Partnership for the Goals
Last month we looked at Sustainable Development Goal 15: ‘Life on Land’, looking at the issue and relevancy of biodiversity loss and what The Traffic Group are doing to help.
We also asked for your views on how you would like us to support Life on Land.
This month we focus on Sustainable Development Goal 17:
Partnership for the Goals.
This goal is about promoting global partnerships for sustainable development.
The Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can only be met if we work together. International investments and support is needed to ensure innovative technological development, fair trade and market access – especially for developing countries.
For us, this goal looks like forming effective partnerships both within the industry and further afield, and finding organisations in developing countries to support.
Our Partnerships
Across the group, we work closely with many organisations who are closely aligned with our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy Aims. Here are a few:
The Association for Road Traffic Safety and Management (ARTSM) is a membership group in the field of Highways and Transport that focus on improvements for roadworker and public safety.
Our Group Director, Pete, is actively involved in regular meetings to discuss industry issues, and the technology available for all UK safety-critical transport systems.
Why did you get involved with ARTSM?
ARTSM is an informed and influential force in the field of Highways and Transport. The Association seeks to benefit Members through its representative role, aiming to influence technological developments and improve standards in traffic engineering and operations.
2. What does membership involve?
Members sit as technical experts on behalf of ARTSM in a number of technical and policy committees with BSI, reflecting the work carried out by our own working groups. By having seats on a number of BSI committees we are well-placed to participate in the development of standards that relate to our industry sectors, ensuring that such standards continue to be driven by business and drafted by technical experts in the field. We offer an alternative dispute resolution process to maintain adherence to standards, which is free for our members, the details of which are found in our Dispute Resolution Policy. In addition, we supply updates on legal requirements via our news board and emails to members.
3. What benefits have you gained from being a member?
Members are kept up to date with developments affecting the industry by means of regular emails from the Secretariat. We consult with Members on European and UK standards through our Working Group meetings and, when necessary, make representations on their behalf to both central and local government.
4. What are some of the topics that have been discussed in the past?
ARTSM has five working groups (WG) each of which focus on a different part of the traffic industry. We are an active member of WG4 which mainly deals with traffic control, which is traffic signals, controllers, push buttons, detection etc. Much of the content for the TOPAS specifications which control the functions of these components are discussed at WG5.
A big issue at the moment is the non-availability of Halogen bulbs for traffic signals and the association’s members are working collectively to solve the problem as 50% of the UK traffic signals have yet to move over to LED-based signals.
5. Have you had any recent successful examples of how this has benefited public safety?
ARTSM WG5 is focused on roadworker and public safety. This group is currently working on new training standards and guidance for the temporary traffic management industry. This new training and guidance provides for safer and more efficient traffic control at works for both drivers and pedestrians.
Greener Highways
We have partnered with Greener Highways to give us the opportunity to learn from other key industry players looking to have a more positive impact on society and the natural environment.
Greener Highways provides an outlet for businesses to share their sustainability stories, such as the recent launch of our Evo ACM range.
We continue to look at forging industry partnerships to share best practices in terms of sustainability.
Helping Our Partners Decarbonise
In the August CSR Newsletter, we provided a ‘Beginner’s Guide’ to Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting. Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions linked to business operations.
These usually incorporate emissions from companies we work closely with to manufacture and sell our products and services. As these are not in our direct control, they are hard to reduce and need effective partnerships to achieve.
We have been contacted by a close partner of AGD, ‘Commercial’. To lower their Scope 3 emissions, they have shared this booklet on how we can avoid overusing and overspending on energy – not just at work but also in our homes.
Aside from emissions, we thought this may also be a valuable tool to share in the face of rapidly rising energy bills.
How would The Traffic Group like to protect ‘Life on Land’
Last month, we asked how you would like to protect ‘Life on Land’. Here are the results:
(The percentage of respondents who chose each option as their first choice is included.)
Keeping up with The Traffic Group’s CSR initiatives
We are currently working behind the scenes on a new CSR landing page for our corporate website, which will provide a useful resource for past newsletters, CSR policy and the latest Sustainability Report. It will allow both colleagues and customers alike to keep up with all the latest initiatives across The Traffic Group.
We have begun preparations for the Sustainability Report 2022, so please get in touch if you have any achievements or good news stories that you would like to feature in the report!