UK BAT
Best Available Techniques (BAT) aim to prevent or reduce emissions and impacts on the environment.
Techniques include:
- the technology used
- how an installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned
Industrial installations with specific types of activity must use BAT to prevent and reduce emissions to air, water and land.
The UK BAT system establishes techniques through an evidence led, collaborative approach.
Background
BAT was adopted and applied across the European Union (EU) by the European Commission as BAT Conclusions (BATC) under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) (Directive 2010/75/EU).
Existing EU BATC continue to have effect in the UK through the EU Withdrawal Act 2018. They are available in best available technique reference documents or BREFS.
The UK no longer needs to meet the requirements of any new EU BATC - except for Northern Ireland (NI) where Article 4 of the NI Protocol sets out the sectors remaining under EU IED.
UK BAT conclusions (BATC)
The future development of UK Best Available Techniques Conclusions (BATC) is led by:
- UK Government
- Scottish Government
- Welsh Government
- Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
The government response about the development of UK BAT to improve industrial emissions sets out the broad principles of the UK BAT regime.
BATC are determined through an evidence-based approach with technical working groups formed of industry experts, regulators, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
BATC will be published as Statutory Instruments and used as the basis for permit conditions for industry.
The UK BAT system will take between 1 to 3 years to create a set of BATC depending on the complexity of the industrial sector. The order of BATC to be reviewed will be announced in advance to give interested parties an opportunity to express their views.
Technical working groups
UK BATC are established by technical working groups (TWG) for the relevant industrial sectors.
These groups will include expert members from:
- industry
- trade associations
- academia
- non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- UK regulators
The draft UK BAT Conclusions (BATC) will be published for comment and public consultation.
When BATC are agreed they will be published as a Statutory Instrument and used as a basis for Environmental Permit conditions.
UK BAT advisory group
The UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) established an advisory group of interested stakeholders to inform the ongoing development of the UK BAT (best available techniques) processes.
The group includes stakeholders from government, industry, trade associations, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, academia, and regulators.
The advisory group is not a decision-making body. It provides a forum for discussion and insights that inform and guide improvements to the BAT system.
The advisory group will enhance transparency in the UK BAT process, provide opportunities to participate in discussions to inform its direction and development, review the system’s operations, and provide feedback on stakeholder engagement mechanisms (such as calls for evidence, technical working groups, and consultations).
Additionally, it will provide a forum to evaluate cross-cutting issues and advise on the scheduling and prioritisation of future work.
Meetings will be held on an ad hoc basis, with the next meeting scheduled for 6 March 2025.
Past meeting minutes:
This advisory group is open to all interested parties. If you want to join or attend upcoming meetings, email UKBAT@Defra.gov.uk.
Current status of UK BATC
The table shows the status of UK BATC.
| Name | Code | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ceramic Manufacturing Industry | CER | Initiated |
| Ferrous Metals Processing Industry (Forming) | FMPF | Formal draft |
| Ferrous Metals Processing Industry (Galvanising) | FMPG | Formal draft |
| Large Volume Inorganic Chemicals | LVIC | Initiated |
| Slaughterhouses and Animals By-products Industries | SA | Initiated |
| Smitheries and Foundries Industry | SF | Initiated |
| Surface Treatment of Metals and Plastics | STM | Initiated |
| Textiles Industry | TXT | Formal draft |
| Common Waste Gas Management and Treatment Systems in the Chemical Sector | WGC | Formal draft |