Warwick Emanuel PR: Press release
Public Sector congratulated for helping to create a cleaner and greener Wales
12 February 2010
Five public sector organisations from across Wales are celebrating after receiving awards for their achievements in helping the environment by minimising waste.
This year’s annual Wales Public Sector Conference included an awards ceremony for the first time. The awards were an opportunity to showcase and reward the successful environmental improvement, sustainability and resource efficiency campaigns and projects that are happening across the Welsh public sector.
The awards – which form part of Envirowise’s Public Sector Waste Minimisation Campaign which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government – are the first of their kind in the UK and Europe.
Envirowise received applications from organisations and individuals who, in their every day work life, make changes to reduce material waste.
The winners were;
- National Library for Wales - Resource Efficiency Excellence Award
- Coleg Llandrillo - Sustainability Award
- University of Wales Newport - Innovation Award
- City and County of Swansea, Corporate Building Services - Special Commendation for commitment to sustainability and waste reduction
- Jamie Lewis, Her Majesty’s Court Service - Green Star Champion Award
The Corporate Building Services Department at the City and County of Swansea won a special award for their commitment to sustainability in acknowledgement of the fact that since 2007 the local authority has developed more environmentally friendly ways of working. Their recycling figure has risen from 16% in 2007 to 67% in 2009 with financial savings of £430,000 a year.
Martin Nicholls at the City and County of Swansea said, “Our team has worked exceptionally hard to improve our sustainability and it is great to receive this recognition of our efforts. Our staff have really embraced the need to cut down on waste and while we now recycle everything that can be recycled we are still looking for ways to further reduce the amount of waste we generate.”
Ann Stevenson, Envirowise public sector programme director in Wales, said, “We received applications from across Wales and were very impressed with the high calibre of entries. We have always known that there is a lot of good work going on in the public sector and through the awards we have been able to congratulate and reward individuals and organisations who are doing especially well.
“This is the first time we have held these awards and we hope that they will go from strength to strength. We hope that by celebrating the public sector’s excellent achievements to date we will be able to encourage others to follow."
The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Jane Davidson, delivered the key note address at the event. She said, “These awards demonstrate the impressive progress already made by the public sector in respect of waste minimisation and resource efficiency.
“The public sector is a major instrument for change and we need to ensure that all departments in all public sector bodies adopt sustainable waste management practices in the future. I look forward to seeing the Welsh public sector continue to be a major player and driver in the achievement of our goals of One Planet One Wales and in helping us develop Wales’ economy sustainably.”
The conference was held in Millennium Stadium and was an opportunity for delegates to discuss ways of developing effective partnerships to achieve sustainable waste reductions and how to access innovation in the context of sustainability and resource efficiency in the public sector.
