Cross cutting themes

Embedded in SEPA’s six outcomes are a number of themes that SEPA continually works towards:

• sustainable development;

• conserving and enhancing biodiversity;

• sustainable chemicals management;

• upholding the principles of environmental justice; and

• contributing to Scottish objective and UK targets relating to global climate change.

Sustainable development

As stated in our main aim, SEPA contributes to the Scottish Ministers’ goal of sustainable development. We use our environmental protection powers to work towards this goal while ensuring that our actions do not unnecessarily constrain economic development. We integrate environmental considerations into wider policy and advise on development needs, for example, contributing to the Scottish Executive’s Green Jobs strategy.

Conserving and enhancing biodiversity

SEPA is committed to conserving and enhancing biodiversity. This is carried out through implementation of the Scottish biodiversity strategy and the UK biodiversity action plan, furthering the conservation of mesotrophic lakes, contributing to local biodiversity action plans and improving our internal environmental performance. Through these, SEPA has committed to deliver nearly 200 specific biodiversity actions in the next three years. These are spread throughout our six environmental outcomes and are detailed on our website. SEPA is working with other organisations, including the Scottish Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage and local authorities, to achieve these actions and we are the lead organisation in furthering the conservation of mesotrophic lakes.

Chemicals management

SEPA regulates and promotes the environmentally safe use of chemicals in Scotland. In doing so, we focus on chemicals that are subject to legislative restrictions and those that may directly affect the environment or human health through environmental exposure.

Environmental justice

Environmental justice involves addressing unequal distributions of environmental burdens and ensuring that all communities have the ability to participate in decisions affecting the quality of their environment. By taking account of the cumulative effects of development on quality of life, SEPA upholds the principles of environmental justice. SEPA has a regulatory duty to assess and understand the impact of emissions on human health and take action to minimise such impacts. To ensure that communities are able to participate in decisions, SEPA provides wide-ranging information on the environment, including an online pollution inventory, in line with the commitments of the Aarhus Convention in relation to access to environmental information. SEPA also aims to engage communities in environmental decisionmaking and ensure access to justice in environmental matters.

Climate change

Climate change is widely recognised as the world’s most serious environmental threat. The Scottish Ministers have made a commitment to tackle climate change and SEPA has a role in helping to deliver this, through regulation and by providing advice and influencing change. SEPA is the regulator for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and, in addition, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from regulated processes and advise local authorities on transport issues. While SEPA has no formal role in transport and energy policy, SEPA will endeavour to give useful guidance and advice on the environmental aspects. We are continuing to apply measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions from our own activities.