Environmental monitoring other than for construction

Tender description

Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland wish to let a contract to provide a further update of the UK’s persistent organic pollutants multimedia emissions inventory to meet our reporting obligations as required by Article 5 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The contract is required to allow the UK to fulfill international obligations under the Stockholm Convention. Drawing up and maintaining release inventories for the current twenty-nine pesticides industrial chemicals and unintentionally produced substances for air, water and land is a requirement under the Stockholm Convention, primarily so as to provide a tool through which government may assess the contribution of different sources and identify where further controls are required. The successful bidder will: a. maintain and update the multimedia emissions database covering all listed POPs; b. deliver continuously improving data on emissions to air, water and land in the UK for all POPs listed under the Stockholm Convention; c. address data gaps and the key sources of uncertainty in the existing emissions inventories through creative approaches and the devising of novel solutions; d. take innovative approaches to implementing improvements to the emissions inventories; e. provide evidence on the effectiveness of the current legislative framework in relation to emissions of POPs; and f. report any observed trends in releases of POPs.