Environmental Representatives are crucial to creating greener workplaces

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By Jane McCannGreen Jobs

Recently Green issues have been at the forefront of the media, from the G20 Summit and the marches in London to the new Climate Act and the first “green” budget. There is a growing consciousness that we live on a planet which has finite resources and that changes in the political, industrial and environmental landscape may gradually be affected on a scale perhaps not experienced since the Industrial Revolution. This change will incorporate the need for new skills and technologies as organisations adapt and emerge to meet the challenges of climate change and sustainability.

Within this process and importantly at its outset, Trade Union Environmental Representatives have a pivotal role to play, working with organisations and members promoting environmental performance, building a just infrastructure, negotiating Environmental Workplace Agreements and engaging in training. Financial pressures on organisations at this time and for the foreseeable future mean that Environmental Reps working with employers to reduce costs by implementing environmental measures, are able to work towards keeping members in employment whilst encouraging employers towards tackling climate change and embracing a sustainable culture.

Environmental Representatives are able to work with employers, managers, staff and other stakeholders. They can engage in training and environmental awareness raising and by seeking to establish Sustainability Committees (similar to Health and Safety Committees) in each workplace environmental issues can be raised and discussed regularly. They can also seek implementation of monitoring procedures against measurable targets and undertake environmental audits.

The GMB Trade Union has currently identified five priority areas that Environmental Representatives can seek to promote within the majority of workplaces. These are, Energy, Food and Water, Transport, Procurement, Recycling and Waste.

The GMB Workplace Environmental Policy confirms that Environmental Representatives are committed to the following goals: evaluating the environmental impact of all activities, seeking to use energy wisely and efficiently, sourcing energy from low carbon supplies, achieving sustainable use of resources, maximising the use of renewable and recyclable materials, minimising pollution and waste, promoting the use of products and processes that have the least environmental impact, reducing travel and the use of public or sustainable transport where possible. Other goals include: providing mains fed water in accessible and convenient forms, working with third parties (eg: contractors) to minimise environmental impact, to publicise information on environmental policy and performance, to exceed where possible regulatory and legislative requirements and to regularly audit and review all activities and practices.

There is no existing legislation at present which allows Trade Unions to elect Environmental Representatives with paid facility time to carry out this crucial role although they already exist in some organisations albeit with the voluntary agreement of the employer. As over half of carbon emissions are work related Environmental Representatives are perfectly situated to act as Green Champions within a workplace, raising awareness of environmental issues amongst members and employers alike and working closely with other elected Representatives.

The facilities and time-off granted to Health and Safety Reps and also Union Learning Reps should also be made available to Environmental Reps including provision of time-off for training. This has been supported by the TUC who published the “Just Transition” pamphlet, “A Green and Fairer Future” which called for the government to grant these statutory rights. Similarly the need for Environmental Reps is also supported by organisations such as Campaign against Climate Change and Friends of the earth. The environmental challenge to Trade Unions themselves is not new, in times past, the pollution from the London smog, now almost forgotten and Britain’s rivers all needed regulation and legislation for collective action in order to effect change.

With the many challenges of climate change facing our world in the future, and the subsequent impact upon the workplace it makes sense to ensure that Environmental Representatives are trained and available to play their part.

The Green future is now….. and we are standing on the brink of responding to this challenge in the spirit of Trade Unions everywhere – working together towards securing a cleaner, greener, world of social and economic justice for our children.

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