What We Do

We provide whatever help and support is needed by our Councils’ Environmental Health Departments in improving local public health and building sustainable communities. Compliance with law on the state of the environment, our food and water supplies, our houses and places of work and consumer goods produced and sold locally is achieved by working in partnership with local businesses and local communities. 

We also provide services to the Environment and Heritage Service to help it improve local water quality in our rivers and coastal waters.  We provide services directly to the business communities of nine Cross-Border Councils through the STEM project to help them comply with all environmental legislation.  

We are key partners in the Southern Investing for Health Partnership whose aim is to improve public health and reduce health inequalities across our five Councils. 

We employ 36 staff to help us deliver these services. These consist of specialist Environmental Health Officers, Environmental Management Specialists, Water Quality Inspectors, Marketing and PR Officers and ICT and Business Support staff. We have recruited from both the public and private sectors to provide a dynamic mix of skills and experience in our search for success. 

Quality and Environmental Standards

In 2002 we achieved accreditation to the quality standard ISO 9001:2000 on behalf of Southern Group Environmental Health Committee and the Environmental Health Departments of our five Councils. The standard embraces all the services that we jointly deliver and this has been maintained year on year by external verification.

In 2005 we achieved accreditation to the environmental management standard ISO 14001:2004 on behalf of Southern Group Environmental Health Committee and for a number of services provided by our five Councils and the neighbouring Councils of Ards and Down and the County Councils of Lough and Monaghan. This accreditation has been maintained and expanded in terms of service scope across all nine Councils.

Since 2004 our STEM project has been preparing businesses for the environmental management standard BS8555. Currently 130 of those businesses across the nine Councils have been accredited.