Parkacre Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

1.1.  Parkacre Ltd is committed to environmentally sustainable practices. This policy sets out:

• The steps the company will take to reduce its carbon footprint.
• How we will comply with environmental regulations.
• How we will work with suppliers, contractors, and clients to meet environmental responsibilities.

1.2.  This policy sets out how Parkacre Ltd will behave in a socially responsible way. This is known as corporate social responsibility (CSR).

1.3.  This policy applies to the working practices of Parkacre Ltd.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

2.1.  At Parkacre Ltd:

• The Senior Management Team have overall responsibility for this policy.
• Employees are responsible for familiarising themselves with the contents of this policy.
• The Health & Safety Manager, alongside the Human Resources & Training Manager are responsible for reviewing this policy annually.

3. The Environment

3.1.  We are active steps to reduce the impact of its business operations on the environment. As far as reasonably practicably, steps the company are taking include:

• Recycling
• Reducing reliance of paper-based processes.
• Removing non-recyclables from its packaging.
• Ensuring processes do not pollute.
• Using sustainable materials.

4. Philanthropy

4.1.  We strive to be a good corporate citizen. Philanthropic efforts the company is making include:

• Support a charity through donations and fundraising
• Supporting staff with charity and volunteering initiatives.

5. Ethical Purchasing and Supply Chains

5.1.  We are committed to working with partners who share our values. This means we will not include in our supply chain any companies that:

• Are known to harm the environment.
• Do not operate in a legally complaint or safe way.
• Do not treat their employees fairly or with respect.
• Produce products or materials that do not meet expected standards of quality.

6. Employees

6.1.  We treat all employees with respect and fairness, striving to create a healthy and safe working environment. Additional steps the business takes to support employees include:

• Ethical recruitment processes.
• Career development opportunities.
• Adopting a range of employee benefits, perks, and wellbeing initiatives.
• Conducting employee satisfaction surveys.
• Creating an Employee Engagement Committee.
• Paying higher than minimum wage.
• Offering more than statutory annual leave.
• Setting up various ways employees can feedback on how the company can be more socially responsible.

7. Environment and Sustainability

7.1.  Waste Management

7.1.1.  Any waste that comes from commercial activities counts as business waste. The main types of waste from our business are paper and cardboard, food and other raw material waste.

7.1.2.  This waste is properly disposed of by collection by the local authority and via a private recycling process, turning waste into a source of electrical supply. source.  Any specialist waste is removed by licensed disposal contractors.

7.2.  Pollution

7.2.1.  We endeavour to ensure that our work practices do not breach regulations on air, water and noise pollution.

7.3.  Energy Consumption

7.3.1.  We reduce our consumption of electricity, gas and oil by:

• Installing motion sensors and timers on lights so they are not switched on outside of business hours or when spaces are not in use.
• Using low energy lightbulbs.
• Encouraging employees to turn off lights and other electrical items when no longer in use.
• Setting computers and other machines to switch to standby mode after a period of inactivity.
• Turning heating off when the desired temperature is reached. Heating is not on continuously.
• Routinely maintaining our lighting and heating systems to ensure they are working efficiently.

7.3.2.  We continuously look for ways to upgrade our systems to improve their efficiency. We use green energy as much as possible.

7.4.  Water Consumption

7.4.1.  We reduce our water consumption by:

• Encouraging employees to report any leaks or drips.
• Installing water saving taps and flow restrictors.
• Routinely maintaining our water systems to ensure they are working efficiently

7.4.2.  We have filtered water stations to discourage employees from using individual bottled water.

7.5.  Recycling

7.5.1.  We recycle cardboard, glass, paper and tins.  Recycling bins are clearly labelled and placed where they are easily accessible.

7.6.  Paper

7.6.1.  We keep our paper consumption as low as possible. For example:

• We ask employees to keep printing to a minimum.
• We do not make unnecessary copies of documents.
• Employees are encouraged to keep digital files instead of paper files.
• Where applicable, we only use recycled paper.

7.7.  Travel

7.1.  To reduce the impacts of traveling to work via personal cars, we encourage employees to travel by public transport, car share, or cycle to work.  We also adopt a Smarter Working process that focuses on what the employee does rather than where they work.  This supports home working initiatives.

7.8.  Training

7.8.1.  Our environmental expectations of employees, such as the expectation that they recycle, are included in company training delivered at the start of employment. These messages are reinforced during refresher training.

7.9.  Environmental Permits

7.9.1.  Where necessary, we apply for environmental permits from the Environment Agency and relevant local authorities and comply with the terms of any permits.

7.10.  Customers and the Supply Chain

7.10.1.  We prioritise working with suppliers that share our commitment to good environmental practices.  The tenders we produce all include the requirement to have an environment and sustainability policy (or similar document). This policy is available to all our customers and suppliers, and any potential partners, on request.

8. References

• Environment Act 2021