Southwest Environmental Limited

^{Environmental Consultancy Services to Industry, Business and Individuals}

02076 920 670

Exeter

01392 927 961

Manchester

01612 970 026

Bristol

01173 270 092

^{Home
Since 2009. Southwest Environmental; providers of professional
environmental
consultancy services to industry, business and individuals.
^{Ready to Go! - COVID 19 is not
interrupting delivery of our services.}
Our Clients

We have provided services to more than 500 clients in a variety
of business & industry sectors. For a full list
click here.

Services Provided
Southwest Environmental Limited provide Environmental
Consultancy services to a wide range of clients. Whether
to industry, land owners, project managers, or
developers we offer a range of reporting and technical solutions to make your life
that little bit easier . . . cutting through red tape;
leaving you to focus on your main objectives.
SWEL offer Consultancy Services in the following disciplines:

Please feel free to telephone the office
for a free initial consultation or to request a quotation.
Popular Reports
We issue perhaps around 30 to 40 types of report in a given year, but the
below selection are the most popular:

Recent Projects

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How do Environmental Consultants help
their Clients?

The main aim of an Environmental Consultant is to deal with their clients'
needs as effectively as possible. The pie chart
shows the approximate proportions of how environmental consultants help
their clients.
If you have any questions regarding Environmental Aspects
of what you do then please give Southwest Environmental Limited a ring, or drop
us an email. The first call & email is always free, if you have some site specific queries
then please email over some photos or a location
plan.

For further details on how we operate you can read
our terms and conditions.

Why should
I engage an Environmental Consultant?
There are many reasons why you may choose to
engage an environmental consultant. It may be a question of resources or
expertise;

Insufficient human resources to complete the
task in hand.

Insufficient expertise to complete the
task in hand.

You wish to gain a fresh perspective on your
problems.

You wish to become an industry leader in terms
of you environmental credentials.

You have been asked to compile a
desktop study
report by the LPA.

You are unsure of how to approach a particular problem, or don't know
what the problem is.

Who works for Environmental Consultants?
What makes somebody an Environmental Consultant?
Training? Education? Experience? The answer is all of these, when you speak
to someone at Southwest Environmental Limited you can be sure they meet
all of the afore-mentioned criteria. We aim to employ staff with a minimum of an
Honors Degree and Five years experience in a relevant industry.
Visit Jobs Page
How do Environmental Consultants
Charge for their Services?
For smaller jobs Environmental Consultants
can give a fixed price, this is because we can predict how much time we
might take on such a job. Examples of this type of work might include:

Flood Risk Assessments

Desktop Studies

However, for larger more complicated jobs
pricing is site specific. For example, site works etc. may take
longer dependent on the site's area, and as such Environmental Consultants may
charge different amounts with regard to the following types of work.

Site Investigations
(Contaminated Land or
Geotechnical)

Environmental
Permitting Applications (for standard permits)

^{For more complex project management or bespoke permit
applications it is not always possible to give fixed price. This
is because before a certain amount of ground work is done for
example contacting enforcement bodies, it it impossible to know
the scope of works.}
How do Environmental Consultants
serve their Clients and the Environment?
So who are Environmental Consultants Interested in
helping, our Clients or the Environment? The answer is both.
But we understand that environmental obligations are an
expense, that is why you will find that we offer competitive rates, and will not
over complicate our reporting processes in order to increase our revenue.
Business aside it can be said that Environmental Consultants are generally
passionate about the environment, it is this combination between passion and
understanding that allows us to do what is best for our clients and the
environment.
We often find that some of the compliance issues we deal
with seam over complicated, and so we try to make this known to the regulators
of the regulating body (The EA). Recently we have made contact with our local MP
to make him aware that

composting regulations are over complicated, and then again some years later
to suggest that they are not complicated enough.
In a recent project we aim to remove plastic from beaches, via the sale of gift certificates. In this
instance there is little conflict between the client's interest and our own.
What do Environmental
Consultants do to mitigate their impact?

Green Energy Tariff (Ecotricity)- Electricity is sourced from renewable
sources.

We don't charge mileage - Its tempting to charge
40p a mile when visiting site, but that might encourage us to drive more
often, so we don't do it.
We use Recycled Paper - Printing a report is one
of the most material rich activities we undertake, all paper is source
from recycled feed stock, or
FSC woodland.

Energy Conservation - As well as sourcing energy
from a green source we also try to use as little as possible.
We Use

Google Cloud Services - Where possible we host websites, and run cloud
services on Google infrastructure as it is

carbon neutral.
What do Environmental Consultants
help their Clients with?

The Environment
is in the news every day, not just the drastic headlines like
oil spills, but the more chronic issues such as
global warming,
which are so inextricably connected to everything we do. Our business generally
reports on the day to day
activities, or some element of
construction
detail or

construction mitigation.

Environmental
Compliance}

Governments around the world have invoked environmental laws and environmental regulations to help protect the environment, and to make sure people are responsible for any damage can be held to account.

For businesses, industries or individual this environmental regulation leads to lots of forms to fill in, risk assessment, reporting requirements . . . . and so on.

All this paper work is a job in itself, and is quite often outside of peoples everyday remit, just as you may seek help from an accountant, you may wish to have an Environmental Consultant guide you in meeting your environmental obligations, or to implement a discrete compliance exercise such as varying a permit.

Environmental Advice

Compliance is one area where Environmental Consultants can help. But when so many aspects of environmental management are linked to efficiency, low operational risk and lowering carbon foot prints . . why stop at what you are obliged to do?

1 - Company image can be improved via Environmental Management Systems.

2 - A company with sustainability as its prime motivator is more attractive for investors.

3 - Undertake Life Cycle Assessment to Streamline a production line.

For a full list of information on this site please view the Site Map

Consultants, Consultant, Consultancy. What is the difference?

Below are the definitions

Consultant

1 - a person who gives professional or expert advice: a consultant on business methods.

2 - a person who consults someone or something.

Consultants

1 - a group of people who gives professional or expert advice: a consultant on business methods.

2 - a group of people who consults someone or something.

Consultancy

1 - the state of being a consultant; the position of a consultant: a consultancy with a government agency.

2 - a person or firm that provides consulting advice or services.

3 - consultation ( defs. 1, 2 ) .

Definitions courtesy of: dictionary.com

Do Environmental Consultants have an Environmental Impact?

Yes we do:

Human by Nature

Most Environmental Consultants are human, at least in shape and form :-) , and such they have an impact, they eat food which has a big environmental impact, they watch TV, and search the web. We also buy consumer products on the internet which turns out consumerist lifestyles have a very high imapct.

Day to day

Driving a Car.
Use any form of Electrical Appliance, particularly computers.
Office consumables.
Heating and Lighting of Office.
Running Servers - We use Google Servers where possible.
Running Computers - We use a Green Energy Tariff, and have a repair rather than replace.
Operating Machinery

All of the above activities use operational and embodied energy / carbon, they may well have knock on effects down the supply chain and habitats, ecology, ethics. For example the diesel we put in our cars may be partially sourced from the Niger Delta where its extraction causes habitat loss and social unrest.

How do Environmental Consultants Help with Compliance issues?

There are a number of ways you can find out if your activities or business is in compliance with Environmental Legislation.

1 - You can take it upon your self to undertake in depth scrutiny of your operation / business, and ascertain which legislation applies to your activity. Larger companies may have their own environmental team, and will not need the help of an Environmental Consultant.

2- You can engage an Environmental Consultant to Undertake the Work for you.

3 - You can use an online tool such as Cedrec

There are numerous advantages in engaging an Environmental Consultant to check your compliance, as they will know the best ways to deal with issues that may arise, and they will also know the most cost affective methods of bringing your operation in to compliance.

It pays to be compliant, being out of compliance leaves you open to prosecution, increases environmental risk, and may effect your brand image.

If you have any questions regarding compliance issues then please contact SWEL, for an informal discussion. The initial consultation is free of charge.

Who Do Environmental Consulting Companies Work For?

environmental consultants clients percentages pie chart

If you are trained in Environmental Science or another Science such as Ecology or Geology, you might well wish to work for an Environmental Consultancy. But who will the Company work for? . . . .

Southwest Environmental Limited have had clients ranging from multinationals to individuals. Most of our works comes from management companies, who are looking to subcontract any number of services as part of there contract. These can be general management companies looking to outsource monitoring requirements, or construction management companies looking to "sub-out" planning, and environmental reporting.

During 2017 for example our client base was comprised of numerous entities which are shown in the pie chart to the right.

It is worth noting that as we are a reasonably small scale enterprise, our client base is likely to shift substantially from year to year. The pie chart also represents the number of jobs undertaken, and does not take in to account the earnings from each client type. For example although 24% of or jobs come from architects they generally commission multiple reports and as such make up a significant part of our turnover.

Which areas do SWEL Environmental Consultants cover?

We work all over the UK, and occasionally beyond, including Poland, Eire and Australia to date. Please see our global site for details.

With offices in London, Bristol, Manchester and Exeter we are well placed to serve the entire UK. View detailed maps of past projects locations.

We have had clients in the past as far north as Edinburgh, and are not adverse to hopping on the train or a airplane (we carbon offset travel) to come and visit. No matter where you are situated in the UK.