Award for CLEARing up wasted data

Research by the University of Southampton into a project that analyses the environmental performance of companies has been recognised with an award from The Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM).

Professor Ian Williams and the five co-authors of the paper ‘Using company-level environmental reporting and information to promote effective implementation of environmental legislation’ were presented with the CIWM Waste Regulation Award at a ceremony held in Grosvenor Square in London yesterday (6 November 2014) afternoon.

The research looks into the Company Level Environmental Accountability Reporting and Information (CLEAR Info) project - an EU funded initiative for integrating and analysing data collected by the Environment Agency (EA), which has been trialled in the waste management sector.

Data held by the Environment Agency has historically been collected as and when new legislation comes into force. That means data has been held in isolated, disconnected data sets, making it difficult to form a comprehensive view across regulatory regimes or assess the environmental impact on a geographical area. Furthermore, the data held by the EA relates to around 500,000 businesses, many of which are subsidiaries owned by global parent companies based in over 30 countries.

The CLEAR Info project aims to integrate disjointed data to inform engagement between the regulator and companies, influence future decisions on sustainable investment, and increase compliance with EU legislation.

The University’s Professor Ian Williams worked with experts from the EA, Trucost (environment data specialists) and Eurosif (a not-for-profit that promotes sustainability through European financial markets) to report on trials of the project across businesses and sites owned by 12 large waste companies.

“The results have proved highly effective in helping to build constructive relationships with the biggest waste companies in the UK,” says Professor Williams. “They have also enabled more targeted regulatory interventions and empowered the business to take action.”

“I’m very pleased that the CIWM has chosen to recognise this research with the Waste Regulation Award as it has produced valuable findings that have led to improvements in compliance in the waste management sector.”

The judging panel of the Institution’s Education, Training and Membership Committee recommended that the award be given for the paper, which was prepared for the Sardinia 2013 Fourteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium.

This is the third time Professor Williams has won this award, having won it previously in 2012/13 and 2010.