Our Standards
Environment
George Hurst are aware that environmental impact is becoming an increasingly important issue across the globe with pressure to minimise impacts coming from a number of sources: local and national governments, regulators, trade associations, customers, employees and shareholders. As a result we have embraced the need to improve both morally and legally. Improvement of our environmental practices will also improve our business, its sustainability and continued success through the provision of environmentally responsible services to our clients, ensuring we are the contractor of choice.
As a result we committed to implementing a Management system to help us achieve this. In January 2009 we achieved certification of our Environmental Management System to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management system standard, surpassing our goal of achievement by summer 2009.
We use the services of Environmental Monitoring Solutions Limited, a firm of environmental consultants who assist and support us in the continual development and improvement of our Environmental Management System. They provide training for our workforce at all levels, have audited our site activities and undertaken Duty of Care audits on our waste contractors. This information has been key to making improvements to the way we manage our business. As a result, our Project standards have improved, our staff are working positively with the systems in place and efficiency has increased.
Our key achievements so far include:
- Achievement of ISO 14001 certification.
- Waste management:
All of our non-hazardous waste is collected and disposed of by Fletchers Waste Management Ltd, our preferred waste contractor. We segregate glass and plasterboard at site and where space allows we segregate other materials for recovery and or recycling as a result of assessment through our Site Waste Management Plan procedures. Where we cannot segregate on site, all remaining waste such as wood, metal, hardcore and other materials are segregated by Fletcher’s at their waste transfer Station which achieves a high recycling / recovery rate. They provide us with monthly reports for our Site Waste Management Plans. This information feeds into future projects to minimise waste and maximise recovery and recycling going forward.
- Sustainable Procurement:
We work in partnership with our suppliers and sub-contractors to minimise the environmental impact of their goods and services where possible. This involves raising awareness and standards across our whole supply chain. We have worked hard recently to improve are partnerships with waste contractors through Duty of Care audits, assessment criteria and ongoing monitoring and reporting procedures.
- Environmental Awareness training:
As part of our ongoing training plan for 2010 our aim is raise environmental awareness to all employees. We have undertaken a number of training events to increase awareness, help employees with the use of the new systems and communicate the benefits to them( and their projects) including listening to their views and suggestions for improvements.
The following courses have been initiated:
I day Introduction to Site Waste Management Plans
I day Environmental Awareness Course
We are committed to continual improvement of our environmental management practices, our key objectives moving forward are:
Specific Objectives 2010/11:
- Recycle 60 % of paper.
- Achieve a10% saving on electricity consumption.
- Reduce fuel consumption
- Recycle 100% of waste timber
- Increase waste recycling to 80% for site waste.
- Implement BRE Smart waste Site Waste Management Plans across all relevant sites.
- Continue to implement and prioritise environmental training & development.
- Negotiate, implement, monitor and measure waste contractor partnerships
In order to maintain our high standards we have the following ongoing Objectives:
- Maintain ISO14001 accreditation
- Maintain & improve EMS, systems and processes
- Monitor and review environmental performance of sites on a quarterly basis to ensure sites are managing their environmental risks correctly.
- Review environmental legal compliance by receiving regular legislative updates to ensure company says at the forefront of all existing and pending legislation.
We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously at George Hurst, our working culture is key to maintaining and improving our standards. We welcome feedback from all sources. You can find a copy of our Environmental Policy statement on the left hand side of this page.
