Update on progress towards a Defra single resource efficiency body

Background

As announced by Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment on 25th March 2009, Defra is bringing together under the umbrella of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) a range of specialist material and resource efficiency bodies. The purpose of this consolidation is to provide a one stop shop to help make it simpler and easier for businesses, industry and households to quickly access information and practical advice about the benefits of implementing resource efficiency measures as well as support other initiatives aimed at creating a low carbon and greener society.

The organisations and programmes involved in this process are WRAP, Envirowise, BREW Centre for Local Authorities, Centre for Reuse and Remanufacturing, Construction Waste and Resource Platform, National Industrial Symbiosis Programme and Action Sustainability. It is planned to complete the unification of the services currently provided by these bodies by April 2010, yielding in excess of an estimated £4m in efficiency savings from 2010-2011 onwards.

The landscape consolidation aims at the following:

• streamlining delivery bodies' engagement with SMEs, local government, key sectors and across the resource efficiency loop;
• aligning national and regional delivery and ensuring coordinated consistent services between national programmes and RDAs;
• developing an integrated communications strategy across the landscape to ensure consistent messaging;
• improving the strategic policy/delivery partnership and adopting a more robust, strategic approach to performance management.

Recent developments

Defra has defined the strategic direction of the single delivery body around the following four key areas:

1. Minimising waste and resource use and developing sustainable design;
2. Offering practical advice and guidance to help businesses become resource efficient;
3. Developing markets for recovered, recycled and remanufactured materials and energy from waste;
4. Working with local authorities to reduce waste sent to landfill

The new body will be delivered through a combination of building on the capacity and skills currently existing within WRAP, combined with the use of framework contracts and outsourcing. This will ensure greater future flexibility by making it easier to adjust priorities and funding in response to changing needs.

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