UK Business Information / Environmental regulations
One of the most comprehensive sites for legislation relevant to SMEs is NetRegs. Most of the environmental information needed by UK businesses is featured here. A partnership between all the main UK environmental regulators, NetRegs provides information relevant to businesses in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Businesses can search for environmental legislation on the NetRegs website, either by industry or environmental topic.
One of the website's drawbacks, acknowledged by NetRegs is that it does not provide environmental guidance on any of the following issues: Archaeology, building regulations, pollution prevention and control, food safety and hygiene, flooding and health & safety. However, links are provided on this page to other organisations dealing with these issues.
The Environment Agency is the official body that deals with environmental regulation in England and Wales
Unless there is a specific environmental issue you are concerned about, the easiest way to search for legislation affecting your business is by sector. Industries covered include: Agriculture; Chemicals; Construction; Food and Drink; Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism; Nuclear; Office industries and Textiles.
The Environment Agency also has a section detailing how to apply for environmental permits and licenses in England and Wales.
The Scottish counterpart of the Environment Agency is the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), as the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is for Northern Ireland. Both websites detail environmental legislation specific to those regions.
NIEA divides its information for businesses up into five main categories: Better Regulation; Water; Waste Management; Pollution and Planning & Development. Legislation and environmental aims are listed under these headings.
SEPA groups its Scottish-specific legislation into a number of topic headings, including: Air; Climate Change; Flooding; Land; Planning; radioactive Substances; Waste and Water. Clicking on any of these topics reveals further menus giving specific guidance, targets and action plans set by SEPA.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA is a government body focused partly on improving the environment in the UK. While there is some useful information on DEFRA's website, much of it is liable to change as it is a government department and a new government has recently come into power. In time, DEFRA's advice for on the environment and business will be a useful resource.
Another useful website concerning environmental legislation is the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA). This charitable organisation focuses solely on environmental law. More than half of its elected 20-person council are lawyers, at any given time.
As such, there is a comprehensive section of the UKELA website, Environmental Law, detailing any legislation on environmental issues. Of particular interest to businesses in these sectors will be information on Biotechnology and Nanotechnology.
