environmental focus 15


Fines for environmental crimes – the gloves are off


The common theme running through the recent changes to legislation and guidelines on sentencing is that large businesses must step up their efforts to improve their regulatory compliance, or else potentially pay a hefty price, says Penningtons Manches environmental law partner Richard Smith


In the past, less serious regulatory offences were tried in the magistrates’ courts, where the cap on fines at £20,000 proved to be a mere slap on the wrists for big businesses. Now, however, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 gives magistrates powers to issue unlimited fines.


The Court of Appeal decision in R v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2015] illustrates the new, tougher sentencing judges are willing to impose. At first instance, the court found Thames Water to have been negligent in its failure to replace faulty pumps, which ultimately led to the discharge of untreated sewage into a National Trust nature reserve. Thames Water appealed the judgment, but it was upheld


by the Court of Appeal. This is the first case of its kind to come before a court since the Sentencing Council published its new Definitive Guideline for Environmental Offences in July 2014.


The Court of Appeal rejected the mechanistic approach used by the initial court to calculate the appropriate fine to impose on Thames Water, classified as a ’very large’ organisation by virtue of its £1.9 billion turnover. Instead, it focused on the purposes behind sentencing, as set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which requires that the financial circumstances of the offender are considered before determining the appropriate fine. The judgment underlines that the penalty imposed should bring home to the


management and shareholders the need to protect the environment.


The second important point to highlight from the judgment is the consideration of both aggravating and mitigating factors. Weight will be given to previous convictions while there are certain specific ways in which companies can behave which will significantly reduce the level of penalty imposed. Companies are expected to hold up their hands following any wrongdoing and face the consequences of their actions.


The change in attitude is most likely to affect non-compliant businesses with a turnover exceeding £50 million but is also expected to influence decisions on


Going to great lengths not to leave its mark


For Raymond Brown reducing its environmental impacts is not just helping the group to meet its regulatory commitments and enhancing its image in the industry, it is also resulting in significant economic benefits for the group and its shareholders by reducing costs and maintaining profitability.


Stuart Harris, group director, commented: “Our commitment to achieving environmental excellence as well as health, safety and quality in all of our business practices and operations remains our first priority. Testament to this is our ISO 14001 accreditation for environmental management, which we are renewing this year.“


Raymond Brown is actively striving to reduce its environmental impact in several areas – one of which is its carbon footprint. Ensuring that data-collection processes are rigorous is key to this; increasing the data the company has available enables informed decisions – in particular with reducing energy consumption.


taxes. Last year the site achieved recycling rates of 96%.


Raymond Brown’s IBA processing facility at Ardley


For example, on-site fuel and energy consumption on projects represents 62% of company carbon footprint, so this is a key area of focus.


Raymond Brown’s company car fleet replacement programme is significantly reducing carbon emissions and achieving greater fuel economy. The fleet is now fully replaced with the latest-generation Volkswagen BlueMotion cars which include innovative energy-saving technologies. Over the past four years carbon emissions on the


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – DECEMBER 15/JANUARY 16


group’s company car fleet have been reduced by over 20%.


In an effort to reduce car use, Raymond Brown has also successfully introduced a cycle-to- work scheme which has already been taken up by 5% of employees.


Aggregate recycling is another area of focus and Raymond Brown operates a modern facility in Hampshire. This processes inert waste and is segregated into sand, aggregates and top soil for re-sale back into the market, thereby avoiding any aggregate or landfill


The group is currently operating state-of-the-art processing plants in partnership with Veolia in Hampshire and Viridor in Oxfordshire to produce an incinerated bottom ash (IBA) aggregate. It recycles 105,000 tonnes of Hampshire’s incinerator bottom ash per year, diverting it from landfill and creating a quality secondary aggregate used as a sub base for construction.


There are no aggregate taxes applied to IBA, and investments continue to be made to develop the Raymond Brown IBA processing plants to improve screening and recovery of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.


Raymond Brown currently operates three waste transfer stations, and one of its most recent investments is a state-of-the-art A303 materials recovery facility. This achieves recycling rates of over 90% from materials such as wood, plastics, textiles, bricks, concrete and cardboard.


www.businessmag.co.uk


fines for organisations with a lower turnover.


Not only must a company’s systems be sufficiently robust to avert the risk of committing regulatory offences; when breaches do occur, it must be able to take swift action to mitigate the harm caused, and the corresponding penalties imposed.


Details: Richard Smith 01865-722106 richard.smith@penningtons.co.uk www.penningtons.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44