Yate Supplies Policies
Information For New Customers:
Please click on the following drop down boxes to read our various policies.
Yate Supplies takes its Environmental Policy very seriously. This is an overview of the policies which we have in place. If you require further details then please feel free to contact us via the usual channels.
Environmental Policy
Standards
Yate Supplies are always looking to improve our impact on our natural surroundings as we all should these days. We do this by reviewing and maintaining some prize winning policies that help to neutralise or improve on the environment we live in. (F.P.A. Environmental Award 2008 and 2011)
We constantly look to exceed legislation and by regularly reviewing our practices, we know we are doing our bit towards combating climate change
Responsibilities and Communication
Our directors take an overall view of the company and through a policy of open communication with all staff, ensure that everyone in the company knows their responsibility. That might be from ensuring drivers they drive sensibly (we train them to do so), the warehouse recycling packaging to the office making sure that use of low power equipment is used.
Waste Management
i. Hazardous Waste:
Under new legislations set out by the European Commission various items used by our business are deemed ‘hazardous’. This revised list of waste streams include things commonly found in most businesses such as computers, fluorescent tubes and batteries. The UK scraps over 2 million PC’s every year and is set to double over the next 15 years as technology advances. As a result (to keep up to date with these legislations) Yate Disposables has registered with the environment agency to ensure we provided them with a break down of all hazardous waste produced in our business. To achieve the affective disposal of these items we work closely with a local company called Enson who specialise in asset recovery and disposal. Though advanced recycling techniques, they ensure that every part of plastic, metal and glass is recycled and where PC’s are still in working order they donate them to charity’s who then export them to third world countries to prolong their longevity.
www.ensongroup.co.uk
ii.. Recycling& nbsp;
Recycling is obviously an important part of sustaining the natural materials found in our environment. Yate Supplies has always offered recycled paper products as an alternative and over the years the development in technologies used in the paper mills has made these products just as goods as their non recycled counter parts.
We retain all of our polythene used in our warehouse and send it back to our black sack manufacturer who then turn this back into refuse sacks for sale. In 2011, we also started working with some of our larger customers to collect their waste and process it ready for its next stage of life.
As with any business, the paper trail can be huge. As a company we try to recycle all paper where possible, where we cannot utilise it ourselves it is sent for recycling by the local council. We also encourage staff not to print a document unless absolutely necessary. It's impossible to be paperless but we are doing our best.
We support a local charity group called “Jumpers for Joy” by collecting and delivering knitted jumpers for Third World distribution. We also recycle suitable redundant or surplus product through the “Children’s Scrap Store” where it is utilised by local schools and playgroups.
www.childrensscrapstore.co.uk
Suppliers
We work closely with our suppliers to enhance the production of environmental friendly materials and to ensure that they support us in offering these products at competitive prices to promote their use. Just some of the products available epitomise the future of sustaining our environment :
+ Biodegradable Plastics - http://www.huhtamaki.com/bioware
+ Recycled Paper - http://www.kruger.com/English/company/Environment/
+ Recycled plastics - http://www.recycledproducts.bpipoly.com/index.html
+ Enzyme based products that replace chemicals and are not harmful to the environment – http://www.biotechnics.net
+ Wooden Cutlery - www.plastico.co.uk
We ensure that through promotions, regular newsletters and staff training, our customers are aware of these products and the demand for them (as awareness increases) is growing by the day,
Maxima
Yate Supplies is a founder member of Maxima, a purchasing consortium which has developed its “own brand” range in many products. The latest addition to the range is “Maxima Green” This is an impressive range of recycled paper products and green chemicals all offered at no extra cost to the customer – www.maxima-green.co.uk
Housekeeping
We have effectively implemented an internal energy policy where on a small scale we ensure our energy costs are kept to a minimum. By maintaining simple housekeeping measures we ensure our staff are conscious of the energy they are using. We fulfil these objectives by assigning actions to individuals who monitor their and other people’s energy use in their department. As a result of these simple but effective housekeeping measures we have seen a 10% reduction in energy consumption.
Fuel and Emissions
i. Carbon Offsetting – CARBON NEUTRAL DELIVERIES
With an ever increasing fleet we are well aware of the amount of CO2 produced by our vehicles and as a result we have invested in a Carbon Neutral scheme which offsets the Carbon Dioxide produced by our vehicles. We do this through the ‘Carbon Neutral Company’ which calculates our annual production of CO2 and then offsets this figure on our behalf. http://www.carbonneutral.com/
ii. Diesel Fleet
Also on a more basic level we ensure that all commercial vehicles used in the business are modern diesels. This ensures far greater fuel economy and thus less affect on our natural surroundings. Vehicle technology is constantly evolving and we look at new possibilities as and when they become viable for a company our size.
iii. SAFED
All our drivers undertake the SAFE AND FUEL EFFICIENT DRIVING course. This is an initiative which helps to minimise fuel usage and therefore carbon emissions as well best practice driving skills.
Future Projects
LPG:
A project that we are currently looking at implementing as a company is the introduction of LPG vehicles. The use of this as a fuel has 2 benefits to the environment, firstly LPG gas is produced as a bi product form the refinement of oil and secondly the use of LPG produces far less NO2 & CO2 than its petrol and diesel counterparts. LPG conversion is not cheap and needs to be economically viable to the company so we have decided to introduce these as and when new vehicles are purchased. This over time should see our whole fleet converted over to this cleaner fuel that also has some economical advantages to our business.
Conclusion
With these sound business procedures in place, we can maintain a healthy overview of what impact we have on our environment. Inevitably, we can always improve on what we do and through strategic planning and education we can maintain and improve on these practices. We are a family company that cares for our staff and our surroundings and we would like to send this message out to our customers and suppliers alike.
We are an equal opportunity employer. The aim of our policy is to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of race, colour, creed, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religious belief, political opinion or affiliation, sex, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.
Our selection criteria and procedures are frequently reviewed to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities.
All employees are given equal opportunity and are encouraged to progress within the organisation.
We are committed to an ongoing programme of action to make this policy fully effective
