Behind the scenes – creating guidance for NetRegs
Why NetRegs produces guidance?
Environmental legislation is essential to protect the environment and public health. Businesses need to understand what these rules means in practice and how to comply with them. This is even more challenging for small to medium businesses which might not have a dedicated environmental team.
NetRegs guidance is designed to bridge that gap. We produce free, clear, plain English guidance. It gives practical information to businesses to understand:
- their responsibilities
- help them reduce their environmental impact
What is available?
We provide guidance in different formats:
- Online guidance organised per environmental topic and business sector
- E-learnings which are interactive modules covering a range of environmental topics
- Self-assessment which is an anonymous tool for business to test their compliance
- Monthly newsletters highlighting new legislations and other environmental news
- Case studies depicting real business examples demonstrating problem solving
- Guides and animations a series of guidance notes and animations aimed at key activities withing a sector
How it gets started?
NetRegs is a partnership between the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Northern Ireland Protection Agency (NIEA). We are also supported by a Business Advisory Group (BAG) including businesses, business support organisations and other stakeholders. We meet four times a year to provide input on guidance to insure it is accurate and relevant for businesses.
New guidance gets triggered by:
- new legislations
- suggestions from those working close to sectors or areas where guidance is not currently available, where the scope is limited, or where certain areas are not covered.
New guidance gets suggested by:
- Business Advisory Group members
- SEPA and NIEA staff
- Scottish and Northern Irish businesses
- NetRegs staff
Suggestions are reviewed and prioritised by the team. They are organised to match SEPA’s and NIEA's priorities. The team identify which formats are most appropriate.
How is it created?
The NetRegs team research and draft new guidance or tools for the topic. We review it to ensure it is clear, in plain English and accessible.
The guidance or tool is then sent for review by:
- relevant SEPA/NIEA staff
- relevant business sector groups (e.g. Farming and Water Scotland, Scotch Whisky Association, etc.)
Once fully reviewed and approved, the new guidance and tools are published on NetRegs website and promoted through our communication channels. (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, our Newsletter)
What next?
All our guidance is regularly reviewed to ensure it is still up to date and that links work.
We regularly engage with industry to ensure that guidance is not missing and respond to business needs.
We are constantly looking at new ways to share our information to ensure it is easy to understand by all and accessible.
If you feel anything is missing, please let us know by emailing netregs@sepa.org.uk