Manufacturers' body EEF is to refocus its environmental service to incorporate a wider sustainability agenda and has appointed James Wyse to a new role of national sustainability lead.
Wyse, previously a climate and environment consultant at the organisation, said that the new service would be much more outward-facing and consider longer-term issues to help manufacturers focus on upcoming challenges, such as the high cost of resources.
Many EEF members are starting to think in this way, but others do not have a dedicated resource since responsibility for environment was often combined with health and safety, he said.
“It’s these that we need to equip so that they look at issues outside their organisation rather than just within it,” he said. The trade body is planning new courses on sustainability and ways to support organisations to become certified under the revised ISO 14001 standard. “An EMS is not just for managing a piece of waste out of the door; it presents opportunities,” Wyse said.
