BATC plays a vital and active role in the development and implementation of environmental policy for the clothing and textile industries. The bulk of the activity is carried out via the BATC Environment Committee.
The Committee itself consists of industrialists, retailers and dyestuff suppliers as well as experts from the various trade bodies that make-up the membership of BATC. It also has representatives from the carpet industry, the leather industry and from testing houses.
The original aim of the Committee, when it was established some 15 years ago, was to help the industry meet the demands of the growing volume of environmental regulations. But in recent years it has become increasingly pro-active. Today, as well as helping industry respond to Government initiatives, the Environment Committee works with various Government Departments and Agencies, debating policy and helping to shape workable legislation.
This means the Committee maintains a regular dialogue with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and it is consulted by it on a wide number of issues. Recently, as a result of this relationship, the Committee oversaw the establishment of a voluntary ban on the use of nonylphenol ethoxylates.
It also meets regularly with the Environment Agency to monitor developments on issues such as the Water Framework Directive. The Committee worked very closely with the Agency during the establishment of the Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control legislation, ensuring that the criteria established by the Agency were sensible and achievable so that the Industry was able to comply with this important piece of environmental regulation.
The Committee also collaborated with Government to ensure there was a workable rate for business on the Climate Change Levy. Since 2001, the Committee has helped the textile sector meet all of its energy reduction targets, eliminating the emission of over 300,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere and saving the industry in excess of £35 million.
Other recent activities of the Committee have included securing over £40,000 of funding for energy saving efficiencies for companies in Yorkshire, running best practice seminars on energy savings and helping run a benchmarking scheme for boiler efficiency.
Environmental factors will remain a key issue for industry and its supply chain over the coming years. Therefore, the aim of the Committee is to play an ever more active role in the debate. It will continue to ensure environmental standards are met and indeed, at times, are set higher; but it will also work to stop this being to the detriment of UK businesses, many of whose competitors have few, if any, such standards to meet.
