Greater London Authority - Analysis of environmental policy Assignment

Greater London Authority - Analysis of environmental policy - Assignment Example In developed countries the potentials for establishing successful Environmental Policies are usually high, taking into consideration the technology and the funds required for supporting these initiatives. However, failures when developing or implementing these policies cannot be eliminated. This fact has been verified in the case of GLA’s Environmental Policy. The particular policy had to faced delays and failures even if it has been continuously supported by the Mayor of London. The reasons of these failures are presented below using Gap Analysis. A survey is also employed for showing the Policy’s strengths and weaknesses. It is proved that the success of the Policy in the long term would be depended on the ability of its planners to make appropriate changes, so that the terms of the Policy are aligned with the standards of the ISO 14001. 1. Introduction The identification of effective policies for managing environmental issues can be characterized as one of the most i mportant challenges that governors and authorities worldwide have to face. In practice, it has been proved that the success of environmental policies can be delayed due to a series of factors that cannot be predicted in advance. Still, the use of ISO standards when developing and implementing environmental policies can minimize the risk for unexpected failures. Greater London Authority has established an Environmental Policy in order to address a series of environmental issues related to the greater London area. The Mayor of London has supported this initiative in all its aspects. However, the effectiveness of the Policy seems to be kept at average levels, as indicated in a survey conducted for this issue. The various aspects of this Policy are evaluated using relevant literature. A gap analysis has been also conducted for identifying the potential weaknesses of the Policy, so that appropriate recommendations for its improvement to be made. 2. GLA and the Mayor Office in London â₠¬â€œ environmental policy 2.1 Responsibilities of the GLA and the Mayor The Greater London Authority (GLA) has been established in order to address a series of critical issues related to the greater London area. The authority was introduced through the GLA Act 1999 (GLA About us 2012). The GLA Act 2007 enhanced the authority of GLA so that the needs of people in London in regard to ‘housing, environment, health and culture’ (GLA About us 2012) are fully covered. The activities of GLA mostly focus on the development of the following areas: ‘society, economy and environment’ (GLA About us 2012). For achieving the above target GLA promotes a series of values, such as ‘integrity, fairness and accountability’ (GLA About us 2012). Particular importance is also given to leadership, as a factor that can highly influence the performance of GLA in all areas presented above. The term leadership in regard to GLA is related to the organization’s Corp orate Management Team (GLA About us, Corporate Management Team 2012). The responsibilities of Mayor are mainly related to the following are