Environmental Policy

Monmouth Scientific Ltd recognises that it has a responsibility to the environment beyond legal and regulatory requirements.  We are committed to reducing the impact of our business on the local and global environment, and continually improving our environmental performance is an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods.  We will encourage customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to do the same.

In order to sustain this objective, our operational activities are performed in accordance with the International Quality Management System BS EN “ISO 9001:2015” and good manufacturing practice (GMP).  This enables us to integrate all our business initiatives and environmental policies within one auditable control system, thereby providing a structured and effective response to the increasing environmental and ecological challenges faced by businesses and industries today.

Responsibility

The Compliance Manager is responsible for ensuring that this Policy is implemented, however, all employees have a responsibility in their area to ensure that the aims and objectives of this policy are met.

Policy Aims, Monitoring And Improvement

We will endeavour to:

• comply with all relevant regulatory requirements
• continually improve and monitor environmental performance
• continually improve and reduce environmental impacts
• incorporate environmental factors into business decisions
• increase employee awareness and training
• review this Policy and any related business issues at Senior Management Team meetings

In support of this, the following are a selection of the areas of legislation which we closely monitor:

• The Environmental Protection Act 1990
• The Water Act 2003
• The Control Of Pollution Act 1974
• The Health And Safety At Work Act 1974
• Civil Law & Current European Directives
• Management Of Health And Safety At Work Regulations 2002
• Personal Protective Equipment At Work Regulations 1992
• Workplace (Health, Safety And Welfare) Regulations 1992
• Health And Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1996
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended) (MHOR)
• Provision And Use Of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
• Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health Regulations 1999
• Health And Safety (Consultation With Employees) Regulations 2004
• Health And Safety (Information For Employees) Regulations 1989
• Electricity At Work (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2005
• The Control Of Noise At Work Regulations 2005
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Energy & Water Usage

We will seek to:

• reduce the amount of energy used as much as possible, such as using low-energy lights
• switch off lights and electrical equipment when not in use
• adjust heating with energy consumption in mind
• take energy consumption and efficiency of new products into account when purchasing them

Our use of energy inevitably produces some pollution, therefore reducing our energy usage remains a priority for us, through even more efficient product design and the use of bespoke manufacturing facilities.  We strive to reduce the impact of our ‘carbon footprint’ by minimising transportation costs through effective distribution networks and low-emission vehicles.

Waste Removal & Effluent Discharge

Part 2 of the ‘Environmental Protection Act’ places an obligation on observance of the duty of care requirements of the Act.  The removal, transportation and disposal of such waste is carefully taken into account during the planning stages of future business demands.  We are WEEE and RoHS compliant.

Transportation

We will:

• make additional efforts to accommodate the needs of those using public transport or bicycles
• favour ‘greener’ vehicles, and maintain them rigorously to ensure ongoing efficiency

Office, Cleaning & Other Suppliers

We will:

• evaluate the environmental impact of any new products we intend to purchase
• favour more environmentally friendly and efficient products wherever possible
• reduce packaging as much as possible
• re-use and recycle everything we are able to
• minimise the use of paper in the office
• seek to buy recycled and recyclable paper products
• use cleaning materials that are as environmentally friendly as possible
• only use licensed and appropriate organisations to dispose of waste

We actively encourage and support our own supplier base in following similar policies, and this is a key aspect of our supplier selection process.

Product

The design and maintenance of our product range involves review phases, which consistently question the choice of raw materials, manufacturing techniques, equipment use and disposal or recycling of packaging internally.  The emphasis here is to ‘engineer out’ undesirable elements.

The benefits of our policies are numerous, and include:

• both Customers and Suppliers sharing the environmental benefits
• cost reductions being made, which provide additional resources for environmental planning
• the minimising of waste and risks to the general public and the environment
• the enhancement of Customer and Supplier partnership.

Culture

We will:

• update this policy at least once annually in consultation with staff where necessary
• provide staff with relevant environmental training
• work with suppliers, contractors and subcontractors to improve their environmental performance
• use local labour and materials where available to reduce CO₂ and our ‘carbon footprint’