GUIDANCE NOTE No.

32

Environmental
Regulation
FEBRUARY 2001

Introduction ISSUES COVERED:

Specific environmental legislation to date really only addresses The Nature of Regulation
industrial processes and only the waste disposal aspects of the
Effect of Regulations
Environmental Protection Act impinge directly on the day to day
management of shopping centres in a mandatory way. There is Documentation
however a growing awareness of environmental issues worldwide and
many directives, recommendations and standards exist which seek to
regulate our activities in order to achieve environmental objectives.
It is likely that many of these will be given legislative status
demanding mandatory compliance. It is appropriate therefore that
the shopping centre industry should be aware of the nature and CIRCULATION
objectives of environmental regulation.
1
The Nature of Regulation 2
Regulation exists at local, national, EEC and international levels. It can range from 3
detailed requirements of the local Environmental Health Officer, based upon individual
4
interpretation of national regulations, to international targets as set by the Montreal
Protocol, the Rio Summit 1992 and the Kyoto Climate Change Conference in 1998. 5
In addition there are ISO14000 and BREEAM. The objective of environmental
6
legislation in global, local and workplace terms may be classified as follows:
7
1. Global 8
The global objectives are aimed principally at reducing the potentially catastrophic
9
effects of global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer. Regulation seeks to
eradicate the use of CFCs and Halons and to reduce the use of HCFCS and other 10
ozone depleting gases, and to reduce emissions of CO2 and other harmful
pollutants. It also limits and controls the discharge and disposal of solid and liquid
pollutants/wastes. Other global issues include deforestation through unsustainable
forestry practices and acid rain caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and the
oxides of nitrogen.
This Guidance Note has been prepared
2. Local on the best advice available at the time
The objective is the creation of ‘good neighbourliness’ in any development. The of going to press. The note should
always be read in conjunction with local
concerns therefore are on appearance, scale, massing, overshadowing, economic procedures.
impact, traffic generation, access/egress, ecological impact, noise and other For further information about the
harmful (or anti-social) emissions. The reduction of quantities of waste produced Council, please contact BCSC,
1 Queen Anne’s Gate,
and what is done with the waste have become more important as space available London SW1H 9BT.
for landfill has reduced. Tel: 020 7222 1122
Fax: 020 7222 4440
Email: info@bcsc.org.uk
3 Workplace Web Site: www.bcsc.org.uk
Here the regulations are geared to the health and well-being of the building occupants Guidance notes prepared and issued by
be they workers or – in the case of shopping centres – visitors. Legislation covers such BCSC are intended as an aide memoir to
good practice in the design,
matters as air quality, lighting (luminance, glare, flicker) temperature and humidity, construction and management of
noise, hygiene and maintenance controls to avoid generation of harmful micro- shopping centres. They do not obviate
the need for specific and individual
organisms, controls on the use of hazardous materials such as asbestos, lead, urea research.
formaldehyde and hazards arising from contaminated land. ©BCSC 2000
Environmental Regulation
Effects of Regulations
Whilst the objectives may be simply stated their
achievement is not simple.
The global objective of reducing CO2 emissions for
example brings with it an array of regulations and
recommendations to control the use of energy.
These are not primarily geared to the preservation of
stocks of fossil fuel, though these are of course
finite, but more to reduce the CO2 emissions that
result from their consumption.
Furthermore whilst specific legislation may not exist
to cover certain situations, the generality of the
concept may be applied in assessment of proposals.
Thus in making a planning decision not only will
traffic generation in terms of road access and egress
be taken into account but also consideration will be
given to the consumption of fuel necessary to visit
the shopping centre and the consequent CO2
emissions. This argument is supported by Planning
Policy Guidance Notes PPG7 and PPG13, which are
particularly relevant to out-of-town retail proposals.
Similar concerns exist in assessing the operational
energy consumption of shopping centres and other
buildings and, whilst there are as yet few mandatory
controls on operational energy consumption, it is a
factor that may be embraced within the compass of
Environmental Impact Assessments required under
Planning legislation, The Environmental Protection
Act or the European Community Eco-Management
and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Regulation.
Developers are now encouraged to use Life Cycle
Analysis and Whole Life Costing of developments,
so that the energy and maintenance costs in both
economic and environmental terms are accounted for
within the concept and detailed design processes.
This can sometimes be hard to implement as it
typically involves an increased initial capital cost.
Another area of focus for Government activity
recently has been waste minimisation. The main
target is to reduce the amount of waste going to
landfill, as reflected by the introduction of landfill
tax, which is set to increase annually. Rethinking the
design, by increasing prefabrication, and by
introducing appropriate management procedures, can
eliminate some waste. Other waste can be reused or
recycled; whilst all waste should be separated into the
different statutory categories.
Original Guidance Note 16 published October 1993 – updated November 2000
BCSC 1 Queen Anne’s Gate London SW1H 9BT
Tel: 020 7222 1122 Fax: 020 7222 4440 E-mail: info@bcsc.org.uk Web: www.bcsc.org.uk
Documentation
The following is a schedule of relevant documentation
that currently exists to address environmental
concerns appropriate to the design, construction and
management of shopping centres.
Sustainable Retail Premises – an environmental guide
to design refurbishment and management of retail
premises
BRE 1999
Environmental Protection Act 1990
HMSO London
The Environment Act 1995
HMSO London
Fuel and Electricity (Heating) (Control) Order 1974
HMSO London
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
(COSHH) Regulations 1988
HMSO London
Noise at Work Regulations 1989
HMSO London
Directive 89/654EEC – ‘The Workplace Directive’
EEC/DOE London
EEC Regulations 594/91 on substances that deplete the
ozone layer (implements the Montreal Protocol on
CFCs etc)
EEC/DOE London
Environmental Issues in Construction, CIRIA Special
Publications 93 & 94 1993,
CIRIA London
ISO 14000 Environmental Management Systems
The Green Guide to Specification – initiated
and sponsored by the Post Office. is document
has been revised by BRE (Building Research
Establishment) It compares alternative
materials for building components such as
roofing and cladding.
There is a plethora of other documentation and the
scenarios are continuously changing. It is
recommended that a person in each organisation
should be made responsible for awareness of current
legislative and mandatory requirements.