lives of our characters and the lives of people now, here in Wales and the world.
The creative aspect of writing was relatively easy compared to our efforts to translate the vision of green skills into recommendations for hiring managers, recruiters, and directors of small and large organisations.
To do so, we had to come back to reality and create events in which we explained green skills by giving examples, showing ways to embed these into existing jobs, and exploring what the future could hold for all families. We drew on existing toolkits, live job descriptions and reports to inform two online sessions.
The Wales 2051 story series and practical sessions we delivered made us realise that the green skills agenda must not be taken for granted. It needs continuous reinforcement, whether through training, events, tutorials, or storytelling, to show that green skills matter to every job.
Where next?
This exercise has sparked excitement across our team as to how else we can use storytelling and initiatives like the Wales 2051 series to make sustainability concepts more relatable and achievable. We invite you, the reader, to share any ideas about how these stories can be further built upon and utilised.
We’d like to thank all the individuals and organisations that provided the inspiration for this set of stories. You can find some of them below. We also drew from our experience in supporting the Mainstreaming Evidence in the Just Transition evidence panel and discussions around future skills linked to the foundational economy.
We hope these stories and others like them become a talking point around creating conditions for everyone to thrive.
If you would like Karolina and Camille to share more insights from this creative process, the role of storytelling in bringing about change, and of course our suggestions around recognising, valuing and embedding green skills, please get in touch! Email us at shwmae@cynnalcymru.com.
Please note that some AI-generated content is included in the featured image for this piece.
The journalist’s interview with Cleo had given him another glimpse into how Wales had come to be so focused on people’s well-being and environmental prosperity, and he was starting to realise that all the different working blocks of Wales’ society and its different sectors served to support each other – healthy food, clean and safe environments, rooted in education and put into practice.
He wondered how such a transition, in which all sectors simultaneously worked towards a similar vision of a healthy society, was made possible. He realised that many other countries had talked of similar ideas and tried them.
But they hadn’t managed to put all their ideas into practice simultaneously, and thus hadn’t supported each other’s continuous progression. The journalist’s curiosity as to how Wales had succeeded had prompted Cleo to suggest he speak to Gwen-Eddo, the leader of the local governing structure called the Citizens Assembly.
A day in the life of Gwen-Eddo
A few days after meeting with Cleo, the journalist was walking around the local park, full of families and groups of people out enjoying picnics, barbecues and games.
He was due to meet Gwen-Eddo by the fountain, and when she came into sight, guiding her wheelchair along the path to meet him, she gave him such a warm smile that he immediately felt comfortable, returning her smile with one of genuine pleasure.
Gwen-Eddo introduced herself as the leader of the Citizens Assembly, the local governing body. “But unofficially,” she said with a grin, “people call me the chief connector and sense maker.” This role had once had a largely administrative function, but was now, Gwen-Eddo explained, very much a governing role. “I listen to people, facilitate their listening to each other, and put what I hear into our plans.”
“I attend community events to speak to residents and get their honest opinions on challenges they experience, and ways they think these challenges could be addressed. I log all concerns and bring them to the rest of the council for further discussion. The citizens are the real heroes; I’m just the facilitator and enabler.” She paused and gave the journalist another disarming grin. “I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? You’re here to ask the questions but I’ve just jumped in and started talking.”
“No, this is exactly what I want to hear,” the journalist assured her. “How does that work? How do you go about considering everyone’s opinions?”
Between technology and empathy
“Well, it depends on what they’re asking for,” Gwen-Eddo replied. “Some people talk about having cleaner local rivers and anti-littering practices, while others want more opportunities for young people to get involved and gain skills. At the same time, we have people telling us that they struggle with loneliness, especially those from older generations, or wish for greater wheelchair access or improved cycle safety on the roads. So what they want and need varies a lot, and depending on the complexity of the challenge and whether there’s a diversity of opinion on how to address it, we either arrange a citizens’ assembly or tally public opinion from our community app.
“For context, the community app is our local community’s tool for democratic decision-making around expressed challenges and concerns. Any local resident can either anonymously or in their name log a concern or a suggestion they have for the town.
“Every resident can view a collated list of concerns and suggestions, and there’s an option to either agree or disagree with them, so we can get an overview of public interest. The app allows everyone to get more involved with local development and gives people a place to communicate about their hopes and desires.
“At the citizens’ assembly, we get a sense of the people’s voice so that we have a better compass for acting on democratic opinion. Although we have this app, I still like to speak to people in person to feel more connected to those I serve. It helps to build trust, get more people involved in the democratic processes, and get an even better understanding of their individual views.
“The app has been developed to be as accessible and easy to use as possible, but we know there will be those who struggle to use it, such as visually impaired people or people who for whatever reason are uncomfortable using digital technology. Our office has several dedicated mobile community champions who can meet in person with anyone who doesn’t use the app, and they’ll listen to any requests and write them up.”
Prioritising with the end in mind
“So how do you decide what to focus on first, and how do you determine an appropriate outcome for a community challenge?” the journalist asked.
“The concerns or suggestions with the greatest community support are the ones we focus on first,” Gwen-Eddo told him. “Then we move down the list to address the least popular requests later. However, we do discuss and address all queries. When it comes to deciding how to tackle a given community challenge – for example older people experiencing loneliness – we at the council look through all the suggestions that people had made on the app, as well as setting up a citizens’ assembly for people to discuss the matter in person and exchange ideas.
“Ideas are shaped through facilitated conversations that turn everyone’s insight into action using the Three Horizons Framework. In the case of loneliness among older people, the citizens collectively decided on three different ways to involve older people and lonely people in general more within the community, one of which was to put nurseries and elderly living homes together. Another measure was a befriending service that organises social outings for people to meet, cook together, go for walks or play games. The third measure was an intergenerational exchange, where a younger person might learn how to cook or learn a new language from an older or lonely person. In exchange, the younger person might teach the older person about the newest technology or help where help is needed.
“All residents voted together using participatory budgeting techniques to decide the share of resources going to each project. All three measures then became implemented as a community-led scheme. Social enterprises saw this as a business opportunity when they realised that this gap existed in the market, so they created affordable services for all three ideas, which created jobs but also tackled some of the societal challenges facing young and old people.
“For other challenges the council will work with existing companies in the local community and subsidise them for projects around infrastructure – to build safe cycle lanes or more accessible parks, for example. But we still go through the process of gathering both public and expert opinion to learn about the best ways to ensure that any undertaking is inclusive and user-friendly.
“All we do here at the Citizens Assembly is facilitate the conversation, offer a platform for people to discuss the challenges in a safe environment, and connect the right people and companies to the right projects.
“We have this model of democratic decision-making in place for local residents of all ages, but have also seen a rise in younger people expressing their opinions through the community app. Young people’s voices are as important as anyone else’s, so we created a youth assembly to give them equal value to the older generations’ voices. And as part of every project, we consider the impact our decisions and actions will have on nature and our environment.
“The great thing about this participatory democracy model is that it feeds into the national governance structures. So we don’t just carry out these projects as a one-off, we also inform policymakers of the challenge and our decisions, which can help other communities and improve funding models. The citizen assemblies, of course, can vote on national policies too. And the council is also responsible for holding companies accountable for their actions and ensuring that they follow legislation, via whistle-blowing schemes and audits. This is because the role of the Citizens Assembly is to ensure that the well-being of future generations is being implemented on the ground.”
Connecting skills
“My job is to sense-check proposals – and not just those submitted by companies,” Gwen-Eddo added, “but also by the council and other authorities. There are more people in roles like mine around Wales, and we were selected because we were the most vocal, the most radical, but also the most down-to-earth. I come from an activist and nursing background, and others in my position come from social care, teaching and campaigning or with backgrounds in psychology, and most of us haven’t had any political training. We were selected because of our ability to listen, to connect a wide range of issues, and communicate them effectively to others.
“We’ve had rigorous training, though, provided over many years to prepare us for the massive challenge we had ahead of us. Over the decades many versions of this job have existed, and we’ve been called everything from community engagement officers to rebels.” Gwen-Eddo chuckled. “But, here, in this age, we are seen as chief sense-makers and facilitators of radical democracy.”
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Did you like this story? How did it make you feel? What aspects of the story provoked you the most? Email us on your response on shwmae@cynnalcymru.com.
This being our last character, in the next week we will wrap up the Welcome to Wales 2051 with a short summary.
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How can we develop and use the skills needed to create a 2051 we are proud of?
In this mini-series, told through six characters, we explore what the world could look like in a healthy, collaborative, and inclusive future where governing structures have adapted to fit a way of life that supports planetary boundaries and fair treatment of all people, with well-being as the focus for measuring societal success.
More importantly, through these stories, we want to focus on the role of skills and enabling environments to illustrate that we need all kinds of ideas, people, and institutions working together as one creative hive mind.
Our first set of stories has been developed by Camille Løvgreen and Dr Karolina Rucinska as part of their work on green skills, alongside a series of events and advice sessions.
Here is what they said:
“Nothing moves us like a good story. Through storytelling, we can imagine the future we are working towards, build hope and momentum, and come together to take collective action. These six characters and their setting let us talk, creatively, about big ideas without using big words. This makes it possible for everyone to see how they fit into the current and future world visions”
Karolina
“The idea of exploring these characters through an imagined society with different operating structures and a different priority on the way we live is not only to imagine what a healthy coexistence between people and planet may look like, but to explore how quality of life can improve with a deeper connection to the people around us.”
Camille
Setting the scene
It’s 2051, just a year after what leaders of the past called the Net Zero deadline. Although the emissions continued to reduce over the decades, only a few benefited from the shift to low-carbon economies. Why? Worldwide, the transition was a disaster. There was a lack of planning, of imagination and foresight, of inclusion and system thinking… Everything that was not meant to happen…happened. Between 2024 and 2035, the world experienced mass unemployment, instability, closure of borders, the collapse of ecosystems, barren agricultural fields, reversal of human rights, and the collapse of economies.
A year after the big two-oh-five-zero, a leading news agency correspondent visited nations worldwide to see how they were doing. Most people had forgotten what 2050 was about, but a few remembered.
The stories are viewed through the eyes of the narrator, a journalist who sets the scene through a message sent to the editors of a leading news agency about their tour around Wales in…2051!
Starting with Adi, each story introduces a new character who describes their day. Each story leads onto the next, showing how we are all connected directly and indirectly and can positively influence each other’s lives.
Adi – a civil engineer with an expertise in environmental resilience
Environmental Management Systems – A guide for Welsh SMEs
Consuming electricity and water, producing waste, operating machinery and processing natural resources – these are just some of the ways that businesses interact with the environment at operational level and through their supply chains.
Businesses of all sizes are realising the need to understand, manage and improve their environmental impacts to ensure they can operate and grow sustainably. AnEnvironmental Management System (EMS) proportionate to the size and activities of the organisation is a key framework for helping businesses to do this.
However, it can be more challenging for SMEs to measure, manage and report on climate and environmental goals, due to constraints of time, cost and human resources. So, what are the options? Do you need to comply with the internationally recognised ISO 14001 or are there alternatives?
We hope that this guide will help with understanding (i) the key elements of an EMS, (ii) the benefits and opportunities they bring for SMEs and (iii) provide an overview of the different certification standards for EMS implementation and support for SMEs in Wales.
Remember, there are many benefits to gaining an EMS certification but it is the journey towards it that counts in terms of practical actions and outputs. All certifications will require resource. If this is not possible for your organisation right now we hope that this guide will still be valuable to steering you towards meaningful actions.
1. What is an EMS?
An EMS is a structured framework of policies, procedures and practices which help organisations assess, manage and improve their environmental impact.
The primary goals of an EMS are to ensure:
Compliance with environmental requirements (for example, under an environmental permit issued by Natural Resources Wales)
The efficient use of resources
Waste reduction and minimal pollution
The continual improvement of environmental performance
A core strength of any EMS should be enabling continual improvement of environmental performance. Continual improvement as defined in ISO 14001, refers to recurring activities to enhance environmental performance. For example, organisations can identify improvement opportunities through audits and monitoring progress against objectives and targets.
For an SME, this could be implementing behaviour change initiatives to support carbon reduction and nature related goals, such as eliminating deforestation.However, from a wider perspective, continuous improvement might look like an increasing number of business areas or processes being covered by the EMS, or an accumulation of knowledge and skills in dealing with environmental issues. Overall, it’s about a move from operational management of the environment to a more strategic approach.
2. The benefits of implementing an EMS for SMEs in Wales
Manage and improve environmental impacts: by integrating environmental considerations into their operations, SMEs can minimise their ecological footprint and reduce negative impacts on the environment.
Risk Management: The tools within an EMS provide a systematic approach to identifying and managing environmental risks and help SMEs to future proof their business and avoid potential liabilities and disruptions.
Cost savings: Implementing efficient resource management practices can lead to cost savings for SMEs. By optimising energy and water usage, reducing waste generation, and implementing recycling initiatives, SMEs may see reductions in utilities bills and other financial benefits from more efficient and innovative processes.
Compliance with regulations: An EMS helps SMEs comply with environmental regulations and legal requirements. By staying up to date with environmental legislation, SMEs can avoid penalties and legal issues.
Enhanced reputation and competitive advantage: Demonstrating a commitment to environmental sustainability is important for many potential employees and customers. Increasingly, it is also a requirement for public sector buyers to take into account the sustainability of their contractors. For example, in Wales, the Social Partnerships and Public Procurement (Wales) Act introduced a Socially Responsible Procurement Duty and at UK level, PPN 06/21 mandates that carbon reduction plans be taken into account in major government procurement contracts.
Improved access to finance: An EMS can help SMEs to identify andmanage steps they can take to fulfil requirements under Business Wales’ Green Growth Pledge. It can also act as the catalyst for innovation financing, for example, the Green Business Loan Scheme from Development Bank of Wales.
3. EMS Standards and Certifications
When starting out to create an EMS, there are a number of standards available for SMEs in Wales. The main ones covered in this guide are:
ISO 14001:2015(Environmental Management Systems – Requirements and Guidance for Use)
The most widely used voluntary EMS standard globally, providing a holistic framework ‘encompassing all aspects of an organisation’s environmental management and offering tools for continuous improvement’. Certification is available for organisations that have implemented the requirements of ISO 14001.
ISO 14005:2019(Environmental Management Systems – Guidance for a flexible approach to phased implementation)
This standard provides guidance for a phased approach to establish, implement, maintain and improve an EMS. It may be particularly useful for SMEs as it provides flexibility and allows organisations to develop their EMS at their own pace. Full implementation of the guidance will result in an EMS that aligns with ISO14001.
Note that BSI’s earlier guidance standard for SMEs, BS8555, which also provided a phased approach to EMS implementation has now been withdrawn and replaced by ISO 14005.
Green Dragon is a UK based environmental accreditation awarded to ‘businesses that take action to understand, monitor and control their impacts on the environment’. It operates on a staged based system over five levels, allowing a business to progress in its own time. At Level 5 the Green Dragon standard is equivalent to ISO 14001. One of the advantages of Green Dragon is its recognition and support from Business Wales and its acknowledgement in Welsh Government procurement processes.
Green Key is an eco-accreditation awarded to businesses operating in the tourism sector. Green Key certified businesses meet a set of high standard environmental requirements across 13 areas including environmental management, staff involvement, energy and water conservation, waste management, and food and beverage. In Wales, Green Key is operated by Keep Wales Tidy on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).
EMAS is the EU’s voluntary scheme applicable to all organisations in the public and private sectors who want to evaluate, manage and improve their environmental performance. EMAS is broader and more rigorous than ISO14001 (as explained below) but ISO 14001 satisfies the requirements for the EMS component. Following Brexit, the UK no longer has a ‘competent body’ responsible for EMAS, however, organisations doing business in the EU might find EMAS Global registration useful and we have included information about the main requirements and links to further information in this document for completeness.
It is worth noting that businesses do not need to adhere to a certain standard for their EMS and might decide to design a bespoke system. However, using one of the available standards might well be less resource intensive and can help to ensure a robust EMS that provides reassurance to stakeholders.
The following sections of this guide provide a bit more detail about the above standards to help you identify which might be the right approach for your business.
Please note this is a guide based on a summary of available online information. Please check the web links given for the most accurate and up to date details.
4. International EMS standards
ISO14001:2015 (Environmental Management Systems – Requirements and Guidance for Use)
ISO 14001:2015 is an internationally recognised, holistic framework for an EMS, encompassing all aspects of an organisation’s environmental impact and offering tools for continuous improvement.
What is involved?
The basis of ISO 14001 (as with other EMS standards) is the management system process Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). The PDCA cycle is applied to the overall EMS, as well as individual processes, and enables organisations to achieve continual improvements to their environmental performance through improvements to the EMS.
The Guidance describes the requirements for setting up and implementing an EMS including:
An environmental policy: A statement that outlines an organisation’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
Planning: This involves identifying environmental aspects and objectives of an organisation, setting targets and establishing programmes to achieve them.
Implementation: This stage involves putting plans into action, allocating resources and assigning responsibilities.
Checking: Regular monitoring of performance against objectives and targets is critical to ensure the timely implementation of corrective actions.
Management review: A formal review of the EMS supports its continued effectiveness and suitability.
EMS Plan-Do-Check-Act Model (Source: Westcon,2017, online)
Costs, Certification and Training
The standard can be purchased from the ISO website for approximately £130 and businesses can choose to implement the standard without the costs of certification. There are also various free and IEMA accredited training modules to assist with implementation.
As mentioned above, certification is optional but can provide both organisations and their customers assurance that ISO 14001 has been implemented in a robust manner.
Costs of certification from organisations accredited by The UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) vary but online quotes without commitment can be readily obtained.
Certification is typically awarded for three years, subject to annual surveillance visits. The standard itself undergoes revisions periodically (typically every 5-10 years).
ISO 14005:2019 (Environmental Management Systems – Guidance for a flexible approach to phased implementation)
Whilst ISO 14001 is applicable to all types and sizes of organisation, the full implementation of an EMS at the same time might be prove challenging for some organisations and particularly SMEs where time, cost and human resources can be limited.
At international level, a phased approach to implementing an EMS was therefore developed (previously the BSI standard BS8555:2016 which has been subsumed by ISO 14005)to encourage and guide SMEs to meet the requirements of ISO 14001.
What is involved?
The phased approach in ISO 14005 is designed to provide flexibility for an organisation to develop their EMS over a number of phases to ultimately meet the requirements of ISO 14001.
The number of phases an organisation chooses to implement at any one time is flexible and can be determined depending on resources and priorities. Each phase is broken down into six consecutive stages to be completed over time. SMEs can monitor progress using the maturity matrix in Annex A of ISO 14005 and the free supporting documents provided by ISO 14005.
The Assessment Sheet (on the supporting documents page) provided by ISO is a helpful tool that enables organizations to monitor and record progress through five levels of maturity corresponding to each EMS subclause. An EMS that satisfies the maturity Level 1 (Column 1) through to full maturity at Level 5 (Column 5) meets all the requirements for a particular clause of ISO 14001:2015.
Costs, Certification and Training
The Guidance can be downloaded from the ISO website for approximately £130. As the aim of ISO 14005 is to assist SMEs with reaching 14001, there is no separate certification for this standard. However, it is a good reference to turn to for ideas and practical examples on how to make your implementation of ISO 14001 more effective.
5. Alternative EMS standards recognised in Wales
For SMEs based in Wales, there are alternatives to the above standards that are administered by national organisations and recognised by the public sector in the procurement process.
5.1 Groundwork Green Dragon Environmental Accreditation
The Green Dragon Environmental Accreditation is a comprehensive standard administered by Groundwork, a UKAS accredited inspection organisation. It is awarded to businesses that take action to understand, monitor and control their impacts on the environment.
What is involved?
Similar to ISO 14005, the standard operates on a staged based system (Levels 1-5), allowing organisations to join at any stage and progress their EMS in their own time.
Organisations can choose which level is appropriate to the nature and scale of their activities and upon completion of each level they will receive a certificate. At level 5, the Green Dragon standard is equivalent to ISO 14001.
Groundwork provides several useful documents on its website to accompany the standard, including an Environmental Review Workbook. There is also a list of organisations across Wales who have achieved Green Dragon accreditation.
Certification and costs
To achieve and maintain the Green Dragon Environmental Standard, an annual audit with Groundwork is required. The cost of the audit varies depending on the level, with Level 3 being the most common entry point for organisations and costing.
5.2 Green Key – A sustainability standard for the tourism sector
Green Key is an international environmental certification programme for the tourism and hospitality industry. It has been awarded to more than 3,200 businesses from across the sector in 65 countries and is open to businesses from across the sector.
Green Key promotes sustainable practices and recognises businesses that meet specific criteria related to environmental management and sustainability. Criteria are set out over 13 thematic areasincluding energy and water conservation, waste management, sustainable procurement, and environmental education.
The FEE has developed criteria and explanatory notes for businesses in six different categories (hotels and resorts, small accommodation, campsites, restaurants, attractions and conference centres).
In each category, there are ‘imperative’ and ‘guideline’ criteria. For example, creation of a sustainability policy and interaction with stakeholders are imperative criteria, whilst a target to reduce carbon footprint is a guideline criteria. Each organisation applying for a Green Key certificate must achieve all imperative criteria and then for each subsequent year that they apply they must meet an additional 5% of the guideline criteria.
In addition to the general benefits of EMS implementation, Keep Wales Tidy highlights that travellers and tourists are increasingly keen to support sustainable businesses and that investment in a Green Key certification is a key market differentiator. Keep Wales Tidy has collated case studies of organisations across Wales who have invested in Green Key.
Certification and costs
The application process for certification consists of three parts:
Sending the application documents
Receiving on-site audits
Decision by an independent entity (third-party verification)
More information about the application process in Wales can be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website.
Keep Wales Tidy aims to keep certification costs affordable and to ensure Green Key is accessible to all tourism providers. Investment levels therefore vary depending on the size of the business:
The Seren Scheme is based on BS8555 and follows the same phased approach. Organizations can choose to use the Seren Scheme to achieve other EMS standards such as ISO 14001 or EMAS, or register at a phase that aligns with the nature and scale of their business and remain at that phase.
The Seren Scheme is applicable to both large and small organizations and places a strong focus on continuous improvement.
BS8555 is divided into 5 phases:
Stage 1: Leadership, context, and commitment
Stage 2: Ensure compliance
Stage 3: Plan and develop the EMS
Stage 4: Implement the EMS
Stage 5: Check and update the EMS
As long as organizations pass an annual inspection, they can stay at that particular phase indefinitely and use their EMS to demonstrate their commitment to environmental management to stakeholders and customers.
The Seren Scheme is administered by a private company called Tarian Inspection Services, which conducts inspections in a friendly, down-to-earth, and highly practical manner. They ensure that companies have a robust Environmental Management System that enhances their credibility, good management, and cost savings.
EMAS is a voluntary environmental management scheme designed by the European Commission. Its overall aim is to enable continuous improvement in the environmental performance of companies, language similar to that in ISO 14001. However, ISO 14001 aims for continual improvement of the system itself hopefully leading to improved environmental performance of the organisation. EMAS requires improved environmental performance of the organisation to be assessed through indicators relating to six core areas – energy efficiency, material efficiency, emissions, water, waste and land use with regards to biodiversity.
EMAS is more rigorous than ISO 14001, however, ISO 14001 satisfies the EMS component of EMAS requirements.
Registration with the scheme requires the following steps:
Conduct a preliminary environmental review – this will be the baseline for improvement
Adopt an environmental policy and programme in which you involve employees and external stakeholders
Establish and implement an EMS
Prepare an environmental statement
The EMS and environmental statement to be verified and validated by an environmental verifier.
Recognising the challenges faced by SMEs, EMAS has amended rules for SMEs to encourage participation in the scheme. These include verification every four years (rather than three) and publication of the environmental statement every two years, rather than annually. There is also financial support available in some Member States and a number of tools and guidance to assist SMEs.
SMEs increasingly need to demonstrate an understanding of environmental impacts and a strategic approach to minimising climate and environmental impacts to satisfy potential customers and to future proof their business.
In light of the prevalent tick-box culture in environmental matters, many organisations are seeking broader and more engaging systems, examining the impacts on their staff, communities, and supply chains.
Regardless of the framework used for environmental, biodiversity, sustainability, or ESG reporting, businesses still need to adhere to similar concepts: focus on leadership and staff ownership, understand impacts, prioritise, plan, communicate, implement, and review.
If you need further support or advice with any of these activities please reach out to our sustainability advisors.
