Author: Peacock Carter

The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland is once again sponsoring one of the country’s top environmental awards campaigns.

The Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice began in 1994 and winners can also represent Scotland in the European Business Awards for the Environment, as the Green Apple Awards is one of the few accredited feeder schemes into this Brussels-led initiative.

There is no entry fee and the top prize is a trip for two to the world’s greenest resort – AquaCity in Slovakia.

Winners will also be invited to collect their trophies at a glittering presentation ceremony in Edinburgh – and automatically progress into the UK finals.

Free entries close on April 30, and the annual campaign aims to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice.

See the attached document for more information and entry details

New online resource efficiency tool to help Scottish organisations unlock savings worth millions

A new online planning tool launched this month by Resource Efficient Scotland can help Scottish businesses and public sector organisations to unlock savings worth millions of pounds.

The new tool called ‘The Savings Finder’ enables organisations to understand the opportunities that exist to make more efficient use of resources in their organisation while providing practical advice to help them make savings.

Decision makers just need to complete a quick online questionnaire on current resource use to receive instant access to a comprehensive report highlighting the cost saving opportunities tailored for their organisation.

The report provides organisations with a scored performance assessment to give users an indication of how well their organisation is doing in terms of how efficiently they are using their raw materials, energy and water.  It also includes an action plan explaining how they can implement steps to improve their resource efficiency.

In addition, the tool signposts to the latest free tools, resources and sources of funding which are available from Resource Efficient Scotland to help organisations implement their recommended actions.

“This tool is easy for companies to use and has been designed to provide simple, straightforward advice to help small and medium sized enterprises and other organisations save money,” said Marissa Lippiatt, Head of Resource Efficient Scotland, a Scottish Government-funded scheme delivered by Zero Waste Scotland..

“We’ve calculated that Scottish organisations could save as much as £2.9 billion every year by making more efficient use of their resources – around £7,000 for every organisation in Scotland.  By helping decision makers generate their own resource efficiency action plans, The Savings Finder will play a vital role helping organisations achieve those savings.

The first of its kind in the UK, the Savings Finder gives all Scottish organisations instant access to expert advice and complements our wider package of online, telephone and onsite support.”

See the attached document for a lot more information

The Autumn 2013 edition of Environmental Health Scotland, the REHIS Journal, can be accessed by Members by clicking on the link Autumn Journal 2013   

REHIS Conference 2014

 The Council of the Institute has agreed that this year’s annual conference will be held at the Royal College of Surgeons’ Edinburgh in Edinburgh on 7 and 8 May. The Annual Conference is the principal Environmental Health event to take place in Scotland and provides an opportunity to reflect on current and future approaches to protecting and improving the health and well-being of the Scottish people and to renew friendships and make new ones. See the attached flyer for more information. 

ROY EMERSON AWARD – INAUGURAL ESSAY COMPETITION

Students who are affiliated with IFEH Member Countries or our Academic Association members are invited to submit a 2000-2500 Word Essay and accompanying power-point presentation.

ESSAY TITLE: “The Climate Change Challenge”… engaging the Environmental HealthPractitioner

See attached document for more information and visit the IFEH website for full details – www.ifeh.org

The adverts for these two key senior posts can be accessed via the recruitment portal on the home page of the website.

If you would like further information on these posts please don’t hesitate to contact me at tb@.

Tom Bell

Chief Executive

The deadline for 2013  CPD submissions is 31 January 2014. Please note: The CPD Regulations require the submission of corroborating evidence of participation in all CPD activities

Members can keep an electronic record of their CPD activities on the website.This can be achieved by clicking on “My account” and then on “My CPD Entries” and by following the relevant links.Information entered here will be transferred onto a REHIS CPD form which can be downloaded as a pdf file and then printed. Adobe Reader is required for this task.Download it at http://get.adobe.com/reader/

The completed list of CPD activities can then be printed out and sent to REHIS along with the required corroborating evidence for all CPD activities.

Members who wish to complete the CPD card manually can download a blank copy which is available in the Members’ area of the website.

The President, members of Council and members of staff at REHIS wish everyone in the Scottish and International environmental health community a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A new Joint Award, between Albion Environmental Limited (AEL) and REHIS, was signed off by Alasdair Meldrum (AEL) and Tom Bell (REHIS) in Edinburgh on Thursday 5 December this year.

This Joint Award “Training in the Waste and Resource Sector” aims to provide course candidates with background knowledge in the environmental legislation which affects the sector.

The waste and resource management sector includes all individuals, businesses and organisations involved in reuse, recycling and recovery of resources.

The award covers two courses:

An Introduction to Waste Management Legislation – This one-day course is designed to provide candidates with a basic understanding of the legislation relating to the waste and resource sector. It is aimed at supervisors and staff who have some responsibility for ensuring compliance with environmental legislation.

Working with Waste Management Legislation – This two-day course is designed to provide candidates with the necessary level of understanding of the legislation to allow them to identify, implement and comply with the waste management legislation relevant to their organisation.

These courses add a new dimension to the existing suite of REHIS Joint Awards and I commend Alasdair and Graham for all their endeavours in developing the courses from a what was a ‘good idea’ to the high quality accredited training experience now available to workers in the waste and resource management sector. Tom Bell, Chief Executive.

For further details contact Graham Walker, Director of Training at REHIS, 19 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8HX or by telephone on 0131 229 2968 or by email at gw@

The photographs taken at the Annual Award Ceremony on 14 November are now available for viewing and downloading, click on the link Annual Award Ceremony 2013
The presentations given at the Environmental Health Update on 15 November are available for viewing and downloading, click on the link Environmental Health Update presentations 

The VTEC/E.coli O157 Action Plan 2013-2017 has been published this morning and is available on the Scottish Government website.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/11/8897

By way of background, in 2010 Scottish Ministers decided to convene a multidisciplinary VTEC/E. coli O157 Action Group. The Group’s main remit has been to produce an Action Plan for Scotland.  The Group brought together all relevant agencies with expertise and regulatory responsibilities in controlling potential sources of human infection.  The Action Plan aims to reduce the number of infections with VTEC/E. coli O157 through 86 recommendations attributed to key agencies.  The Action Group adopted a new approach, using a systematic logical framework to describe each stage in the pathways of transmission of the organism from animal to human case. This has provided strategic direction for the wide range of key partners to collaborate on the implementation of practical recommendations that aim to reduce the risk of infection based on current evidence of effectiveness. It also provides a comprehensive framework that will be used by the Action Plan Group to monitor compliance with and effectiveness of interventions to control VTEC/E. coli O157.

These recommendations have been accepted by Scottish Ministers which now fall on the Scottish Government to carry out, and we are looking to the other agencies involved to ensure that consistent and effective action is taken to deliver those actions for which they are responsible.  There are recommendations within the Action Plan which require input and action from your organisation and the Scottish Government is seeking your co-operation to deliver these in conjunction with the VTEC/E.coli O157 Action Group.

Should you wish to discuss further please contact Simon Cuthbert-Kerr, Health Protection Team, Scottish Government – simon.cuthbert-kerr@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

The Environmental Health Update is a free to members CPD training event and precedes the Institute’s Annual General Meeting which will be held on the afternoon of Friday 15 November 2013 at 2.00pm at the Apex International Hotel, 31-35 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2HS

The Annual General Meeting is a Members only event.

See the attached document for more information,a programme and a registration form.