Environmental Policy Summary

The Food Standards Agency recognises that it has a responsibility to the environment and is committed to minimising the impact of its activities on the environment. We can make a difference and advance the green agenda through our policies and business practices. We have been working hard to put these in place, resulting in the FSA retaining ISO 14001 accreditation for a second year.

Without action, the effects of climate change will be globally devastating. By promoting greater environmental sustainability, we can contribute to cleaner air, the growth of resources that can be relied upon, improved water quality and cleanliness for future generations. 

Our published Environmental Sustainability Strategy sets out our commitment to support the UK government in meeting its target of reduced emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, and to help drive the achievement of net zero by 2050. We identified three priority areas where we believe we can make positive, measurable, and lasting gains towards achieving net zero: 

• reducing our carbon footprint – by progressively reducing our CO2 emissions linked to our estates and staff air, rail, and road travel
• conserving natural resources – by minimising waste across our estate and actively pursuing and promoting measures to reduce, reuse and recycle
• prioritising sustainable procurement – by positively influencing the sustainability performance of suppliers and evaluating the sustainability credentials of the goods and services that we purchase. 

This policy also aligns with the overall FSA strategy, which includes the missions food you can trust and food that is more sustainable. Our teams are working to better understand what this looks like and identify where we can influence others in the food system and across wider government to take action.

The FSA is committed to continual improvement of environmental performance. To help ensure we deliver, we will track progress as we go along, monitoring against the targets on a quarterly basis. The targets that are aligned to the Greening Government Commitments (GGC) targets will be reported centrally as part of the quarterly GGC return. An overall summary of progress against key targets and how we’re developing and implementing our Environmental Sustainability Strategy will be reported annually in our Annual Report and Accounts. 

This Policy will be communicated to all staff, contractors and suppliers, and be available for the public. 

A copy of this policy document can be found on our intranet which is accessible to all FSA staff.  

Endorsed by: Ruth Nolan, FSA Director of People & Resources