At the end of January 2023, the Government published the UK’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 (the EIP) – the first revision to the 25-Year Environment Plan, published originally in 2018. The EIP is a critical pillar in the Government’s climate change strategy and sets ten goals intended to stop the decline of nature, and to reverse it.

While the EIP contains much to interest the most passionate of environmentalists, it also presents many opportunities for the commercial world to play its part. In setting out the 10 goals, it openly states that “businesses and investors are a key part of a nature-positive future”, and sets the policy framework to enable that to happen.

In a series of five briefings, we will review the EIP and highlight some of the key messages. In this first briefing, we examine Goal 1: Thriving Plants and Wildlife; and Goal 2: Clean Air and, in doing so, touch on some of the key factors that will influence the EIP.

The regulatory backdrop to EIP – Key factors

There are a number of cross-cutting themes and policies that are noted throughout the EIP, the delivery of which will be critical to achieving all 10 goals. They include:

• Green jobs – the Government has, for a number of years, expressed a strong commitment to create hundreds of thousands of green jobs across the UK as part of the transitioning economy. The EIP notes that new green jobs will be created by its new policies: for example, in the next 12 months waste collection and packaging reforms will create 21,000 jobs, 10,000 in flood defences, and 3,400 jobs in tree planting and peatland restoration;
• Green finance – the Government aims to raise at least £500 million annually by 2027 in private finance to support nature’s recovery in England, but hopes that will increase to £1 billion by 2030. The EIP notes that a Green Finance Strategy will be published in 2023 to update its 2019 strategy;
• New farming schemes – following Brexit, and the transition out of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, the Government hopes that 70% of agricultural land and 70% of farm holdings will be covered by its new farming schemes – highlighted in the EIP – by 2028;
• Greening Government commitments – the Government has taken (and will continue to take) steps to improve its own estate, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and water usage; and
• Making green choices – the EIP is at pains to stress that achieving its goals will be a shared endeavour, from central government to individual citizens. It explains that society will become greener by design, reducing the ‘ask’ on citizens to do the green thing, and how taking green actions will become more affordable.

Goal 1: Thriving plants and wildlife

Generally

The EIP notes that “the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat, all of which are essential to human survival, all depend on thriving, diverse and species-rich ecosytems”. Pressure on nature in the UK and overseas has come from a variety of places: agricultural management, climate change, urbanisation, pollution, hydrological change, invasive non-native species and woodland management. Together, these elements all come into the crosshairs of the EIP.

Halting the decline

A number of targets and commitments are set out in the EIP, key among which is the aim to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, and to then increase abundance by at least 10%, so as to exceed 2022 levels by 2042. In the same way that we have not yet hit peak carbon emissions (globally), neither have we reached the biodiversity low.

Habitat creation

The EIP describes the Government’s aim to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by the end of 2042; with a new target of 140,000 hectares of habitat outside of protected areas by 2028. It is likely the policy will encourage the creation of habitat corridors, linking habitats and ecosystems together to enable even greater nature impact.

Increase in tree canopy and woodland cover

The EIP sets a target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover to span 16.5% of England’s total land area by 2050. For the first time, the target includes non-woodland trees, which is likely to encourage an increase in urban tree planting and bring cooling, shading and biodiversity benefits in built-up areas.

Improve the condition of marine protected areas

Approximately 35,000 square miles of our English waters are within marine protected areas (MPAs), protecting species and habitats like coral reefs, blue mussel beds and deep-water mud habitats. The EIP set a target of ensuring that 70 of the designated features of MPAs are in a favourable condition by 2042, with the remainder in a recovering condition. As an interim target, the Government is aiming for 48% of designated features in MPAs to be in a favourable condition by 31 January 2028.

What does this mean for businesses?

As set out in our overview, the UK Government is eager to involve businesses in the delivery of the EIP in order to ultimately achieve its nature goals. It will be looking closely at how to incentivise the commercial world to develop models whereby the private sector can be involved with nature solutions to the climate crisis.

It is likely that new nature markets will be developed in the coming years, for example in relation to saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. Improving and preserving these habitats would have significant natural benefits for flood management and water quality issues. In essence, they would play a large part in sequestering carbon and, as a result, markets could be established to create new revenue streams.

Similarly, business will play an essential part in increasing tree canopy and woodland cover. Tree planting will bring critical biodiversity benefits, and the capture and storage of carbon could be brought into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. This could potentially be achieved through the creation of Woodland Carbon Units which, again, would attract private sector investment and new business models.

The updated Green Finance Strategy, to be published in Spring 2023, is hoped will support new nature markets by bringing certainty and confidence to landowners, managers and funders, and in turn reduce risk and encourage the funds to flow.

One of the most immediately obvious ways in which business and the private sector will play a role in enhancing nature is through the biodiversity net gain scheme. Biodiversity proved a key theme at COP27 last November and with plans for the new biodiversity net gain scheme forging ahead in the UK, we have looked further at some of the mechanisms for securing biodiversity – see our earlier article on the conservation covenant regime.

The EIP confirms that the biodiversity net gain scheme will commence in November 2023 (as expected) and notes that a marine gain policy is in development to apply to infrastructure developments at sea – and in all likelihood with a focus on “blue carbon” habitats – marine habitats capable of sequestering carbon.

Goal 2: Clean air

Generally

In recent years, air quality in the UK has seen reductions in nitrogen oxides; sulphur dioxide; PM2.5 (fine particulates); ammonia; and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Notwithstanding the reductions, the EIP still notes that “air pollution continues to be the biggest risk to human health, with particular hotspots in some urban areas”. Indeed, those who are most vulnerable are disproportionately impacted by poor air quality. Target reductions have been set in relation to the most damaging pollutants, but the EIP now sets interim target reductions as well.

The clean air targets in the EIP will be achieved by a number of different policies, the core of which are set out below. These will hit the four most polluting sectors: our homes; agriculture; industry; and transportation, which in total contribute to more than 85% of PM2.5; 87% of nitrogen oxide; and 90% of ammonia emissions.

Domestic air emissions

The principal policy focus for reducing emissions in the home will relate to improved regulation for burning high emission materials, such as wood and manufactured solid fuels (MSF). The EIP notes that a ban of domestic burning in England is not on the cards, but regulations will be tightened; for example, restricting the sale of wet woods, limiting the sulphur content of MSF, and reviewing the enforcement of local smoke control areas.

What is likely to be more relevant to developers is that air quality will have greater prominence in the planning process, with greater attention given to environmental outcomes reports (the new form of environmental impact assessment) and the identification of impacts on air quality that the underlying developments will have.

Industrial air emissions

Best Available Techniques (BAT) have been successful in reducing air emissions from large industry over a number of years. Given that success, the Government is keen to further roll-out BAT to new technologies and put methods for businesses in place; and to also rollover that knowledge to smaller industries, which are often located in urban areas and close to residential areas, where improvements in emissions standards could have very positive outcomes. The EIP refers to small industries such as petrol stations, metals processing and quarrying as being the types of businesses whose environmental permitting will be subject to the new system for updated standards in the future, although many others will be in scope.

Agricultural air emissions

The EIP notes that the agricultural sector is responsible for 87% of the UK’s ammonia emissions, which adversely impacts biodiversity, and combines with other pollutants to create PM2.5 (known as secondary PM2.5).

A key policy to improve emissions from agriculture is to bring dairy and intensive beef farms into the scope of environmental permitting, as pig and poultry farms currently are. In addition to bringing some of agriculture’s sub-sectors into the permitting regime, the EIP notes that Government will identify best-practices for emissions reductions, which may be more onerous depending on their particular locations, for example next to a sensitive nature site.

Anaerobic digestion (AD), used to create biogas, produces a by-product used in place of chemical fertilisers, but which leads to ammonia emissions, which is toxic to aquatic life. Given the rise in popularity of AD, and its likely further increased deployment towards 2030, the EIP announced that the Government will explore technologies to treat digestate and thereby reduce ammonia emissions.

Transportation air emissions

Transport emissions are decreasing, yet remain very significant sources of nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 emissions. A number of high-profile policies have been introduced to tackle these emissions, for example the creation of clean air zones in cities across the UK, and the restriction on the sale of new petrol/diesel-fuelled cars from 2030.

Much of Government policy has been set out in its Transport Decarbonisation Plan published in 2021, and the scale of the policy solutions within this are significant, presenting many opportunities for commercial innovation and delivery. The Government is looking to achieve a world-class charging infrastructure network; proposes to deliver thousands of miles of cycling paths; and will be investing in research into technologies that will reduce brake dust and tyre emissions, which apply equally to electric vehicles, as they do petrol and diesel-fuelled cars (if not more so).

Although 1.5% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from the rail sector, the EIP notes that Government will commission a further review of air quality on the railway, which will likely result in focussed work to improve air quality at problem locations, such as enclosed railway stations.

Finally, in relation to shipping emissions, the EIP set out the Government’s plan to consult on extending the North Sea Emission Control Area, in which shipping must adhere to strict emissions limits; establish a ‘course to zero’ strategy for domestic shipping; and refresh its Clean Maritime Plan, which is expected to include indicative decarbonisation plans for the domestic shipping sector.

What does this mean for businesses?

Air quality is one of the Government’s top priorities – it’s the second goal in the EIP after all; and the link between poor air quality and human health has been clearly established. Given the relationship that the commercial world has had, historically, with air emissions, it is no surprise that business and agriculture will be at the forefront of improvements.

Developers, in the living, commercial, and infrastructure sectors will face closer scrutiny of their schemes and the impact that they have on local and regional air quality. More applications will be refused for air quality reasons, although ‘air positive’ developments may find their route to consent easier. This might result from, for example, the way they are designed to increase air flow, disperse pollution, integrate segregated cycle networks, prioritise sustainable transport, include public green spaces, incorporate zero-emission energy systems, and so on.

Bringing agriculture and small industry into the scope of permitting and tighter regulation may well present some operational challenges, which will require adaptation and system upgrades. However, tighter regulation will almost certainly drive research and development to find the necessary solutions, again providing opportunities for innovation.

Greater opportunities to assist in reducing air impacts, come from the transportation sector, where a complete shift in the way we move goods, as well as ourselves, is underway. In the road transport sector alone, the pace of change is hard to comprehend, and we can expect further policies, and subsequent refinements of policy, in the coming years in order to encourage innovation and investment from business. Innovation and change will come in many ways, including the technologies deployed to provide ‘transport-as-usual’ solutions. However, the type of transport we use will need to adapt, for example as more cities adopt low-emissions zones, we can expect electric cargo cycles to take over ‘last-mile’ and local deliveries.

We will be looking at the other eight goals within the EIP across this five-part bi-weekly series of briefings, so look out for more insight on the following:

• clean and plentiful water (goal 3);
• managing exposure to chemicals and pesticides (goal 4);
• maximise our resources, minimise our waste (goal 5);
• using resources from nature sustainably (goal 6);
• mitigating and adapting to climate change (goal 7);
• reduced risk of harm from environmental hazards (goal 8);
• enhancing biosecurity (goal 9); and
• enhancing beauty, heritage and engagement with the natural environment (goal 10).

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Prize Aims To Build Sustainability Knowledge and Capacity Within Local Education Agencies

The $4.5 million Energy CLASS Prize was designed to help underserved schools execute
sustainability initiatives including energy efficiency upgrades, improved indoor air
quality, and more. Graphic by NREL

Schools across the United States can benefit from infrastructure upgrades—improved
ventilation and increased energy efficiency is good for students, teachers, and the school’s bottom line. But in understaffed and underfunded schools around the
country, the ability to implement these sustainability measures often remains out
of reach.

The new American-Made Energy CLASS (Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools) Prize was created to help bring those measures back into the realm of possibility for some
of the country’s most underserved schools. On the heels of the launch of the Renew America’s Schools Grant, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) within the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) announced it was also creating the Energy CLASS Prize, designed to
provide training and cash awards to energy-efficiency leaders at local education agencies
(LEAs).

These personnel—either existing staff or new hires—will learn to identify, plan, and
implement critical upgrades in school facilities. Their training will position them
to make meaningful infrastructure improvements that will reduce utility costs, produce
better indoor air quality, and improve learning environments in the long term.

“We know that many school administrators would love to implement a strong sustainability
program at their schools,” said Julia Sullivan, a sustainable buildings researcher
in the Building Technologies and Science Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
and Energy CLASS Prize technical lead. “But limited budgets and tight staffing get
in the way. The Energy CLASS Prize hopes to give the most in-need schools the tools
and personnel they need so they can start reaping the benefits of infrastructure upgrades.”

And those benefits could be significant, potentially reducing financial burdens in
K–12 public schools, where annual energy costs total $8 billion and represent the
second-largest expense after teacher salaries. In addition, upgrading poorly maintained,
critical building systems—such as heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems—can
dramatically reduce respiratory issues and the spread of infectious diseases within
schools. (Explore the Environmental Protection Agency’s report on all the ways good indoor air quality can have positive effects on cognitive performance
and development, student attendance, and more.)

In order to take advantage of all of these potential benefits, LEAs are encouraged
to learn more about the prize and start preparing their submissions ahead of the deadline on Feb. 28, 2023.

Prize Structure

A total of $4.5 million in awards is available through the two-phase Energy CLASS
Prize, including $3.75 million in cash prizes for selected LEAs to fund energy management
professionals in training and an additional $750,000 in technical assistance from
Energy CLASS Training Network partners. This network includes professional training
organizations and energy efficiency experts who will provide training and support
to Energy CLASS participants.

The prize is currently open for Phase 1 submissions. LEAs interested in applying will
be required to submit a statement of need and letters of support, demonstrate their
commitment to making building energy upgrades, and identify staff to participate in
the program.

Up to 25 LEAs will be selected from among the submissions to move on to Phase 2. Each
of these will receive $100,000 in cash prizes and have the opportunity to participate
in 80–160 hours of online educational courses delivered by training professionals.
In addition to DOE-funded trainings, teams will receive one-on-one support and coaching
as they work to implement efficiency upgrades in their districts.

At the conclusion of Phase 2, participants will submit a progress report on actions
identified or taken to date and a plan for future building upgrades. Those that can
demonstrate significant commitment to and progress on goals have an opportunity to
earn an additional $50,000 bonus prize.

The American-Made Buildings Prize is administered by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s State and Community Energy
Program Office.

Visit the American-Made program website to learn more about similar competitions designed to accelerate energy efficiency,
and follow the Energy CLASS Prize to get regular challenge updates.

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Ikea is readying an air quality sensor that can detect particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, as well as gaseous pollutants and changes in temperature and humidity.

Vindstryka, Swedish for “wind force,” will be available in April 2023 and will be compatible with Matter, the industry standard for smart home devices.

Henrik Telander, product owner at IKEA Sweden, said many people are conscious of pollution but often forget about indoor air quality.

Read on: Apple’s HomePod Speaker to Include Temperature and Humidity Sensors

“We take for granted that the air in our homes is clean, but small everyday activities like cooking or cleaning can contribute to poor air quality just as much as industry or traffic,” Telander said in a statement Tuesday.

When connected to Ikea’s Dirigera smart home hub, Vindstryka can send readings to users’ phones and enable the company’s Starkvind air purifier to increase its fan speed to remove particulates.

Pricing for Vindstyrka hasn’t been announced yet.  

Read on: Best Air Purifiers of 2023

 

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IKEA has added a new smart indoor air quality monitor to its lineup of intelligent tech products for the home. This device will measure the number of gaseous pollutants, humidity, and particle matter in the air, helping consumers stay healthy and aware of the substances circulating in their
homes. It also gives a green, yellow, or red rating of the home’s air quality on the display screen.

Customers may use the gadget to activate other smart devices using the IKEA Home smart app. While the device will function independently, Vindstyrka may be utilized to increase the functionality of the smart air purifier.

While the price hasn’t been confirmed yet, the IKEA smart air quality monitor will debut in April 2023.

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Air pollution needs eradicated just as the stench of sewers was in previous era

Thousands of diesel cars in Northern Ireland have never received a legally compliant exhaust emissions test at government-controlled MOT vehicle testing centres

Rosalind SkillenBelfast Telegraph

Today at 07:00

Globally, more than 7m people die prematurely every year because of air pollution. Simply by breathing, nine out of 10 people on earth are being put at risk of asthma, cancer, heart disease, strokes and dementia, as well as early death. What these figures clearly demonstrate is that, at its core, air pollution is a public health issue.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2023 9:41 AM

Mike Whitlatch has founded Sisters Heating & Air with an ethic of excellent service. PHOTO PROVIDED

Mike Whitlatch has learned his business from the ground up — literally.

“I started out cleaning ducts and putting in duct work under houses,” he recalled.

With experience in every level of the business — from major commercial installations like Deschutes Brewery and St. Charles Hospital to residential applications — he has now launched his own company. Sisters Heating & Air took it’s first call last September, and they’ve been roiling ever since.

Sisters Heating & Air serves Sisters Country with residential and commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) — including air purification and humidification, system diagnostics, maintenance, replacements, and new installations. They also offer in-depth consultation services such as system load calculations, schematics, and construction.

Whitlatch’s values are straightforward, and he applies them to every job:

“We provide an exceptional product and service at a reasonable price,” he told The Nugget. “We hold a very high standard for both the products we sell, and the craftsmanship that we put into working on them. We choose to exclusively carry the highest-rated brands, because we want our customers to have a great long-term experience. We go out of our way to perform work that is far beyond minimum requirements, not because we have to, but because we can. However, we’re able to provide this excellent service at a price that is still very competitive, because we are a small, nimble company with minimal overhead. One of our core principles is to maintain this lightweight structure as we grow, so that we can continue to provide both value and quality to our customers.”

Whitlatch is a hands-on owner-operator, with Chris Biagi and Drew Herburger serving as the rest of the crew.

Hard work has always been Whitlatch’s way.

“I started working when I was 14 years old,” he said.

At 17, he was in tech sales — but he realized that he really wanted to work with his hands. He moved into automotive electronics, but found his prospects there limited. Discovering that a job in HVAC could mean a solid living, he applied at a company in Antioch, California, and got the gig.

“I just started grinding, working 10- to 12-hour days,” he said.

Starting at the ground level and working up has given Whitlatch a strong foundation of experience on which to build.

“Where we really excel is on the technical and engineering side,” he explained. “In my 16 years working in HVAC service, I’ve seen a lot. If something can break, I probably have fixed it! This is critical when designing new systems, because my service experience helps me to anticipate what issues might arise. We take pride in engineering a system that is custom-designed for your unique situation. We do more than sell equipment: We create complete systems that we guarantee to work efficiently and last a long time.”

Whitlatch prides himself on looking at customers’ needs from an engineering standpoint.

“I go in with service eyes, not sales eyes,” he said. “In this industry, it’s all too common for companies to blindly throw new parts at a malfunctioning system, or replace it altogether, without having definitively identified the cause of the problem. I take it as a personal challenge to do the detective work needed to diagnose a problem. Without finding the true cause, a technician might only fix part of the issue — or, they might replace an expensive part that was perfectly good! We have a duty to our customers to do our due diligence when diagnosing a problem. We will always go out of our way to offer our customer a range of options, and guide rather than pressure you into the best choice.”

Whitlatch is very happy to have found his place in Sisters.

“When my wife, Emerald, and I were searching for a place to start our family together, Sisters was the obvious choice,” he told The Nugget. “The variety of natural beauty is incomparable, and so are the endless outdoor activities. Sisters’ relaxed Western town atmosphere reminds me of my roots, mining in the Northern California mountains. So many members of the local community have welcomed us as friends, and we are eager to give back.”

For more information visit https://sistersheatingair.com or email [email protected] For urgent assistance, call 541-588-5667 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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