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Corporate Plan 2012–2017 UPDATED 2014 Contents Corporate Plan 2012–2017 UPDATED 2014 Contents Chairman and Chief Executive’s foreword .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Scotland’s environment ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 What we do ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 How we will change ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 About this plan .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................7 Our outcomes ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Our values ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................9 Our strategic objectives ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................10 Our contribution to the National Performance Framework .................................................................................................................................................11 Scotland’s environment is protected and improving ..............................................................................................................................................................14 Scotland’s environment is understood and SEPA is an influential and respected authority .....................................................................................20 Scotland is preparing for a sustainable future and is taking steps to limit climate change .....................................................................................26 SEPA is a high performance organisation ..................................................................................................................................................................................30 Financial resources 2012–2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................37 Measuring our performance ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................39 Alternative languages and formats This document is available in alternative languages and formats on request. To arrange this, please contact SEPA. Tel: 01786 457700 and ask for our Equality Specialist, or E-mail: [email protected] 2 Chairman and Chief Executive’s foreword Our corporate plan sets out our strategic outcomes and objectives, and how we intend to deliver them, over a five year period. Five years is a long time in a world which is changing rapidly and dramatically; in terms of our environment, economy, politics and human society. We recognise this, and it was always our intention to review our corporate plan about half way through its delivery period to ensure it remains both up-to-date and fit-for-purpose. A lot has indeed changed for us since we published our corporate plan in 2012; in the way we regulate, in the way we resolve environmental problems, in our partnership working, in how we carry out our science, in how we communicate environmental information, in how we protect communities, and in how we run our own operations. We need to take full account of these changes, and further anticipated changes, in planning our work up to 2017. Earlier this year, the Scottish Parliament passed the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which established for the first time a David Sigsworth general purpose for SEPA: to protect and improve Scotland’s environment and, in doing so, also to enhance the health and wellbeing Chairman of the people of Scotland, and contribute to a successful economy. We have always said that our environment, our economy, and our health and wellbeing are inextricably linked and interdependent, and this has always been the basis of our approach, so we are pleased that our general purpose re-affirms both our understanding and our commitment. Our environment provides the raw materials, energy, and ecosystem services on which we all depend, so protecting and improving our environment is in everybody’s interest, and is everybody’s responsibility. So, increasingly, our approach is not to deal with environmental challenges and opportunities in isolation, but to see them as something in which everyone has a stake, and in which everyone has a role to play. More and more we are working with others to gather and analyse evidence to inform our actions; more and more we are working in partnership to deliver clear outcomes for our environment, our economy, and our health and wellbeing; more and more we are providing publicly accessible data and information to protect communities and encourage and support positive environmental actions; and more and more we are engaging with communities and interest groups to help us deliver the sort of environmental improvements which people really value. All of this has to be reflected clearly in our corporate plan, which is essentially our contract with the Scottish Government and with the people of Scotland, and sets out how we intend to achieve our ambition of being a genuinely world leading environment protection agency. James Curran We hope you will find our approach both meaningful and relevant to you, whoever you are, and that you will continue to work with Chief Executive us towards sustainable development in Scotland. 3 Scotland’s environment A clean and healthy environment is essential to our health and wellbeing, as well such as breaking down waste, pollination of crops, storage of flood waters and as to sustainable economic growth. It is also fundamental to Scotland’s identity, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. from our distinct landscapes to our iconic national products such as whisky, tourism, Clean air, productive land and excellent water quality cannot be taken for granted. hydropower and fishing. Scotland has more than 30,000 lochs, more than 100,000km Human activities, such as industry, agriculture, fishing, housing and infrastructure of rivers and more than 11,800km of coastline. Ninety-two percent of our land is development, can all have negative effects on the environment if they are not associated with forestry or agriculture. properly managed. Only a generation ago many of our rivers were seriously polluted Scotland’s environment attracts visitors from around the world, and is the foundation and industrial smogs killed thousands of people, but the threats to our environment for established industries such as aquaculture, farming, fisheries, timber, chemicals are also changing. Climate change is the most serious threat to the environment, both and paper manufacturing. Scotland also has 10% of Europe’s capacity for wave power in Scotland and globally. The Scottish Government has taken steps to address climate and 25% of Europe’s wind and tidal resources, providing significant opportunities change, setting challenging emission reduction targets and promoting a move to a for renewable energy development and its associated environmental and economic low-carbon economy. This will only be achieved if businesses, communities, households benefits; as well as the EU’s largest offshore storage capacity for carbon emissions.1 and individuals all take responsibility for the state of our environment and consider A good environment also provides a variety of opportunities for recreation, vital to the environmental consequences of their actions. Sustainable development, supported our physical and mental health and wellbeing; including hill-walking, mountaineering, by a low-carbon, circular economy, is vital if we are to protect and conserve Scotland’s cycling, sailing, kayaking, scuba diving, surfing and access to urban greenspace. natural resources, and those of the planet as a whole, and continue to benefit from the services a clean and healthy environment provides. Our environment is a complex system, providing a range of resources and services on which all life ultimately depends. Environmental resources include air to breathe, food to eat and water to drink. But our environment also provides less obvious services, 1 The government economic strategy 4 What we do SEPA is a non-departmental public body, accountable through the Scottish ministers to prepare for, and respond to, various
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