National Occupational Standards for Sustainability

Nuclear Advisory Council17th November 2009

What is meant by ‘Sustainable Development’?

‘Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability

of future generations to meet their own needs’

Five Government principles:

1. Live within environmental limits2. Ensure a strong, healthy and just society 3. A sustainable economy where polluters pay and

efficiency is rewarded4. Use sound science responsibly5. Promote good Governance

Government key priority areas

• Sustainable consumption• Natural resource protection• Provide sustainable communities for people • Climate change and energy

Sustainability in actionIn the food and drink sector for example:

• Burtons foods have reduced its carbon emissions by 10 % since 1999 through investment in more efficient ovens and boilers and by raising staff awareness

• Muller UK – by introducing a systems of waste segregation has reduced the amount of waste going to Landfill by one 1/3 since 2006 (1000 tonnes/annum)

• Britvic invested £750 at their Leeds factory in some simple water saving devices and saved 25 million litres of water a year on just one production line

• Cadbury – by rationalising their transport and distribution system Cadbury aim to reduce their road miles by 4.7 million a saving of 15 % on haulage costs.

National Occupational Standards

• What is a NOS?– Reflect what people do in their job– Define what is competence for a given function– Split into 1) underpinning knowledge and 2) skill to do the job

• What are they used for?– Used for training and development– Basis for qualifications– Underpin job descriptions

Cogent’s NOS project – What will we achieve?

• We will to collect the existing NOS which have been developed so far for sustainability

• We will tailor these to suit our industries and develop more where necessary

• We will explore how the standards can support training and development through inclusion in the Gold Standard

Existing NOS

Sustainability NOS have already been developed by Improve (food & drink) and Lantra (land-based industries)

Sustainability standards typically cover:

•Energy usage

•Transport

•Water usage

•Waste management

•Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Scope of standards

Level 4+ Develop Sustainability Strategy

Strategic development and control

Level 3/4 Manage/implement sustainable practices

Specific skills, knowledge and understanding

Level 2 Contribute to sustainable practices

General awareness of sustainability issues

Consultations

• Consultation events25th November – Warrington1st December – Inverness2nd December – Edinburgh

• Review the Sustainability standards online via the Cogent website www.cogent-ssc.com

• For more information contact Cogent Project Lead – Dawn Hillier 01925 515211 or Consultant – Patrick McDaniel 01379 676545