Environment
To view the De La Rue Environmental Policy Statement, click here.
De La Rue endeavours to operate in a manner that minimises the environmental impacts of our activities, products and services.
None of De La Rue’s operations have been prosecuted for infringing any environmental laws or regulations during 2011/12.
The organisation has a mature environmental management system. Ninety two per cent of our Supply Chain sites have achieved ISO14001:2004 certification.
Details of De La Rue's environmental key performance indicators can be found on page 33 of the 2012 Annual Report (click here to view).
The Group continues to measure greenhouse gas emissions, following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the most widely used international accounting tool for government and businesses. Overall greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 3.9 per cent primarily through internal energy saving initiatives and investment in buildings infrastructure.
Water used per gross tonne of banknote paper produced is partly dependent on the volume, mix and complexity of the paper produced. This increased by 2.4 per cent during 2011/12 due to changes in manufacturing processes at Overton mill and the continuing focus on product quality. The rate of recycled water use at Overton mill has been maintained at c10 per cent of all water used.
Recycled and recovered solid waste as a percentage of all solid waste is dependent on the waste markets. De La Rue looks for any opportunities for recycling and recovery and various composting trials are ongoing in the UK. One continuing challenge for the business is the advance of the anti counterfeiting features in products which by their nature are complex to produce and can affect waste volumes. The Group nevertheless maintained its recycling and recovery rates and anticipates further improvements in 2012/13 as a result of waste management initiatives introduced this year.
Four UK sites are currently operating under Climate Change Agreements that set energy reduction targets. De La Rue in the UK has also registered under the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, and endeavours to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in accordance with Government policy.
Examples of environmental achievements on a local and Group wide level over the past year include:
• De La Rue in Sri Lanka received an excellence award in the Visual Footprint Category at the 2012 Geo Responsibility Awards. The award is in recognition of De La Rue’s performance and commitment to managing the environmental aspects of its operation
• An employee training programme leading to a nationally recognised award in Environmental Principles and Best Practice was introduced in Gateshead
• Supply Chain manufacturing sites embarked on a ‘War on Waste’ to improve resource efficiency
• Switching to LED lighting in manufacturing areas in Gateshead reduced the lighting related contribution to energy consumption by 50 per cent
Environmental objectives for 2012/13 are to:
• Implement Group strategy for multi site ISO14001:2004 certification
• Reduce waste sent to landfill by 3 per cent each year during the three year period ending in 2013/14. The Group is on schedule to achieve this for continuing operations despite an increase in 2011/12 due to business reorganisation
• Reduce energy consumption related to output by 3 per cent each year during the three year period ending in 2013/14. Overall energy consumption across the Group decreased by 6 per cent in 2011/12