May 5th 2016 in Environment, Services
Today was my first venture back into the classroom at Hinchley Wood School to share my knowledge and experiences of an Environmental Management System with GCSE Business Studies students, using Park Lane Press as a case study.
The exercise was a good opportunity to reflect on how far Park Lane Press have come from when we first introduced our system back in 2003, in addtion how far our laws and culture had progressed.
The laws weren’t as developed as they are now, for example you could dispose of more waste to landfill, however from 2004 the Landfill Regulation were updated preventing companies mixing hazardous, and non-hazardous waste together, and from 2012 preventing items that can easily be recycled from going to landfill, i.e. paper, printing plates etc.
Directives from Europe also came into play, for instance in 2004 The Environmental Liability Regulation forced organisations to ensure robust environmental risk assessments had taken place to reduce the risk of possible pollution.
Another major change was the shift in encouraging organisations to request from their supplies environmental policies, and accreditations. On completing a recent tender for a large charity we were asked for an Ethical Statement, Environmental Statement and Sustainability Statement, along with copies of our ISO14001 and EMAS certificates.
In fairness Park Lane Press began to recycle all streams of waste before the law enforced it, we operated a good practice of waste minimization, thorough environmental risk assessments and gained accreditations before they became a requirement to winning tenders.
In actual fact over the last 13 years Park Lane Press can be proud of their achievements, they have reduced water usage from over 1000 cubic litres a year to under 400, recycling waste is now over 97% , before 2003 it was around 60%. Helping these stats along the way from initiatives such as investing in a power optimising unit, inventing a water reclamation system from our plate making machine, converting to 100% natural renewal energy sourced via Ecotricity, installing a heat transfer systems and zonal lighting.
I may have lost the children’s attentions a little whilst explaining the power optimising unit and water reclamation system, but the level of interest and feedback was enough for me to feel a warm sense of pride to how far we have come. I also hope to have sparked a few possible careers in the environmental arena during my visit, and maybe even a few in print!
Libby Ferguson Environmental Manager, Park Lane Press
Do call us if you would like to arrange a site visit to Park Lane Press 01225 815 010
