Thorncliffe ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS)
Environment and Sustainable Policy Basic Principles
We have basic principles which guide the company when defining objectives and targets for improving environmental performance.
These principles also act as a key tool for informing colleagues and customers about our environmental priorities. As a company, we must act according to these basic principles, in so far as this is economically and financially reasonable.
- be aware of, and comply with, environmental legislation and regulations.
- minimise water and energy use and associated CO2 emissions.
- minimise the generation of landfill waste and maximise recycling of materials, in particular plastics.
- minimise raw material consumption and maximise the use of recycled materials and the use of material from renewable sources
- minimise the use of polluting forms of transport where possible
- assess the energy efficiency performance of purchases
- maximise the use of local products and local workforce
Current legislation and regulations affecting our business
We will comply with relevant environmental legislation as a minimum level of performance.
Assessment of company’s activities, processes and services that might affect the environment
As a service company, we are mainly an office-based business. The main environmental impacts of our business are:
- Travel by colleagues, to and from work, and to and from sites and customers
- Printing of leaflets and exhibition boards, mainly for customers
- Use of electricity in the office
- Waste disposal and recycling of office items
- Cleaning and sanitary materials
- Buy-in from colleagues to be green and think of the environment in all activities
Written procedures to control activities with a significant environmental impact
- Travel by colleagues, to and from work, and to and from sites and customers
To encourage colleagues to live a healthy lifestyle, we pay the annual subscription of any colleague wishing to purchase a London Cycle-hire bike pass; or any equivalent City bike pass.
We provide incentives for colleagues to purchase a public transport annual travel card. All colleagues are eligible for an interest-free loan for a percentage of their season ticket, and may apply by completing the “Season Ticket Loan Scheme” form, available on the network in the templates forms and policies Subdirectory. Colleagues applying for a loan will be advanced an amount equivalent to the value of their season ticket. This amount will then be deducted from their monthly salary in equal instalments spread over the season’s ticket’s period of validity (or 10 months in the case of an annual season ticket).
If you use a bike for travelling between your home and work, or at work, then you are also entitled to claim for a loan. Shower facilities are in the basement of China Works, as is a secure place to leave your bicycle.
Colleagues are encouraged to use public transport wherever possible, and shared transport if possible otherwise and reduce any expenses incentive to travel by car. Public Transport should be used in preference to cars and air travel is discouraged between cities in the UK, except in exceptional circumstances. In and around London, in particular, public transport can also be far more reliable. Journeys between a colleague’s home and their normal place of work will, in no circumstances, be refunded.
Colleagues may hire car-club cars to travel to sites outside the main cities. All colleagues may join the company car-club, currently Zip Car and Enterprise.
We encourage the use of conference call facilities for short meetings with clients and between offices.
- Printing of leaflets and exhibition boards, mainly for clients
We have assessed the environmental performance of our main printing suppliers and we do not accept suppliers that do not have an adequate environmental policy. In particular, we ask that our suppliers:
- Comply with all environmental legislation insofar as it related to their business, and implement and monitor it as appropriate.
- Use paper products as standard that carry an eco-label, assessed by the UK Eco-Labelling Board.
- Use 100% recycled paper where possible, such as EVOLVE Business from Evolve Papers.
- Minimise waste paper, and ensure any waste paper is collected on a regular basis by a registered contractor.
- Minimise and phase out any toxic chemicals in the printing process. Waste chemicals and Plates must be collected by a registered contractor for safe disposal.
We ask our main suppliers to update us with their environmental policies and performance, and this is audited on an annual basis.
Colleagues are requested to ensure that part of the assessment for choosing a printer for any particular job is the delivery miles for the finished product.
- Use of electricity in the office
Where we update items in office we will always buy Energy Saving Recommended products wherever possible. We will look at the whole life environmental benefits of products.
This applies to lightbulbs, PC screens, printers, desk-top PCs and other items.
During the Winter:
- Blinds and doors must be closed at night to stop heat escaping.
During the Summer:
- Blinds should be closed during the day to reduce solar gain where practical
At night and at weekends, during all seasons:
- Colleagues must turn off their PCs and computer screens overnight, except in exceptional circumstances.
- Waste disposal and recycling of office items
Our HQ office is with Workspace, who now have zero waste going to landfill with recycling rates steadily growing. We work within the bounds of the Workspace recycling policy to minimise waste.
Colleagues also have a responsibility to minimise their plastic waste. Where possible colleagues will be encouraged to use reusable glasses and bottles, instead of single use plastic bottles.
Colleagues will not over-order print stock for clients. There is always some surplus of print stock, but this can be minimised by good planning and discussion with the client.
Consultation
This Environmental Management System was first written in 2009, and we have since consulted on this policy six times. On each occasion, we held a company-wide consultation on our environmental and sustainability policy, asking colleagues to identify issues and areas where the business was affecting the environment, what measure we could do to mitigate these impacts, and the practical implementation of this policy.
In addition, all colleagues will be trained in these procedures, as part of a regular DQS session. In addition, we have added knowledge of this policy to our Induction Course, and included it on our Intranet.
Environmental Responsibilities for colleagues
- Remember to use the recycled bins at all times for product that can be recycled
- Paper / cardboard
- Plastic bottles and cans
- Toner cartridges;
- Batteries
- Use the scrap paper tray for non-sensitive items and for completing expense forms etc.
- To turn off electric appliances at night, particularly screens and PCs.
- To minimise usage of single use plastics wherever possible.
- To be aware of the customer’s printing requirements and not to over-order printing stock. To only use company approved printing suppliers.
- To order Energy Saving Recommended and recycled products whenever possible.
- To read the Company Intranet and follow the procedures for travel.
Measuring performance and targets
This year, our targets are to:
- Encourage colleagues to be ‘green’, by holding at least one DQS training session.
- To inform customers and suppliers of our commitment to reducing our environmental impact.
Audit, Implementation and Review
Matt Harmer has agreed to be the Champions for this policy and to look at ways of continuous improvement, as well as carrying out an audit of the policy and its implementation.
This policy was updated and approved by the Management Team in February 2025
This policy will be subject to a formal review by the Management Team in February 2027.
Richard Patient
Managing Director