Energy and Environment
The Environmental Policy of Garlands sets out the principles of environmental management for the business.
Each business unit and support department is required to comply with the policy. All members of staff are encouraged to participate in helping the company improve its environmental performance, and all suggestions and proposals are welcome.
Our key priorities today are to reduce energy usage and improve our waste management performance (either by reducing, reusing or recycling resources).
During 2007/8, Garlands introduced several green initiatives focused on:
- Energy (employees have been made aware of the need to turn off computer monitors when not in use; and the company has installed sensor-activated lighting)
- Recycling (all sites now recycle plastic bottles, cans, cups, confidential paper, general paper, and cardboard)
- Equipment disposal (Garlands adheres to the EC Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) recycling directive that covers the disposal of IT, radio and audio, refrigerators and telecommunications equipment.)
- Light Tube Recycling (the Environment Agency has provided each site with a number so that light tubes can be collected and recycled)
- Cleaning (a range of biodegradable cleaning products are being used, together with a new mopping system that uses less water and chemicals)
- Travel (a travel scheme is being introduced at Garlands' South Shields site that introduces car sharing and other transport initiatives. Garlands' aims are to: minimise traffic flow, assist staff in getting to work, reduce the company's carbon footprint, and minimise the impact of commuting to local residents.
We plan to extend this work to other key areas including: sustainable purchasing, sustainable resource management, pollution prevention and hazardous substances, the use of environmental management tools and working with our local communities.
Garlands is currently undertaking a detailed examination of the effect and impact of every aspect of its operations on the environment with a view to working towards the ISO14001 environmental management standard.
