Corporate Social Responsibility

We recognise that our business has an impact on the environment, principally through the use of energy, waste generation, the use of paper and our choice of print and production technologies. We are committed to reducing that impact wherever possible and to utilising sustainable materials and technology. We ensure that our business is compliant with relevant environmental legislation and promote the same standards with our suppliers and contractors. Furthermore, our progress towards a digitally based business is reducing our environmental impact.

The Head of Facilities Management is responsible for managing and monitoring environmental issues across Wilmington plc. Our policies are to:

• meet or exceed the requirements of current environmental legislation that relates to the group;
• minimise energy and water usage in our buildings, vehicles and processes and improve the efficient use of those resources;
• apply the principles of continuous improvement in respect of air, water, noise and light pollution from our premises, and reduce any impacts from our operations on the environment and the local community;
• minimise waste and then reuse or recycle as much of it as possible; as far as possible, purchase products and services that do the least damage to the environment and encourage others to do the same;
• ensure environmental and energy-performance issues are considered in the acquisition, refurbishment, design, location and use of buildings;
• assess in advance the environmental impact of any new processes or products we intend to introduce;
• ensure understanding of our environmental policy internally and externally, communicate its performance on a regular basis and encourage feedback;
• and update our environmental policy regularly.

Where possible, we source paper from chain-of-custody-certified suppliers to ensure only sustainable raw materials are used within its production. The majority of paper that we use in our business is produced at mills with ISO 14001 accreditation and Environmental Management System (‘EMAS’) registration.

All our major print suppliers are ISO14001 certified or, as a minimum, encouraged to work towards this standard. Many also utilise FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certification. All our printers work in the digital environment, with a resultant reduction in transport, courier and other energy-dependent activities.

For magazine packaging we use recyclable polythene with a thickness of 25 microns. Where possible we are converting to exo-biodegradable and potato-starch forms of polythene.

Our primary business activities take place in office accommodation and, wherever practicable, we adopt energy-saving policies. Any new and replacement air-conditioning units are sourced from energy-efficient ranges, typically delivering a 70% saving in energy consumption. In the office environment, we recycle consumable materials, including paper, cardboard, toners and cartridges, wherever possible.

In recent years, we have reduced our property portfolio by 43,000 square feet, representing approximately a third of our previous occupancy space.

The introduction of video-conferencing technology in our offices has significantly reduced the requirements for travel, particularly when dealing with overseas offices and clients. The success of training webinars has seen the additional benefit of reducing delegate travel to venues. Wilmington continues its cycle incentive, incorporating the Cycle to Work scheme, which is within the guidelines of the Government’s green travel plan. As part of the scheme we provide our employees with a loan for cycle and safety equipment up to a maximum of £1,000; further support for the scheme includes the provision of free cycle-parking facilities for employees based in our London offices.

The release of greenhouse gases (GHG), notably carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by burning fossil fuels, has an impact on climate change which, either directly or indirectly, presents considerable risks both to the business and to the planet. Wilmington plc is committed to monitoring and reducing its GHG emissions.

Wilmington’s GHG emissions (detailed above) were calculated using activity data from the management-accounting system (verified by third-party supplier invoicing), and emission factors for converting energy usage to carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions taken from Defra’s Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2014. We have followed the methodology in the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition). The analysis uses an operational-control approach, which means that certain sites with service agreements for utilities have not been included in the footprint.

This assessment takes into account all of the emission sources required under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013. We do not have any responsibility for any emission sources that are not included in our consolidated statement.