Environmental policy statement

Natural Resources Wales is a Welsh Government Sponsored Body whose vision is “Nature and people thriving together”. Focussing passion and collective action towards, nature’s recovery, resilience to climate change and minimising pollution through the sustainable management of our natural resources.

The scope of our Environmental Management System includes; “All activities and services associated with the sustainable management of the environment and the natural resources of Wales.”

Through our wide range of roles and responsibilities which include; adviser, regulator, designator, responder, statutory consultee, evidence gatherer, manager, operator, partner, educator and enabler throughout Wales, specifically, we will:

• Protect, restore and connect nature and integrate nature recovery in decision making.
  
  
• Minimise the greenhouse gas emissions from all our operations and activities and enable nature and communities to be resilient to climate change.
  
  
• Ensure pollution is prevented, minimise the amount of waste we generate and minimise the use of harmful materials we use.
  
  
• Fulfil all relevant compliance and other obligations to minimise our environmental impact.
  
  
• Provide a framework for setting environmental objectives and to monitor and review progress against our targets to reduce energy, water and resource consumption.
  
  
• Promote a high level of environmental awareness and best practice amongst our employees and stakeholders, integrating environmental management into training and communications.
  
  
• Procure goods and services from sustainable sources and encourage our suppliers and contractors to improve their environmental performance.
  
  
• Continue to meet the requirements of the United Kingdom Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) to demonstrate that our forest ecosystems are sustainably managed.
  
  
• Continually monitor and improve the Environmental Management System through our internal audit and top management review programmes to enhance the organisation’s environmental performance.
  
  
• Operate an Environmental Management System that is certified to the ISO14001 environmental standard and helps to protect the environment.

We will publish this policy on the Natural Resources Wales website and make it available to all interested parties. 

Signed by: Clare Pillman, Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales                   
Date of Issue: 1 July 2023