FINAL REPORT Yorkshire Forward, Countryside Agency and Regional Partners The Environmental Economy of Yorkshire & The Humber June 2002 Environmental Resources Management Suite 8.01, 8 Exchange Quay Manchester M5 3EJ Telephone 0161 958 8800 Facsimile 0161 958 8888 Email [email protected] http://www.ermuk.com FINAL REPORT Yorkshire Forward, Countryside Agency and Regional Partners The Environmental Economy of Yorkshire & The Humber June 2002 Reference 8462 Prepared by: Alistair Fulton, Howard Walker, Stephen Turner, Marianne Zandersen For and on behalf of Environmental Resources Management Approved by: __________________________ Signed: ________________________________ Position: _______________________________ Date: __________________________________ This report has been prepared by Environmental Resources Management the trading name of Environmental Resources Management Limited, with all reasonable skill, care and diligence within the terms of the Contract with the client, incorporating our General Terms and Conditions of Business and taking account of the resources devoted to it by agreement with the client. 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CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 STUDY AIMS 1 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT 1 1.3 STUDY SCOPE 2 1.4 USE OF THE REPORT 5 1.5 COMPARISON WITH OTHER REGIONS 5 2 REGIONAL CONTEXT 7 2.1 INTRODUCTION 7 2.2 OVERVIEW OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMY 8 2.3 THE ENVIRONMENT IN YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER 11 2.4 REGIONAL POLICY CONTEXT 13 3 THE ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRY 17 3.1 OVERVIEW 17 3.2 BUSINESSES SUPPLYING ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AND SERVICES 17 3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN INDUSTRY 34 3.4 ENVIRONMENTAL POSTS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR 36 3.5 ENVIRONMENTAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS 37 3.6 NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANISATIONS 39 3.7 INTERMEDIATE LABOUR MARKETS 40 3.8 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT 40 3.9 ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION 41 3.10 SUMMARY 42 4 LAND BASED INDUSTRIES 43 4.1 INTRODUCTION 43 4.2 AGRICULTURE 45 4.3 FRESHWATER FISHERIES 64 4.4 COUNTRYSIDE SPORTS 69 4.5 FORESTRY 70 5 CAPITALISING ON A HIGH QUALITY ENVIRONMENT 77 5.1 INTRODUCTION 77 5.2 TOURISM 77 5.3 INWARD INVESTMENT 87 5.4 FILM AND MEDIA 89 5.5 QUALITY OF LIFE 92 5.6 HEALTH 96 5.7 HISTORIC HERITAGE 97 6 OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTOR GROWTH 101 6.1 INTRODUCTION 101 6.2 RECOMMENDED ACTIONS FOR SECTOR GROWTH 101 6.3 SUPPORTING GROWTH OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AND SERVICES 105 6.4 SUPPORTING GROWTH OF THE LAND BASED INDUSTRIES 115 6.5 CAPITALISING ON A HIGH QUALITY ENVIRONMENT 123 6.6 FURTHER WORK 130 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 STUDY AIMS ERM was appointed by the Countryside Agency, Yorkshire Forward, British Waterways, English Heritage, English Nature, the Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Groundwork and the National Trust to prepare a report examining The Environmental Economy of Yorkshire and the Humber. The geographic scope of the study was the Government Office region of Yorkshire and the Humber. In the interest of presenting a complete picture of the sector, no distinction was made between urban and rural areas. The aims of the study were to: x Identify and provide a robust quantification and qualification of the contribution of the environment to the regional economy; x Provide an analysis of the trends, drivers and potential for increasing this contribution in the future; and x Identify practical and sustainable actions for achieving future potential. 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT Following the introduction, which also sets out the scope of the study (see below), the report is structured into four additional sections. Section 2, focuses on the Regional Context, giving an overview of the economic setting and the environment of the Yorkshire and Humber region. Section 3 focuses on the Environmental Goods and Services Sector, and also includes those parts of the transport industry which fit within the scope of the study. Section 4 addresses the ‘land based industries’, including those land based activities such as agri-environment, organic farming, sustainable forestry, freshwater fisheries and countryside sports which are designed to bring about environmental improvements, as well as benefits such as diversification of rural economies and sustaining rural employment. Section 5, entitled Capitalising on a High Quality Environment, examines the areas of environmentally led tourism, inward investment and quality of life. Section 6 of this report shows a selection of opportunities included because these represent the most effective routes towards strengthening and growing the environmental economy in the region. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT YORKSHIRE FORWARD AND REGIONAL PARTNERS 1 There are several Annexes to this report. A glossary of acronyms is presented as Annex A to the report. A bibliography and list people who were contacted and/or who contributed appear as Annex B and Annex C respectively. 1.3 STUDY SCOPE Activities within the ‘environmental economy’ can be defined in terms of their relationship to environmental quality, according to one of the following criteria: x Activities which aim to protect or improve the environment; x Activities which generate income from environmental good practice; and x Activities which are dependent on a high quality environment. The report divides the environmental economy into three broad sections – the environmental goods and services sector, land based industries and capitalising on a high quality environment. Exactly what is included within the context of these terms is set out below. Activities in these three components of the environmental economy often have strong links with each other and the report identifies where these links occur and could be developed further in the future. The study covers the natural environment and historic environment. The scope is consistent with that used in similar studies in other regions of the UK including the South West, North East, East Midlands and West Midlands, allowing comparisons between regions. 1.3.1 The Environmental Goods and Services Sector The components of the Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) sector are shown in Box 1.1 below. These industries are those defined by the OECD’s Environmental Goods and Services Manual (1999) as being part of the environmental industry. The activities measure, prevent, limit, minimise or correct environmental damage to water, air and soil, as well as problems related to waste, noise and ecosystems. The use of this definition is broad enough to include industries of specific interest in terms of potential for growth (such as renewable energy and agricultural waste management) and also allows comparisons with the EGS sector in other regions to be made. This is important in terms of identifying regional strengths in the sector and actions to grow the sector. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT YORKSHIRE FORWARD AND REGIONAL PARTNERS 2 Box 1.1 Components of the Environmental Goods and Services Sector Air pollution control – The supply of air pollution control technologies and services, including gas scrubbers, dust collectors, incinerators; and installation and servicing of this equipment. Water & wastewater treatment – technologies including aeration systems, separation, chemical treatments, construction and operation of WWT systems, provision of drinking water and wastewater treatment services for industrial and domestic users. Solid waste management – services include waste collection, treatment, disposal, waste minimisation and regulatory advice, recycling (metals, plastics, compostables, glass, demolition & construction wastes etc) and technologies such as bins, shredders, compactors, waste management vehicles. Contaminated land remediation and physical regeneration – The supply of technologies and services for remediating contaminated land and groundwater; and bringing derelict land back into use. Environmental monitoring and instrumentation – technologies and services for measuring environmental quality and monitoring polluting emissions, including laboratory analysis. Energy management – Energy management and efficiency products and services such as energy audits, insulation in buildings, combined heat and power plants. Renewable energy – Technologies and services for the generation of renewable energy – including wind, biomass, photovoltaics and solar energy sources. Noise and vibration control – Technologies and services for monitoring and reducing noise and vibration. Technologies include mufflers and silencers and services such as noise monitoring. Process control and clean technologies – Supply of technologies and services to improve the environmental performance of manufacturing processes and minimise waste at source rather than adopting ‘end-of-pipe’ pollution control techniques. Environmental engineering and consulting services – Services including environmental management systems, life cycle assessment, environmental impact assessment, environmental regulations advice and sustainability appraisals. Landscape design & contracting – The supply of products and services for landscape improvement – including landscape