Service Charter

SEPA’s role is to work with others to protect and improve Scotland’s environment.  Our aim is to be an excellent regulator and an influential and respected authority on the environment.

SEPA is committed to developing and delivering an excellent service to all our customers, by being:

Courteous - dealing with you with courtesy and integrity.

  • 90% of customers will rate our service as helpful and well-delivered.

Accessible - making it easy for you to access our services and information.

  • Information on our services can be accessed in a range of ways to suit you, including SEPA’s website, in person, by phone or email to your local SEPA office. We will always give you the option to speak to a real person 24/7.

Understanding - understanding your business and your needs in order to appreciate issues from your perspective.

  • We will appoint 30 Customer Managers by the end of 2011. These individuals will work closely with selected industry sectors, businesses, customer groups and key stakeholders. They will offer one-to-one specialist support and will ensure knowledge gained is communicated throughout SEPA, so we understand our customer needs better and respond appropriately.

In partnership - working with you as a fair regulator to help you protect and improve the environment.

  • We will work with you to achieve SEPA’s environmental outcomes as detailed in our Annual Operating Plan.

Improving - providing better service by regularly reviewing our performance and by listening to and learning from you.

  • SEPA is undertaking an ongoing series of reviews and change programmes designed to enhance our performance and improve customer service. We will actively seek your views and implement your suggestions on how we can improve and enhance our service to you. We will publicly report on the suggestions made and our progress in implementing these.

Accurate - striving to get it right first time and acting promptly.

  • We will publish annually the most common areas of complaint and how we are addressing the causes and developing appropriate solutions.

Communicative - expressing ourselves simply and clearly, and within agreed timescales.

  • We will use plain language in all communications. We will redesign and simplify forms in line with best practice, and meet agreed timescales for replying to enquiries and complaints.

Fair - applying the law and providing services fairly and consistently, and providing a proportionate enforcement response.

  • Where legal/regulatory requirements must be met, we will do our best, where appropriate, to support you in rectifying any issues highlighted before taking any other action.

Competent – having well trained staff, equipped with the right knowledge and skills.

  • We will apply a competency framework to ensure all our staff have the right skills, knowledge and behaviours to successfully perform their role.

Secure - recognising that we have privileged access to information, and protecting it.

  • There will be no misuse or loss of customer data. 

Expert - being an influential and respected source of Scotland’s environmental data and information.

  • We will apply our knowledge and understanding of the environment to produce a national State of the Environment report. This information will be available for our customers to access on-line at Scotland’s Environment website from the end of 2011.

Your role in protecting and improving Scotland’s environment

As customers and partners of SEPA, you too can play your part and help us achieve our aims. 

We rely on the people of Scotland to engage with us.

Please help us protect and improve our environment: 

  • Tell us where we have provided a good service, where we have fallen short of your expectations, or suggest improvements we should make.
  • Contact the SEPA Pollution Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 to report a pollution incident.