The Agency has established a database to assist us in this process. The environmental demands made in tenders will increase over time and those companies that embrace the concept of sustainable business development will be most likely be able to meet those demands in the future. In addition to the future business offered by the Environment Agency, there are other very good reasons for involving environmental issues in business decisions. 1 Legislation Environmental issues are increasingly more significant for individuals, companies and governments. This legislation will grow and companies that do not act positively now will find themselves having to make large investments to comply with new legislation in the future, whilst companies that have already dealt with the issues through good environmental practices introduced over time will have gained a competitive advantage.
Many environmental issues relate to waste and inefficiencies.
The use of energy is a significant contributor to environmental damage. A third reason for adopting good environmental practices relates to the discussion amongst purchasers in companies and local authorities about how to include environmental demands in purchasing decisions following the Rio Conference of 1992. The Conference produced a policy document called 'Agenda 21' to which the UK Government is committed. This requires local authorities to work towards a sustainable society and in doing so, many are realising that they must consider the environmental impact of their purchases and should use their purchasing power to influence the market to adopt better environmental practices. There are also good public relations benefits from being seen to be environmentally friendly, as has been demonstrated already by several major companies.