Whilst the UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow last fall, the Environment Act 2021 gained Royal Assent (agreement) and has now been published. The goal of the Act is to seek to provide a post-Brexit legal framework for environmental governance and make provisions for improvements to the natural environment.
The Act is arguably the most significant piece of UK environmental legislation since the introduction of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) back in 1988, and it’s also fairly unique as it makes specific provisions for review and revision of requirements. This means it's a lot more to come in the form of more stringent requirements over time.
So, at the moment the Environmental Act 2021 might not affect your company, but as the Act evolves, it most probably will. In this blog post, we will walk you through what the Environmental Act is, how it so far can affect your company, and in which ways you can prepare for the upcoming changes. 
What is the Environmental Act 2021?
According to the UK Parliament, the Environmental Act 2021 is a bill to make provisions about:
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targets, plans, and policies for improving the natural environment
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statements and reports about environmental protection for the Office for Environmental Protection
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waste and resource efficiency
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the recall of products that fail to meet environmental standards
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air quality, water, nature, and biodiversity
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conservation covenants
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the regulation of chemicals
The Environmental Act 2021 is broken down into 7 key parts:
Parts 1 and 2: Environmental governance
Part 3: Waste and resource efficiency
Part 4: Air quality and environmental recall
Part 5: Water
Part 6: Nature and biodiversity
Part 7: Conservation covenants
What's coming in 2022?
While the Environment Act is now part of UK law, its required actions aren't happening all at once, or at least not all actions for all parties. A range of preparatory actions remain – actions that need to happen before further implementation of the wider legal framework, such as secondary legislation or regulations, will take place. So, depending on who you are, and which country you operate in, you may need to take action now or you may need to prepare for action in the near future.
Most significantly, in 2022 we will see further legislation in relation to many aspects of the Environment Act. The Act predominantly serves as an environmental framework, giving the government and relevant national authorities the power to make further regulations. The detail as to how these operate in practice will need to be dedicated in secondary legislation. Meaning that 2022 is likely to be a busy year in policy development. Which for you as a company means that it is important to stay up to date!
Up and coming for the UK government in 2022:
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The Act requires the UK government to set long-term environmental targets, of no less than 15 years, relating to air quality, water, biodiversity, resource efficiency and waste reduction. These targets must be laid before Parliament by 31 October 2022.
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The Act obliges the government to prepare a policy statement on these principles, explaining how they should be interpreted and proportionately applied when making policy. A draft policy statement was consulted in spring 2021 and we are still waiting on the government’s response.
What can you as a company do to prepare for the Environmental Act 2021?
Comply with UK REACH regulations
There’s a new Chemicals policy, regulated by UK REACH, the UK government’s regulatory tool for achieving risk control of chemicals in the UK. The aim of UK REACH includes providing a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the use of chemicals.
Under UK REACH (for businesses in Great Britain), manufacturers and importers must register chemicals that access the market in Great Britain.
You must review your:
- role in the EU REACH system
- role in the UK REACH system
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current supply chains
The easiest way to make sure you are complying correctly with the UK REACH regulations is to follow the UK government guidelines to see exactly what you need to do to comply with the new regulations.
The Act states that chemical businesses operating in Great Britain already have provided initial information to UK REACH. However, the UK government has announced that the deadlines for providing the full registration data under UK REACH are to be extended and consultation on such deadlines will take place during 2022.
Prepare for Plastic Taxes
The UK government is also introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022, set at £200 per tonne, on plastic packaging which doesn’t meet a minimum threshold of at least 30% recycled content.’ A clear push towards a more recycled future.
The Act contains a provision that allows for charges to be levied against sellers of single-use items, both plastic and non-plastic. This inclusion recognizes the need to move away from a “throwaway culture” more widely, as well as the importance of taking into account the use (and impact) of replacement non-plastic single-use products.
Through the Act, the government is bringing in a wide range of further measures to tackle plastic pollution and litter, including introducing a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, where a small deposit placed on plastic bottles is intended to incentivize people to recycle. Furthermore, the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme will oblige packaging producers to cover the full cost of recycling and disposing of their packaging, and plans for Consistent Recycling Collections for every household and business in England will ensure more plastic is recycled.
Get control of your supply chain
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, is consulting on plans to address the UK supply chain’s links to illegal deforestation, including due diligence requirements for forest risk commodities such as cocoa, beef, soy, coffee, maize, and palm oil.
Measures outlined in the Act will make it illegal for large companies in the UK to use these forest risk commodities if they have not been produced in line with local laws on forest use.
So, we recommend getting ahead of the Act and thoroughly looking into your company's supply chain, make sure that if your company uses these soon to be illegal forest risk commodities, they are in line with all the appropriate local laws on forest use. You might even consider moving your utilities away from these risk areas.
To get full control of your organization's and supply chain’s resource and waste management, effect on biodiversity, or human rights processes and risks, Worldfavor’s platform might just be for you. Book a personal demo today to hear how Worldfavor’s solutions can help you to gain the insight you need to drive sustainable decisions and comply with the Environmental Act, as well as with other regulations that apply to your organization.
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