Our Vision
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service work hard to provide an efficient and effective Service to our local community.
The Service is committed to providing Service excellence and endeavour to continually improve the way we operate while reducing our impact on the environment. The Service is working hard to tackle issues on climate change, resource depletion and pollution. We recognise that our operations have an effect on the global and local environment and are committed to minimising adverse environmental impact.
Executive Summary
This Annual Environmental Report outlines the performance and achievements which Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service have accomplished towards our environmental objectives in the 2022/23 financial year. It takes into consideration Welsh Government and National targets as well as statutory obligations placed on Public Sector organisations from the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and The Environment (Wales) Act 2016.
The Report outlines the Service’s key areas of performance in areas where we may have the biggest impact on the environment, such as energy consumption, carbon emissions, fleet, waste production and supply chain.
As the largest Fire and Rescue Service in Wales by area, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue run 58 fire stations in an area that covers 4,500 square miles of mainly rural landscape, three quarters of Wales. The types and number of incidents that we respond to are out of our control, what we can control is how to tackle an incident to have the minimum detrimental impact on the environment where is reasonably practicable. We try and ensure that our operations and activities reduce the impact fires have on the environment through training, collaborating with organisations such as Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and through community engagement.
Corporate Commitments and Environmental Sustainability in the Service
Environmental sustainability is about improving the quality of life and the environment in a way that does not cause irreversible damage or prevent future generations from being able to benefit from the good things we have become accustomed to.
The environment has been one of the Service’s Corporate Commitments for the past number of years and continues to be regarded as an important area to work towards improving, in all aspects of the Service activities.
In line with discussions at COP26, there is a need to continue to decrease the emissions resulting from fire service fleet and activities. Adaption and mitigation in relation to Climate Change needs to be considered in all Service activities and plans. We are aware that our operations influence the global and local environment and we are committed to minimising the adverse impacts from our activities.
The Well-being of Future Generation (Wales) Act 2015
The Service has aligned itself with the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which places a legal responsibility on statutory organisations to actively consider the effect of their activities and how they could impact on future residents of the planet.
The Service reports annually on our Strategic aims and commitments within the Service Improvement and Wellbeing Objectives Annual Assessment. This Report identifies how we have contributed to the Well-being goals for the previous year as set out within the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales)
Act 2015.