SuRF UK have recently published updated guidance on Sustainable Management Practices (SMP’s) which include 15 sustainable management practices posters.

The SMP’s are “relatively simple, common sense actions that can be implemented at any stage in a land contamination management project to improve its environmental, social and/or economic performance”. ‘SMPs can be used to improve the benefits (e.g. resource efficiency, community satisfaction) or reduce the negative impacts (e.g. spillages, complaints, cost) of a project, leading to project ‘sustainability gains’, without requiring a formal sustainability assessment’. The SMP document describes a simple process to encourage sustainable thinking, decision making and action across all land contamination management activities by using SMPs’. The process could also be applied to geotechnical projects.

The posters include topics such as ‘Set project milestones to ensure periodic review and optimisation of activities’, ‘minimise vehicle miles’ and ‘don’t allow plant and equipment to run for no purpose’.  These posters could be used in a variety of ways to encourage sustainable thinking, for example:

• As a suitable ‘Sustainability Moment’ in a meeting;
• As a slide in a presentation
• At project commencement
• As an aid in a site briefing

The document and posters can be accessed at the following link: https://www.claire.co.uk/projects-and-initiatives/surf-uk/21-executing-sustainable-remediation/84-sustainable-management-practices