113. Launch of the Environmental Policy Implementation Community, Guildhall, 8 February 2024



As a past member of the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection UK (EPUK), I was pleased to join colleagues to see the next stage in its life as it became the Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC).  This is a new community of environmental experts at the Institution of Environmental Sciences.  It supports the urgent implementation of policies that lead to the protection and regeneration of our natural world.

 

At a reception in the Guildhall, hosted by the Corporation of the City of London, we were welcomed by Adam Donnan, Chief Executive Officer, Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) and Ruth Calderwood, Chair, EPIC.

We heard that the IES is a professional membership organisation with over 6,000 members, representing the full spectrum of environmental disciplines. EPUK, formerly the National Society for Clean Air, was a 125-year-old national charity that acted as an expert forum for environmental policy development and practical policy implementation.  It had strong links with local authority and national environmental regulators, especially for air pollution control.  Membership had been hit badly by the run down in local Environmental Health services.  EPIC will focus on providing local authorities and other decision makers with the knowledge, insights and tools to help them deliver on the ground.



We then heard from Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection, who spoke at our Installation Court lunch last year.  Dame Glenys has been Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection since it was created in 2021.  She described the current work of the OEP holding regulators and especially the government to their obligations.  She was clear that the OEP is resource constrained and would like to do much more.

It was a great occasion in which to look back and particularly look forward.  We reminisced about the many events and activities in which we had been involved.  I suggested to several colleagues that they should consider applying to join the Water Conservators.  A past Defra Director challenged us to identify what we could do for sustainability now, irrespective of the politics and look for opportunities to work together.  The formation of the EPIC is a new opportunity to work together.

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