Eco Credentials
As a champion of the rural industry - the Royal Bath and West of England Society has always been concerned about the green agenda and preservation of the countryside. With this in mind the Society has formalised its commitment to the environment by implementing an environmental management system and environmental improvement. The Showground near Shepton Mallet is set against a stunning backdrop of the Somerset countryside. The Society is committed to conducting its varying activities on the site in a sympathetic manner, appropriate to its surroundings.
The Society continuously reviews all its activities and aim to reduce its impact on the environment. The Society is engaging and working with all of its stakeholders: staff, members, visitors, event organisers, contractors, suppliers, tenants, local residents, regulatory bodies and external agencies.
The Royal Bath and West Society is continually working on improvement in the following areas:
• Waste and Water Reduction and Management
• Energy Management, Reduction and Renewable Generation
Waste and Water Projects
Waste and Water are two significant issues on a Site of the size and the type of operation that goes on here.
• Waste - in 2009, the Society engaged a Recycling Contractor to deal with all waste generated from the site. This represented a significant change in emphasis from waste disposal to recycling and have had recycling rates of around 70% and continually increasing towards the end goal of zero landfill.
• Waterless Urinals - there has been a 3 year roll out of these across the site which has led to sizable reduction in water consumption. This stops the 9 litres per flush that would ordinarily go down the system every 20 minutes. Which when you have over 50 urinals around the site, this equates to significant quantity of water.
• In 2012 the Society consumed 42,000 cubic metres - which is almost a 20% reduction from 2008 baseline figure of 52,000 cubic metres.
• Drainage - significant activity in recent years to upgrade and improve the drainage around the site. This has reduced the sewage costs.
Renewable Energy - electricity and heat
The Society has implemented a range of projects to produce its own renewable electricity and heat onsite. This is to reduce the reliance on consumption of grid electricity from a mixed source.
• 2 Biomass Boilers (500kW in 2005 and 200kW in 2011) - these two systems have reduced the Gas Consumption onsite by over 30%.
• Solar PV (50kW in 2011) - this system will generate 46,000 kWh a year over a 25 year period which would make a total 1,150,000 kWh and avoids 673 tonnes of CO₂e. The lifetime generation is close to what the Society consumes in a year.
• Wind Turbine (15kW in 2012) - 34,000 kWh will be generated a year, a total of 680,000 kWh and avoids 401 tonnes of CO₂e over the 20 years.
Long term the Society has high sustainable ambitions for the future. The Society is looking to be Energy and Carbon Neutral. So the intention is to produce more renewable energy than what we import from the grid so become a net energy exporter, making the Society's energy green and pumping renewable energy back into the National Grid! The more technology the Society can implement and showcase to individuals, farmers and landowners what is possible in their homes, workplaces and farms.
By generating our own electricity and reducing resource usage, the Society is hoping to reduce its own carbon footprint to a point whereby the Society's activities become carbon neutral. The Society has a long term aim of becoming a zero waste to landfill operation. This is a very ambitious aspiration which the Society will work with visitors, Events and Contractors to achieve.
In general the society hopes to inspire and motivate the rural community to become more sustainable.
Externally Certified Environmental Management System
In the last few years a great deal of effort has gone into Environmental Management at the Showground. The RB&W has an ISO14001 certified Environmental Management System and is EU Eco Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS) registered. This represents the deep commitment that the Society has towards the environment. As part of the EMAS scheme, the Society produces an Annual Environmental Statement, detailing its environmental activity and performance for the past 12 months.
Environmental Policy
The Society conducts it activities and operates its Management System in accordance with its Environmental Policy. This policy can be downloaded in PDF format using the link on the right hand side of this page.
If you are interested in finding out further information on EMAS, Environmental Management Systems or Sustainability generally:
IEMA
The Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment
http://www.iema.net/
Acorn Scheme
Phased approach to implementing an Environmental Management System
http://www.iema.net/ems/acorn_scheme
EMAS
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme
http://www.iema.net/ems/emas
Environment Agency
Government Agency for the Environment which has information on current and future Environmental legislation.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
Energy Saving Trust
Advice and information on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Generation.
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
