Carbon Policy
The Company is committed to using natural resources in a responsible manner to minimize any negative impact on the environment and reduce its environmental footprint wherever practical. This is evidenced by our accreditation to BS EN ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems & BS EN ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management systems. This policy is continually reviewed in conjunction with our Environmental and Carbon Footprint Policies.
To help achieve our Carbon footprint, Hughes/Gardner will:
Comply, where possible, with all current legislation, seeking to meet or better targets.
Minimize waste, promote recycling, and the use of recycled products to help reduce the burden of landfill and therefore methane generation.
Promote environmental awareness and responsibility amongst employees, contractors, and clients by working with them to improve environmental performance. We will do this by looking for new advances in technology and taking on board new initiatives our clients and suppliers may wish to implement. With any implementation, we would then train our staff appropriately.
Evaluate and where possible try to reduce traveling, including ideas such as working from home for head office employees, holding video conference calls for senior management for client meetings, negating the need to travel as much. For staff working on multiple client premises, we would look to see if we can group working sites together for an employee, so that they can safely walk between their respective premises, saving on travel. If staff cannot cycle or walk to their place of work, we would encourage the use of buses, trains, or tubes which are more efficient and environmentally friendly. Buses and trains use a significant amount of less fuel, releasing much less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Evaluate the potential benefits of carbon offsetting by planting trees and shrubs at our head office, on land owned by Hughes/Gardner, and reinstating meadowland which stores large amounts of greenhouse gases.
Move towards better-operated vehicles that are regularly serviced.
Install dual flushing toilets to cut water usage and save energy.
Actions taken to date include:
10,000 native trees have been planted on land owned by Hughes/Gardner to offset the company's carbon footprint.
The company has paid for 100 acres of meadowland, owned by Hughes/Gardner, to be reinstated, containing a broad diversity of wildflowers and plant life to support a wide array of invertebrates, birds, and mammals.
Improved the environmental habitats of bats on land owned by Hughes/Gardner, through the planting of moth-attracting shrubs which have not been treated with any chemicals.
Installing, where possible, a water-saving device, dual flushing toilets.
Implemented the segregation of waste at clients’ premises.
Encouraged employees to use public transport.
Working closely with suppliers for new innovations.