Environmental Policy

Environmental Policy

1 The purpose of the Policy
The purpose of this policy is to create the situation for all employees, whilst experiencing dignity at work, enjoying job satisfaction, and having the opportunity to develop careers to their full potential, to understand and pursue the objectives of the Company in minimising negative impact on, and, where possible, preserving and improving, the Environment. This Company recognises the benefits of being environmentally aware and is committed to bringing this awareness to all of the projects in which it participates.
The environmental policy aims to ensure that:
• The Company will not undertake any work that compromises the commitment given.
• There is an ongoing development of an environmental plan.
• Employees are given training and encouragement to avoid damage to, maintain, and if possible, improve the Environment. •
The Environmental Policy is underpinned by appraisal policies that the Company adheres to in its inspections and feasibility studies prior to any project.

2 The commitment of this Employer
This Employer is committed to:
• Quantify, monitor, audit and record all environmental impacts of the business
• Comply with, and where practical, exceed, current legislation
• Require all employees to address environmental responsibilities within normal operating procedures
• Influence customers and suppliers in making environmentally responsible decisions
• Minimise waste, and recover that which is economically practical, ensuring the rest is disposed of responsibly
• Integrate environmental objectives into business decisions where cost effective
The Company recognises that almost all of the activities of the organisation have an impact on the environment. The company also recognises that some opportunities exist for improvement without seriously damaging the bottom line.

3 The actions of this Employer
In order to ensure that the Environmental policy functions effectively, the following action by the employer has been instigated:
• Implementation and monitoring of the policy.
• Stating the principles on which the policy is based.
• Allocating overall responsibility of the policy to a member of senior management.
• Discussing and, where appropriate, agreeing with employee representatives contents and implementation.
• Ensuring that the Environmental policy is known to all employees and if possible, to suppliers and customers.
• Providing training and guidance for supervisory staff and other relevant decision makers (such as personnel and line managers), to ensure that they understand their position in law and company policy in relation to the environment.
• Examining and regularly reviewing existing procedures and criteria and changing them where they find that they are not practical or unable to meet the agreed objectives
• Making an initial analysis of the workforce and regularly monitoring the application of the policies.

4 The role of the Employee
An employer is liable for any unlawful act by an employee in the course of their employment. The fact that an unlawful act was done without the employer’s knowledge or consent provides no defence in law, unless the employer can show that all reasonable practical steps were taken to prevent such action. Hence there is a need for clear policies, and training in good practice, including induction training for all new employees, and the cooperation and compliance of the employee with agreed policies. However, the employee is not exempt from any responsibility. As with Health and Safety Legislation, the employee has a responsibility for himself, and his fellow employees through his acts or omissions. So there is a clear need to agree, understand and comply with the policies and procedures of the Company.
5 Monitoring the Policy
As with other Company policies, effective monitoring is essential to ensure that implementation is working in practice. The Company feels that the size and lack of complexity of the operations of the Company is such that the allocated senior manager responsible will assess the performance on an informal ongoing basis with an annual written review. The annual review will be submitted to the employers and employees of the Company. Both informal monitoring and the annual review will comprehend the Environmental policy.

6 Certification

Whilst the Company is not registered to EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit System) or certificated to the International standard ISO 14001, they are recognised as offering important guidelines for its operations, and fundamental in the understanding Environmental Management Systems. The Company would define such a system as ‘a systematic approach to managing and reducing an organisation’s environmental impacts through continuing improvement’. Therefore, the following are seen as essential elements and will be developed: inventories of legislation and regulations, assessments of environmental effects, management plans and audits, verification and training, targets and objectives setting, and inventories of spills and emissions.