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We now have a Labour government in place, who immediately began acting on their manifesto policies. However, in the weeks prior to new hope and expectation, the previous administration implemented some crucial developments worthy of note.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is an area that is rapidly growing in prominence, and recent surveys have shown a huge interest in sustainable finance. Tied in with this, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new anti-greenwashing rules are now in force. They are designed to protect consumers by ensuring that sustainable products and services for sale are accurately described.
The rule accompanies the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements – the UK’s flagship ESG regime. The regime is primarily about product labelling and includes guidance and rules on investment labels and disclosures, naming and marketing
rules for UK asset managers, and rules for distributors of investment products to retail investors in the UK. It applies to all FCA-authorised firms, not just investment products or asset managers. The regime seeks to ensure consumers are protected from misleading sustainability-related claims, by enabling them to make informed decisions aligned with their sustainability preferences.
Initially set out in the Environment Act 2021, the provisions that will result in household recyclable waste streams being collected separately from all other household waste are now in force in England. Crucially, this applies to household waste generated at both domestic and non-domestic premises where industrial and commercial waste is of a household nature.
The provisions apply to glass, metal, plastic, paper, card and food waste for all sites, with the addition of garden waste for domestic premises.
Although the separate collections law is now in force, there are complex transitional provisions in place which apply to different waste collections at different premises. These provisions will effectively phase in the new requirements, starting from 31 March 2025.
Plans to extend the UK ETS, and two consultations on the chemicals regime.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)Authority is consulting on the expansion of the UK ETS, to include energy from waste and waste incineration. It considers how waste incineration and energy from waste could be included in the scheme from 2026 for the monitoring, reporting and verification only period, with full surrender obligations from 2028.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reiterated that it will be looking into reforming the chemicals legislative framework in Great Britain (inherited from EU law after Brexit), using its powers issued under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, which expire in June 2026.
The government is also reviewing ways to reduce the costs to businesses as we transition from the EU REACH chemicals regime to UK REACH. Along with plans to bring in further protections against animal testing, a key proposal is to amend the current transitional provisions for submitting registration information to the HSE. An in-depth analysis by Defra, the HSE and the Environment Agency has set out an alternative transitional registration model for UK REACH.
A director and his Manchester-based company have been fined over £870,000, including £811,181 in proceeds of crime, for illegal waste exports. The prosecution was brought by the Environment Agency following an investigation which found that the company exported waste described as “clean plastic” that it intended to be incinerated as fuel, with no intention of it being recycled.
Lastly, in case law, in R (on the application of Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council, the Supreme Court has issued a landmark judgment on the scope of environmental impact assessments.
