Copyright 2008 Air & Waste Management Association34 em january 2008 awma.org

In 2006, the newly hired chief executive, Phillip Mulligan, initiated a comprehensive strategic review of operations. This included looking at the organization’s policy operations, goals, governance, and structure. In undertaking the review, Mulligan and his staff entered into discussions with key stakeholders, ranging from exter-nal customers to NSCA trustees to members of the organization’s coun-cil, policy committees, and regional divisions. Mulligan’s team prepared a five-year strategic plan, known as “Future Focus.” The review examined the findings of Future Focus, as well as recommendations of an internal examination by the Good Governance Working Group.

Environmental Protection UK has an impressive history in Great Britain. As the oldest environmental organiza-tion in the United Kingdom, it has been pushing for answers to the air pollution problems that have plagued the United Kingdom since the early

20th century. With the introduction of Great Britain’s Clean Air Acts in the 1950s, the organization’s original aims were largely achieved, and the organi-zation was able to evolve successfully to deal with a wider range of growing environmental concerns. Today in the United Kingdom, environmentalism has become an established mainstream value; corporate social responsibility is increasingly the norm; and there is an ever-greater devolution of powers to local and regional authorities. Like its sister organizations in other nations, Environmental Protection UK is now operating in a world dominated by glob-al environmental threats, mass travel,

emiuappa report News from the international union of air pollution prevention and Environmental protection associations (iuappa).

Editor’s Note: A&WMA is a found-ing member of the International Union of Air Pollution Prevention and Environmental Protection Associations (IUAPPA), an interna-tional organization made up of air pollution control and environmental protection associations from around the world. This column highlights the work underway in IUAPPA and in the various associations around the world that are members of IUAPPA.

Big changes are underway at A&WMA’s sister organization in the United Kingdom. Over the past year, Great Britain’s National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA) has changed its leadership, its strategic focus, and even its name. At a ceremony in London’s House of Lords on October 18, 2007, the Society officially became Environmental Protection UK. The name reflects the organization’s broader portfolio and new focus. And Environmental Protection UK’s new vision reflects its goals for the United Kingdom: a cleaner, quieter, healthier world.

Founded in 1898 by Sir William Richmond as the Coal Smoke Abatement Society, Environmental Protection UK has evolved over the past century to meet growing envi-ronmental challenges. And it has experienced several name changes along the way: in 1929, it became the

National Smoke Abatement Society; in 1958, the National Society for Clean Air; and in 1989, responding to wider environmental challenges, it became the NSCA.

Environmental Protection UK plays

a unique role in the United Kingdom. It educates policy-makers and the public on environmental issues. It also influences and works in partnership with policy-makers, environmental professionals, industry, academics, and the public by developing policy recom-mendations; promoting innovation; running campaigns and raising aware-ness; providing training and resources; and promoting effective enforcement. Environmental Protection UK is a membership-based organization, with 10 divisions covering the United Kingdom. It conducts its work through an overarching council and policy com-mittees for individual work streams.

News from Around the World...

A Cleaner, Quieter, Healthier United Kingdom

Environmental Protection UK is the oldest environmental organization in the United Kingdom.

Copyright 2008 Air & Waste Management Associationawma.org january 2008 em 35

new communications technology, regu-latory frameworks from Europe, and an increasingly crowded nongovernmental organization market. As such, Mulligan, his staff, and the organization’s Board of Trustees believed the time was right for the society to undertake the com-prehensive strategic review and once again redefine itself for the challenges that lie ahead.

In an interview on his organi-zation’s strategic review, Mulligan acknowledged that the prospect of change can be unsettling. He noted, however, that it is a normal and nec-essary process for any successful organization. “We have faced some challenging times recently, but we now have a golden opportunity to refocus, to define what we can do best, and build up the resources to give our work real impact,” Mulligan said. “It is important that the review covered not only strategy, but also how we manage, administer, finance, and govern ourselves. I wanted the process to be inclusive and transparent. Our greatest asset is our membership and our goal was to formulate a strategic plan using a development process that gave everyone the opportunity to help shape our future.”

Mulligan noted that it is critical for any organization periodically to take a good look at itself in the face of a rapidly changing world and it had been some time since Environmental Protection UK last articulated a long-term vision. Furthermore, given the limited available resources, he and the trustees believed that it was clear that the organization could not pursue every possible interest, but must focus on the issues that are most important and where it can have the biggest impact.

Future Focus contains a five-year strategic plan that sets out the levels of funding that will be needed and plans for securing the necessary resources. In developing its new strategic plan, Environmental Protection UK not only updated its mission statement and vision, but also clarified the issue areas upon which it intends to focus: air, climate, land, and noise. It also identified the specific aims and annual objectives to be achieved under

each issue area. So, for example, the strategy establishes a broad air quality goal and identifies specific aims to achieve this goal. The organization will then produce annual implemen-tation plans that will detail steps to be taken in meeting the five-year objectives. The implementation plans will also describe how Environmental Protection UK intends to monitor the impact of these activities.

The result is an organized, focused new approach to help address a set of evolving environmental challenges in the United Kingdom. No doubt Sir William Richmond would be very proud.

To learn more about Environmental Protection UK and Future Focus, visit www.environmental-protection. org.uk. em

This column is contributed by Jeff Clark, who is seconded to A&WMA from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the end of 2008. Clark is currently stationed in Brighton, England, where he is providing policy support to IUAPPA. For the past 15 years, Clark has served as director of policy analysis and communications at EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards in Research Triangle Park, NC. E-mail: jclark.iuappa@gmail.com.

In Next Month’s Issue…

Global Climate Change

Last October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore for their efforts to develop and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change. Considering the gravity of the climate change issue on a global scale, EM examines some of the actions to reduce greenhouse gases that are being taken by governments around the world.

Also look for ... Inside the Industry

IT Insight

Waste 101

EPA Research Highlights

…And a preview of the 2008 Annual Conference in Portland

Postdoctoral Position in Environmental Health Engineering Available: ImmediatelyLocation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore MD

The Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Environmental Health Engineering has an immediate opening for a postdoctoral Fellow in the Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center. The work being conducted by this Center is designed to address outstanding questions related to the association between exposure to ambient particle, their composition, and resulting health effects. Available funding is for 2 years, with the possibility of extension. Qualifications include a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences or environmental engineering; experience in ambient pollutant monitoring is required. Candidates with a strong background in analytical chemistry are encouraged to apply. The salary range is $35,000- $45,000 depending on experience. Please send a cover letter, CV, and names of 3 references to Alison Geyh, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St. E6634 Baltimore, MD 21205. Applications may be submitted electronically to ageyh@jhsph.edu. Applications received by February 28, 2008 will be given full consideration.