26 Sep 2023

From a press release from the UK Ministry of Justice: Plastic and litter will be removed by offenders wearing high-visibility jackets emblazoned with “Community Payback” on beaches up-and-down the country, as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean. The Probation Service has partnered with several major organisations with a focus on […]

26 Sep 2023

Coastal waters and estuaries have been included in the government’s plan to tackle sewage pollution, in a win for campaigners who threatened legal action, ENDSreport has said. The UK Government issued a press release that stated: Government expands plan to tackle storm overflows, including all coastal and estuary sites Marine protected areas and shellfish water […]

20 Sep 2023

This week saw the publication of the long-awaited Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations and guidance. Following from the success of the TCFD, which has helped expand and standardise the disclosure of climate risks around the world, the TNFD can empower organisations to understand their impacts and dependencies on nature. According to the TNFD: The […]

20 Sep 2023

Business for Nature, the World Economic Forum and World Business Council for Sustainable Development have developed new guidance for a nature-positive future across 12 sectors. An overview of the key impacts, dependencies and priority actions for each sector is available, supporting business to identify and implement relevant, impactful actions for nature. One of the sectors is Water utilities and […]

20 Sep 2023

Research from Pesticide Action Network (PAN) shows that the UK is failing to phase out pesticides that have been found to be harmful to human health and the environment at the same rate as the EU. Thirteen of the 36 chemicals are considered highly hazardous pesticides under UN definitions used to identify the most harmful […]

20 Sep 2023

The BBC reports that the UK government was defeated in the House of Lords last week, when their bid to weaken rules that protect environmentally vulnerable waters from extra nutrient pollution, a retreat from EU environmental standards, was blocked. The proposed amendment looked to scrap rules that prevent new developments from being approved if there […]

20 Sep 2023

As England enters the autumn, the National Drought Group met to reiterate the importance of all sectors continuing to plan and invest for future droughts. Experts are pushing for more investment now to ensure England is in the best possible position ahead of future droughts, the National Drought Group heard last week (13 September). The […]

20 Sep 2023

Defra has published a summary of responses and the government response to the recent consultation on continuous water quality monitoring and event duration monitoring. The consultation sought views on the government’s proposals to enhance the monitoring of storm overflows and final effluent discharges into watercourses Some key points from the government’s response Urban Pollution Management […]