Stevenage Leisure (SLL) has achieved the internationally recognised ISO14001 standard for its Environmental Management System (EMS), which minimises the leisure trust's negative impact on the environment.

The charitable organisation, which manages 19 sites on behalf of five different local authorities, worked with quality management specialist Right Directions to achieve the award, which is held centrally by Stevenage Leisure for all its facilities.

James Barker, Facilities Director for the Stevenage Leisure said: "For some time, we have identified the need for an EMS to be integrated with our Quality and Health and Safety systems. ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard has always been our ultimate goal as it is a structured system, which looks at continuous improvement to manage and protect the environment for the benefit of our teams, customers and clients.

"Working in partnership with Right Directions we have produced and trained our staff on our EMS, which we have successfully demonstrated in a Stage 1 and Stage 2 ISO14001 audit. We are extremely pleased with the award of ISO14001 and the fact that our assessment showed no significant areas for improvement."

ISO14001 sets out the criteria for an EMS and can be used by any organisation that wants to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and drive down costs.

Caroline Constantine, Director of Right Directions, which delivers Sport England's quality assurance mark Quest, as well as the ukactive Code of Practice, said: "Achieving ISO14001 can provide assurance to Stevenage Leisure's employees, stakeholders and customers that the trust's environmental impact is being measured and improved."

Stevenage Leisure has been working with Right Directions for 10 months to develop and implement a practical and informative EMS, with a view to achieving the ISO14001 award. Constantine continued: "The assessor was not only impressed with the SLL specific EMS, he was delighted with the knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm of the team."

In the ISO14001 report, the auditor from the British Assessment Bureau finalised his assessment with: 'Throughout the sites audited, the knowledge of the staff regarding the EMS and environmental matters was very impressive and it is clear that the ethos and efforts of the management of the organisation has had a positive effect in this regard.'