Consultation

Environmental Policy

The Safety Letterbox Company’s Environmental Policy covers the company’s commitment to environmental responsibility as an integral part of the company business policy. This commitment focuses on the following points:

  • Responsible stewardship of natural resources
  • Commitment of efficient energy use
  • Minimization and utilization of waste
  • Prevention of pollution with appropriate, practical and proven technology
  • Protection of the health & safety of employees, customers and the communities in which we operate

This policy and its content is managed via a combined integrated management system ensuring its continuity and accuracy via a reviewable process driven by the company’s senior management team. This captures, ISO 9001:2008, (working towards) ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and investors in People and ensures our company has continuity throughout a continuous improvement environment.

Primary accountability for environmental, health and safety performance rests with the senior management and production department. But all employees share responsibility for fulfilling the company’s environmental, health and safety philosophy through:

  • Responsible stewardship of natural resources, employing practices which nurture and protect healthy and productive forests while enhancing air, water, wild-life and other public values.
  • Reducing dependence upon non-renewable fossil fuel and purchased electricity by pursuing energy conservation and use of self-generated and waste fuels.
  • Minimizing and utilizing waste by reusing and recycling materials & converting other waste to energy.
  • Full compliance with Government and local environmental, health and safety requirements.
  • Continuing technical review of our environmental, health and safety performance.
  • Constructive participation in discussions at all levels over the relevant range of environmental, health and safety issues.
  • Candid communication on environmental, health and safety issues with employees, customers, shareholders, public officials, suppliers and communities, using the best information available and stressing the company’s commitment to environmental, health and safety responsibility.
  • Building appropriate collaborative programs with other interested parties.

It confirms the company’s commitment to continuous improvement in managing envirionmental issues, including the proper management and monitoring of waste, the reduction of pollution and emissions, compliance with environmental legislation and environmental codes of practice, training for staff, and the monitoring of environmental performance.

Some of the many Environmental Regulations include:

  • Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
  • The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005
  • Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991
  • The Environment Act 1990
  • The Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989

Our company commitments include:

  • Minimise waste by evaluating operations and ensuring they are as efficient as possible.
  • Minimise toxic emissions through the selection and use of its fleet and the source of its power requirement.
  • Actively promote recycling both internally and amongst its customers and suppliers.
  • Source and promote a product range to minimise the environmental impact of both production and distribution.
  • Meet or exceed all the environmental legislation that relates to the company.

Whilst we do everything in our power to produce a product with the minimum carbon footprint, responsibility also lies with the Buyer to purchase locally manufactured British products to avoid the transit and shipment implications of manufacture and production.

This can assist company’s in their commitment to reducing the impact their own company makes and demonstrates their own awareness of how commercial decisions can have on effect and environmental issues.

Some of the points we’ve considered:

  • Amount of recycled material we use when manufacturing our products
  • Longevity – our products have a 5 year guarantee with an 11 year paint warranty
  • Transport and Packaging

Sustainability and Environmental Approach

Our Environmental Approach to Waste both in Manufacture and On-site

At the Safety Letterbox Company we recognise that the pursuit of economic growth and a healthy environment must be closely linked. We have an Environmental Policy and this aims at integrating sound environmental practices with our operation.

In addition, The Safety Letterbox Company Ltd seeks to undertake regular reviews of the environmental impacts of the products it manufactures or supplies and, while these are currently extremely limited, works to reduce any harmful impacts or potentially harmful impacts of its activities.
Our approach to environmental issues and to waste management has the following principles:

Regulations and Legislation:

To be fully aware of the requirements of all relevant current regulations and legislation and work with the appropriate authorities and organisations to achieve this, and to be aware of new and future legislation.

Waste:

To seek to minimise waste and promote waste recycling and the use of recycled materials, especially paper waste and cartridge re-cycling from our office activities and for metal waste produced during manufacture and wood and paper packaging associated with the products manufactured and supplied. Increasingly, we are seeking similar assurances from suppliers.

Energy and resources:
To monitor the energy used in our operations and areas and wherever possible to install energy saving practices. To take positive action on raw material and water consumption in order to preserve, as far as is practicable, natural resources.

Discharges and Emissions:

To reduce or eliminate as far as it is possible discharges and emissions to air, land and water, by improving processes, treatments and minimising risk.

Pollution Risk:

To take all the necessary actions to reduce pollution risk by:

Improving and ensuring all the areas where hazardous products are used or stored,

Following strict procedures of storage and handling of hazardous products,

Controlling and checking on a regular basis all processes and materials using or containing hazardous products. Devising emergency plans or procedures to deal with potential accidents or hazards.

Products:

To continually review the environmental impacts of the products we manufacture and supply and work to reduce any potentially harmful impact involved in developing new products.

Suppliers and Customers:

To work as far as possible with suppliers and contractors to identify the best environmental practices and to high environmental standards.

To strive to give customers the best available information to enable them to use our products in a healthy environmental condition.

Organisation:

We have identified clear responsibilities, for Managers and for other colleagues, to ensure that we adhere to our policy and that this follows through into environmental performances in relation to waste management.

We also seek to provide appropriate environmental training for all the company’s staff, normally as part of their Induction to the Company and through on-going training, especially in relation to Health, Safety and Welfare. In addition, we have Health and Safety themes to draw staff attention to areas of concern and these will include environmental issues.

We seek to ensure that all employees are aware that poor practices can result in hazards and risk to both the health and safety of employees and of the environment.

We review and update this and all Health and Safety policy on a regular basis and this ensures environmental issues arising from new developments are integrated in our policies.

We have introduced a regular audit of our waste management performance as part of the review of the company’s environmental performance to assess progress and identify any deficiency in order to correct them.

Communication:

Through various means such as induction, on-going training, regular reviews, safety themes, Colleagues Handbook etc, we communicate our commitment to this policy freely to all our staff. We also make our policy commitment available to our suppliers, to our customers and other persons that could be interested (e.g. insurance company, bank).

Sustainability:

To reduce waste and costs it is essential to ensure durability, longevity and sustainability of our products. The choice of materials we use in manufacture and the process of powder coating is assessed and continually investigated to ensure we are providing the best possible option that is not only fit for purpose but of the best quality we have found.

Our powder coating process was introduced in April 2000. It involves a 3 stage pre-treatment, coating the product prior to powder coating to ensure excellent adhesion of the powder to product in order that the finished item does not chip, flake or peel. This means that not only the aesthetics of the mailbox is protected but also the materials used are protected along with increasing lifecycle costs, eliminating the need for replacements. The locks and small components that go into the assembly of our finished products are all high quality, durable and fall within our extended life aim.


ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY STATEMENT

Our objective is to create a climate of excellence not only in our products and/or services, but also for our employees, persons affected by our activities and the environment. In order to achieve this the following policy has been established.

Our Environmental Policy commits the organisation at all levels to ensure that we:

Identify any risk of pollution arising from any of our activities, products and/or services, which shall then be either eliminated or effectively controlled to meet or exceed all regulatory requirements relating to the environment.

Reduce to a minimum unnecessary use of materials, resources and energy. Reduce to a minimum the environmental effect on all future developments and carry out an appraisal of the environmental effect of sourcing of raw material.

Reduce waste to the lowest practicable level ensuring responsible disposal of waste created and received, undertaking environmental audits, measuring the results against established targets.

Advocate employee involvement in all environmental matters, providing suitable training and support to all employees with regard to this environmental policy.

Minimise and adverse environmental effects caused as a result of our activities, products and/or services adopting the principle of BATNEEC (Best available techniques not entailing excessive costs).

Ensure that any persons working on our behalf are made aware of and agree to comply with this policy.

Seek to ensure that products and/or services supplied or provided by third parties can be used, handled, stored and disposed of in a manner which safeguards the environment and the health and safety of all.