Environmental Policy

At Heap & Partners we are committed to minimizing our impact on the environment. To this end, we commissioned an independent study into every aspect of the company. It's aim was to not only ensure that we comply with the latest legislation but also to recommend ways to further improve our performance through waste minimization.

This survey resulted in an Environmental policy and a set of objectives and targets.

For a copy of our Environmental Policy please click here.

Before The Environmental Study

Long before we commissioned the study, Heap & Partners had been doing a great deal to both reduce waste and also improve the environment. Our Head Office was designed back in 1970 to be highly energy efficient. In a ground breaking design for the period, the building has been constructed to maximize passive solar energy.

Facing south with large double glazed windows only on the south side and no windows on the north side, the sun's energy is collected and used to maximum effect. The loft spaces are thickly insulated to retain heat. In the summer the curtains are backed with a silver lining to reflect the heat back out to stop the office from over heating.

The air conditioning system uses fresh air, balanced with either cold or warmed air in the system as required. This balanced system keeps the office at a constant 70ºF summer and winter.

Several of the offices were either derelict or very run down before we moved in. After renovating each office the grounds in each case have been landscaped to improve the environment and outlook. In one case the grounds had been used as a local dump so the resulting garden is a vast improvement!

After The Environmental Study

Following the study we have been able to make a number of changes to the business to reduce waste and our impact on the environment. The following list gives a taste of the sort of simple to implement changes we have undertaken throughout the business. This however is an on going exercise and very much a process of gradual improvement.

Problem	Solution	Saving
We used 18,000 plastic cups/year	Move everyone over to china mugs	£400 and a lot less waste!
High volume of waste to landfill	1. Cardboard boxes now flattened for disposal 2. All scrap paper (Including envelopes) now shredded and used for packing	Reduced waste volume to landfill by 1 tonne
Workshop wasting cutting fluid as it splashes onto the floor causing a safety hazard	Better guards fitted to the machines and perspex screens placed around the machines to catch and recycle splashes	Cutting fluid use reduced and a safety hazard eliminated
Used chemicals stored on site	A new contract has been placed with a specialist disposal company for weekly collection of all waste fluids	No cost saving, but an unsightly chemical dump has been removed

From February 2009 we are pleased to announce that Heap & Partners have employed Gaskells waste services, one of the fastest growing waste collection companies in the North West specialising in a comprehensive range of tailor made waste management solutions.

 

This change represents our latest efforts to minimise our impact on the environment through extensive recycling and volume reduction of waste. For more information please visit www.gaskellswaste.co.uk