BRISTOL, England, September 27 /PRNewswire/ --

Construction businesses can quickly assess if they are taking the correct
on-site measures to comply with environmental legislation, thanks to a new
online questionnaire from NetRegs - http://www.netregs.gov.uk - a free
website that provides practical, industry-specific guidance to small
businesses on their environmental obligations.

'Sorting Out Site Waste' has been developed by NetRegs ahead of proposals
for Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) to become a legal requirement in
England next April, and in response to its 2007 'SME-nvironment' survey which
found that the level of environmental awareness across the construction
sector, although improving, remains worryingly low.

The survey revealed the vast majority of UK construction businesses (85
per cent) did not think that they undertook activities that could cause harm
to the environment.

However, when prompted with a list of activities that are potentially
harmful to the environment, 39 per cent stated they undertook at least one of
them. The most common were producing or importing packaging etc (41 per cent)
and storing waste (33 per cent).

Furthermore, more than half of the businesses surveyed (54 per cent)
admitted they hadn't introduced any practical measures to reduce
environmental harm, and of the 44 per cent that had, just 17 per cent had
undertaken a waste minimisation exercise.

The research also identified that, when asked, only a quarter of
businesses could name a piece of environmental legislation.

With Defra's summary of the recent consultation on Site Waste Management
Plan legislation expected imminently, the research findings point to a clear
need for construction businesses to act now and start taking the necessary
steps to minimise the environmental impact caused by poor on-site waste
management.

John Peters, Director of Environment and Sustainability at the
Construction Confederation, is pleased the new tool is available to help
businesses do just that. "This new interactive tool is an easily accessible
and welcome addition to the range of resources available to businesses to
help ensure they are fully aware of their essential duty of care."

Richard Martin, Programme Manager at NetRegs, said: "By developing a
better understanding of what constitutes waste and by taking the correct
steps to improve environmental practice, construction businesses can avoid
prosecution and could benefit commercially in terms of cost savings and
improved customer relations. Good environmental practice is good business
practice: it will often bring savings that go straight to a business's bottom
line.

"Waste materials produced by your business or within your workplace are
already regulated by law through Duty of Care requirements. So whether Site
Waste Management Plans become law or not, construction businesses must
understand their legal obligations with regard to the management and handling
of site waste."

The 'Sorting Out Site Waste' questionnaire is one in a number of tools
developed by NetRegs as part of its 'Site Waste - It's Criminal' campaign,
which aims to help construction businesses in England by providing practical
guidance on how to improve waste minimisation and ensure they are compliant
with existing and forthcoming legislation.

To access the questionnaire, go to http://www.netregs.gov.uk and look for
the 'Site Waste-It's Criminal' logo. Businesses in the construction sector
can also find extensive construction-specific guidance and can register on
NetRegs to receive its free email updates and guidance about environmental
issues via its e-alerts service.

The NetRegs SME-nvironment survey was undertaken in June 2007 and
comprised 4,489 interviews with companies from fifteen business sectors, 358
of which were from the construction sector.

Notes to editors:

1. NetRegs (http://www.netregs.gov.uk) provides guidance to small and
medium-sized businesses on environmental regulations. It is a partnership
between the Environment Agency (England and Wales), Environment & Heritage
Service (Northern Ireland) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
(SEPA).

2. The website also provides practical best practice guidance to help
businesses improve their environmental performance. Guidance is provided for
over 100 business sectors as well as on general environmental topics.

3. Businesses can also register to receive free email alerts from NetRegs
to keep up-to-date with changes to environmental guidelines.

4. 'Sorting Out Site Waste' is a new assessment tool to help businesses
in the construction sector quickly assess their compliance with environmental
law.

5. As part of its 'Site Waste - It's Criminal' campaign, NetRegs also
provides a free simple guide to SWMPs to help businesses in the construction
industry create their own plan and better understand the steps they can take
to improve their environmental practices and save money.

6 The Environment Agency has published the latest
Environmental performance report, see
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/444255/1850308/ 'Spotlight
on Business'. 'Construction and demolition' appears on page 18.

7 NetRegs also provides a Waste Directory to help businesses
find their nearest licensed waste management sites. The directory can be
searched by postcode and waste type.