Policy context
Growing international concern about increasing pressures
on the global environment have led Your Company to adopt
and adhere to the following policy. We take it very seriously.
Your Company resolves to:
“promote the conservation and sustainable use of natural
resources, to minimise environmental pollution, and to promote
the development and maintenance of sustainable economies
and communities in all of its activities and through its
influence over others.
Your Company will continue
to review programmes and services and to undertake to act
wherever possible to meet best environmental practices.”
This environmental policy is supported by, and makes a
contribution to, delivering those commitments. This policy
recognises that Your Company
can contribute to a better quality of life and sustainable
development by promoting and integrating the protection
of the environment into its services and activities so that
natural processes and systems are respected.
Policy aim
Your Company aims to set an
example in caring for the environment by continually improving
its environmental performance across its operations.
Principles
Two guiding principles will be applied when in seeking
to achieve this aim:
A. Aim to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution
by:
- Minimising the use of energy, water, wood, paper and
other resources - particularly those which are scarce
or non renewable - while still providing a safe and comfortable
working environment
- Reducing waste through re-use and recycling and by using
refurbished and recycled products and materials where
such alternatives are available
- Ensuring, where practicable, that buildings occupied
by Your Company are designed,
constructed and operated to improve their environmental
performance
- Monitoring discharges and emissions and assessing actions
required to reduce pollution
- Phasing out ozone depleting substances and minimising
the release of greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds,
vehicle emissions and other substances damaging to health
and the environment
B. Aim to encourage best practice by:
- Applying recognised standards when purchasing goods
and services
- Communicating openly with staff and the local community
about environmental policies and best practice (including
best available scientific advice) and co-operating with
others in the public and private sectors to develop and
promote environmentally sound practices
- Developing and maintaining, where significant hazards
exist, emergency procedures for effectively dealing with
them and limiting the risk to health and the environment
- Meeting all relevant current and foreseen statutory
regulations and official codes of practice and specifying
contractors do the same when working for Your Company
Energy
Climate change is now seen as a threat to sustainable
development. Burning of fossils fuels releases carbon, a
gas blamed for global warming. While the consumption of
fossil fuels for heating, cooling and lighting of buildings
and facilities by Your Company
may be small, it is recognised that reducing energy consumption
and maximising energy efficiency are important considerations
in all areas of business.
Your Company will
aim to:
- Buy energy efficient equipment which achieves value
for money
- Seek to introduce new techniques and technologies for
using energy more efficiently without loss to productivity
or comfort
- Seek to reduce energy consumption in our buildings
- Seek to secure its electricity supply from a provider
that can guarantee that it has generated a proportion
of its energy from renewable sources
- Support, in principle, the generation of electricity
locally from renewable sources (such as small wind turbines
and other developing technologies e.g. photo-voltaic cells).
Waste
Waste disposal whether by landfill or incineration
contributes to global and local environmental problems.
Recycling reduces the demand for landfill sites and avoids
contamination of land and water by minimising environmentally
damaging wastes and discharges.
Your Company will
aim to:
- Reduce the amount solid waste produced from its operations
- Encourage all staff to practice the ‘3 R’s’
i.e. reduce, re-use and recycle
- Deal with waste in accordance with legal requirements
and best practice
- Ensure that key staff are aware of legal requirements
and best practice for waste disposal
- Reduce the use of paper, e.g. by maximising the use
of alternative technologies and electronic media.
Purchasing
Integrating environmental considerations into purchasing
policy is a high priority. This process must not compromise
compliance with Finance Regulations and recognise general
procurement directives, to achieve value for money, ensure
that goods are fit for service and that they can be procured
in a timely manner.
Your Company will aim to:
- Take account of whole life costs, and not just the initial
price, when assessing value for money (e.g. by asking
suppliers to provide relevant environmental impact information)
- Specify recycled or biodegradable products and re-refined
mineral oils where practicable and where they provide
value for money taking account of whole life costs
- Recognise the European Commission’s energy labelling
scheme by giving preference to the most energy efficient
products where they give value for money taking account
of whole life costs
- Make use of environmental labels issued through recognised
eco-labelling schemes to help identify environmentally
preferable products (i.e. those with a low environmental
impact over their life cycle)
- Check the environmental performance and credentials
of suppliers and tenderers when relevant to the contract
- Seek to purchase from local suppliers and producers
where practicable and where they provide value for money
taking account of whole life costs
- Ensure that no products are purchased which contain
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs),
halons, carbon tetrachloride, 111 trichloroethane, or
any other ozone-depleting substances where suitable alternatives
exist
- Purchase sustainably produced timber and timber products
by specifying, wherever practical in orders and contracts
that suppliers provide documentary evidence that the timber
has been lawfully obtained from forests and plantations
which are managed to sustain their biodiversity, productivity
and vitality
- Ensure that, wherever practical, timber purchases are
in accordance with international agreements such as the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
- Consider buying reclaimed timber or products made from
reclaimed timber where it is cost effective and practicable
to do so
- Seek to purchase recycled paper comprising genuine post-consumer
waste.
Estate management
All building alterations and new constructions must comply
with building regulations. When developing, planning, managing
and maintaining its buildings, structures, lands and grounds
it is vital that Your Company
also recognises that it must set a high standard environmental
performance.
Building management
Your Company will aim to:
- Assert sustainability as a vital component in architectural,
engineering and design contracts
- Encourage design priorities for environmental quality,
for example using natural energy flows and passive systems
for heating and cooling and maximising opportunities for
integrating natural and artificial lighting
- Stipulate the use of climate responsive and non-toxic
building materials and consider the use of recycled materials
where appropriate, practicable and cost effective
- Encourage building design that reflects local and regional
features and forms
- Create buildings which do not burden future generations
with onerous running and maintenance costs
- Utilise local skills, labour and resources where practicable
- Minimise the use of hazardous substances and ensure
that hazardous substances are stored, used and disposed
of in accordance with legislation and best practice
- Encourage the use of building materials, furnishings
etc which are low emitters of formaldehyde, volatile organic
compounds and other potentially hazardous substances
- Check for the presence of asbestos in all buildings
and manage undamaged asbestos materials in situ by regular
monitoring for signs of deterioration and, where there
is deterioration, to seal, encapsulate and label it as
appropriate. Where asbestos materials are being replaced,
that asbestos free materials be used and that any action
to remove and dispose of asbestos materials, is in accordance
with relevant regulations and guidance
- Reduce the use by staff and contractors of products
containing potentially harmful solvents where they can
be eliminated or replaced by low-solvent, or solvent-free
products such as water or vegetable-based paints, varnishes
and glues
- Undertake environmental assessments when planning new
or substantially refurbished premises, for example, Building
Research Establishment’s Environmental Appraisal
Method (BREEAM)
- Introduce high standards of energy and environmental
management within structures and buildings
- Consider advice on best practice given in guidance such
as the Building Research Establishments and Energy Technology
Support Units best practice programmes.
Grounds and land management
Your Company will aim to:
- Substitute the use of all slow renewables such as peat
with organic wastes such as compost, manure, leaf mould,
and bark chips
- Maintain any estate grounds by using good husbandry
and encouraging native flora and fauna
- Keep grounds clear of litter and refuse
- Maintain biodiversity and, where possible, enhance the
conservation of species and habitats, especially with
respect to national priorities set out in the Biodiversity
Action Plan
- Ensure that land owned or leased by Your Company
does not pose an actual or potential risk to visitors
and staff e.g. from contamination of the soil, ground
water and surface water, hazards in structures and buildings
and building materials and the migration of gas
- Minimise the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers,
e.g. by switching to natural methods of controlling weeds,
insects and fungal pathogens wherever practicable.
Transport
Energy-efficient vehicles are essential for sustainable
transport. Increases in traffic have serious consequences
for all of us. Promoting the efficient use of existing means
of transport can reduce congestion and pollution that comes
from commuting, official travel, fleet management, visitors
and deliveries from commercial vehicles and is critical
to maintaining the environment.
Your Company will aim to:
- Consider the impact on the environment of its vehicle
fleet and include performance comparisons as a factor
in cost effectiveness
- Develop a Green Transport Plan
- Review staff travel and subsistence rules and mileage
rates as a further means of encouraging staff to consider
forms of travel and communication which are less polluting
than cars such as walking, cycling, public transport,
tele-working and video-conferencing.
Responsibility
Responsibility for integrating environmental considerations
into the operations of Your Company
is taken by the relevant director within Your
Company (President of the company).
The corporate and business plans produced by Your
Company will reflect this policy. All staff and contractors
are required to follow the principles of this policy and
any relevant guidance to assist Your
Company to meet its overall aim.
Monitoring and auditing
Your Company will aim to ensure
that the practice of its staff, contractors and suppliers
is consistent with this statement.
