The scope of this Environmental Policy covers the management of activities carried out by the South Wales Trunk Road Agent at Llandarcy, St Clears and Wilcrick, relating to Business and Facility Management, Asset Management, and the roles of Network Delivery Operations. The Policy will aim to be broadly compatible with both Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council's Environmental Strategy & Policy, of which it is a Division, and that of the Welsh Government.
The South Wales Trunk Road Agent acts on behalf of the Welsh Government and as a result is responsible for delivering services in line with the Trunk Road Estate Biodiversity Action Plan (Environmental Development Plan TBA) and the Wales Transport Strategy, “Connecting the Nation”. The Agent will continually improve on environmental performance by annually reviewing and setting targets for achieving environmental objectives. The policy is to review all operations to reduce all forms of waste systematically. Operational guidance affecting environmental issues, which directly influences the commissioning of work, is obtained from both the National Assembly for Wales Trunk Road Maintenance Manual (WGTRMM) and the Trunk Road Maintenance Manual.
The Environmental Management System addresses SWTRA’s impact on the natural and built environment and environmental screening systems encourage the consideration of opportunities for improvement. This links directly into the Welsh Government Strategic Aims and Key Objectives in Annex 1 of the Service Information in Welsh Government Managing Agent Agreement 2.
The Senior Management Team of SWTRA is committed to the protection of the environment, including the identification of and compliance with all relevant legal requirements regarding the environment along with other requirements to which the organisation subscribes which relate to its environmental impacts. As with all commitments, there will be the necessary resources allocated to develop and implement the policies, procedures and practical measures to ensure these commitments can be attained.
The policy is implemented via organisational structures and responsibilities to ensure that:
- All relevant environmental requirements are met;
- There are adequate resources to ensure compliance; and
- Progress is monitored.
The Head of SWTRA and the Senior Management Team have ultimate responsibility for the environmental policy and performance including compliance with the environmental requirements.
The environmental policy commits SWTRA to:
Communicating the Message
- To ensure that all employees of SWTRA have training in understanding their responsibilities to the Environmental Management System.
- To ensure that all partners and suppliers are aware of SWTRA’s policies with regards to environmental management.
- To ensure that awareness is raised with the public.
Upholding and enforcing legal requirements and strategic objectives
- Preventing pollution from the activities it is responsible for.
- Protecting the biodiversity of sites with designated SSI status, or containing protected species and the environment in general.
- Compliance with applicable environmental legal requirements and any other requirements to which the organization subscribes which relate to its environmental aspects.
To raising standards
- Continually improve its environmental performance through the implementation of an ISO 14001 environmental management system.
- Documenting, implementing and maintaining an environmental management system which will be certified by a UKAS accredited third party registration body.
- Review and set its environmental objectives and targets at the beginning of each financial year, or as the awareness of areas requiring improvement arise.
SWTRA’s services are about commissioning Design Briefs and Task Orders, which lead to the maintenance and enhancement of the Trunk Road System. Key Processes manage Accidents and Emergencies, defect inspections/reports, cyclical structural inspections, traffic, civil engineering and the release of capital expenditure projects by the Welsh Government. The overall approach encourages the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices to deliver a sustainable business.