group environmental policy

Date Added: Tue 20 October 2009

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St Ives Group, including Service Graphics and it’s divisions are committed to continuous improvement in all aspects of its business and recognises and accepts that its responsibilities with regard to environmental protection rank equally in importance with other key business objectives.

The St Ives board is responsible for the implementation of this policy. The divisional directors and site senior managers are responsible for the day to day implementation of this policy at each operating unit with assistance and guidance from the St Ives Health, Safety and Environmental Adviser.

St Ives has established the following environmental objectives - St Ives and its subsidiaries will, so far as is reasonably practicable:

• Ensure that its products and their manufacture by member companies will not be harmful to people or the environment
• Strive continually to improve the efficiency of its operations so as to
- Minimise the use of energy and raw materials
- Minimise and, wherever practicable avoid, the generation of waste
- Prevent pollution of the environment, with specific emphasis on minimising the emission of volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere
• Comply with all relevant environmental legislation
• Include a review of environmental commitment as a criterion for the selection of suppliers and contractors
• Operate its facilities in a responsible manner in the communities in which they reside.

In order to achieve our aims and objectives, St Ives has set specific environmental performance targets. These targets are reviewed and updated annually. The targets address the following key environmental aspects:

• Energy consumption
• Waste management
• Water consumption
• Raw materials procurement and usage
• Materials recycling
• Use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

The St Ives Health, Safety and Environmental Adviser is responsible to the St Ives Managing Director, UK Operations for monitoring and reporting upon the environmental performance of all of the company's subsidiaries with reference to the above objectives and targets.

A copy of this policy statement is available upon request and will be reviewed and updated regularly with changes being communicated to all employees.

St Ives and the environment

The board has established an environmental policy which is implemented through the Group’s existing management structure. The policy concentrates on achieving a deliverable improvement in performance in consultation with suppliers, customers and employees.

Specific areas targeted for continuous attention include the adoption, where practicable, of processes which reduce the Group’s emissions of volatile organic compounds, noise and dust, minimising and recycling of waste products, recycling of water and securing reductions in energy consumption.

The Group continues to make progress towards improving its performance in the areas identified for attention and, during the year, completed Group-wide ISO14001 accreditation.

The targets set for the year to contain the net financial impact on the Group of the Climate Change Levy have been met and new targets set for next year in order to recoup as much of the Levy as possible.

The key performance indicators used to measure environmental performance are:

Waste sent to landfill;
Water consumption; and
Gas and electricity usage per square metre of substrate (usually, but not always, paper or board).

In absolute terms, however, the Group recorded an improvement in all three key performance indicators: total gas consumption at all sites fell, year on year, by 10.4% (2008 – 3.3 per cent fall compared with 2007), total electricity consumption fell by 8.0% (2008 – 0.4% fall compared with 2007) and total water consumption fell by 4.6% (2008 – 1.9% increase compared with 2007). Total waste sent to landfill was reduced by 53.1% (2008 – 13.3 per cent reduction compared with 2007).

Individual targets are set on a site by site basis to improve the Group’s overall environmental performance and these are set out in the Group’s latest Environmental Report which is available, on request, from the Company Secretary or by clicking here.

waste sent to landfill

Waste sent to landfill per metre squared of substrate consumed was reduced by 45%;

water consumption

Water consumption per square metre increased by 10% (in 2008 a 5.8% reduction was achieved)

energy efficiency

Energy efficiency (energy used per square metre) increased by 6% (in 2008 a 3.7% decrease was achieved) compared to the previous year’s figures.