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Environmental Sustainability Strategy

Scope.

There has never been a more urgent time to address climate change and the degradation of the natural environment.

We are seeking to deliver the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and resource use by the key milestone dates of 2030 and 2050, if not before.

Our Vision.

Our vision for The Preparation Group Ltd is to deliver a profitable business and reputable  

brand which delivers the following sustainability outcomes:    

  1. Improved Air Quality – Products and manufacturing processes that do not lead to deterioration in air quality.
  2. Resource efficiency – Product design and operating process that use all resources efficiently.
  3. Environmental Protection – Products and operations that do not result in environmental pollution.
  4. Social Sustainability – Operations and supply chains that are good for communities and other stakeholders.
  5. Decarbonisation – Making science -aligned reductions in the carbon emissions associated with our product, our supply chain, and our operations.
  6. Nature – No damage to nature as a result of our supply chain or operations and support for nature restoration.

Our Approach

Our Objectives:

  • Sustainable Innovation and Engineering
  • Sustainable Supply chain
  • Sustainable Manufacturing
  • Sustainable People

The Challenges

The major changes required to deliver Net Zero and nature positive future will take time to reach fruition.

Carbon Offset, Insert and Compensation

Our commitment is to make tangible improvements in or own value chain – in other words insetting genuine carbon reductions.

Steel

Our machines are primarily made of steel. Steel itself has a significant carbon footprint and relies upon the extraction of iron ore which can also create serious environmental damage. Steel manufacturing and shipping of steel long distances also attracts a significant carbon footprint.

For this reason, our approach to how we source and use steel is evolving to consider potential for sourcing from lower carbon manufacturing processes and recovering scrap and end of life steel.  We are working closely with our suppliers to understand their own decarbonisation plans which can help us achieve our goals.

Sustainable supply chain

Sourcing

Like many other companies, The Preparation Group Ltd.’s sourcing patterns have changed 

considerably in the last decade.  Increasingly pars and fabrications for our equipment are sourced from the UK.

Logistics

Optimising our freight movements and the adoption of energy efficient and alternative transport fuels are also essential. 

The successful decarbonisation of logistics relies in large part on the policies and infrastructure put in place by the government.

Suppliers

Our suppliers have a key role in helping us deliver our ambition on impact reduction. Assessing our supplier performance also means that we can ensure we are working with the best suppliers with the best approach to sustainability.  Or suppliers are required to complete and sign The Supplier Due Diligence Form.

Packaging and Waste

Packaging waste represents a significant environmental impact.  To reduce the impact of single use packaging that is currently prevalent in our supply chain, we are currently seeking solutions and we are committed to reducing the amount of waste associated with supply of materials into our business.

Sustainable Manufacturing

Manufacturing Processes & Facilities

Our overall impact from our manufacturing division is small in comparison to the impacts of our materials use and product in-use impacts.  We must ensure that we make decisions on manufacturing which meet commercial and market requirements but also align with our objectives on carbon reduction and environmental impact.

Decarbonising our heat requirements for both facilities and curing processes will be a major challenge up to the end of the 2020s and beyond.

Carbon Reduction Plan

Commitment to achieving Net Zero

The Preparation Group Ltd is committed to achieving a near term Net Zero target by 2030.  By 2050 the organisation is focused on achieving Net Zero as defined in PPN06/21.  The Preparation Group Ltd is pursuing a path of continuous improvement, to develop innovative solutions that integrate environmental issues into the organisation’s business strategy, to reduce its environmental impact.

Over the last 5 years The Preparation Group has recorded progress against its targets by monitoring energy consumption and calculating the carbon emissions.

Completed Carbon Reduction Initiatives

The following environmental management measures and 2 projects have been completed since the baseline year of 2018.  These significant investments have improved efficiencies to reduce The Preparation Group Ltd.’s GHG emissions.

  • Installation of LED lighting in offices, workshops, and training locations. The Preparation Group Ltd is using an approach of lighting as part of its commitment to be 100% LED. The Preparation Group Ltd continues to invest directly in LED.
  • Roll out of a new salary sacrifice Green Car scheme to encourage The Preparation Group Ltd employees to transition to EVs to reduce GHG emissions generated by employee commutes.
  • Continued investment in more efficient tooling to support manufacturing processes.
  • Continued investment in a more efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) infrastructure that uses more environmentally friendly gases.
  • Intended replacement of gas central heating system, with more energy efficient solutions.
  • Reduction in the company’s office footprint and maximisation of its office spaces, to improve energy efficiency.

Carbon Reduction Initiatives Planned

Moving forward The Preparation Group Ltd has an ambitious pipeline of activity to accelerate its carbon reduction performance further. The Preparation Group Ltd is planning to implement the following further measures to reduce its overall carbon footprint:

  • Investigation and assessment of solar
  • Investigation and assessment of resources and energy efficiencies in manufacturing.
  • Researching the wider use of sustainable fuel within its vehicle fleet.
  • Exploring the use of local UK based engineering and general supply chain.

Measuring the use of water in your Manufacturing Processes

Many of our suppliers may operate where water stress can be a growing threat.  We work closely with production suppliers to improve water management in their operations.

We also identify sites that manufacture water-intense product types to assess overall water stress risks.  We ask our suppliers to report water risk, use, and management information.  This drives supplier’s awareness of water security issues and allows us to assess suppliers current water management strategies in the context of local environments and communities.

We work with suppliers to improve water reporting and, when appropriate, we also work with suppliers to enhance water management practices through best practice frameworks.

Waste

As in other areas of our business, waste reduction is a key part of our sustainable manufacturing strategy and this includes unused or damaged materials, movement of wastes, liquids, sludges, and solid wastes.  At all stages of the manufacturing process waste must be minimised.

Sustainable Service and aftermarket

Our Aftermarket business is built on meeting customer needs for parts and service in rapid timescales.  This creates a specific challenge within our business but also an opportunity to support the development of more sustainable product and service offerings and to address outbound packaging and logistics impacts.

Distribution Strategy

Logistics impacts are significant part of our Service impacts on the environment.  We have plans to review operations with a view to further localising supply of our customers from 2023.

Sustainable People

As well as acting on climate change and environmental protection, we must share our progress and enable others to become more informed, increasingly able to take action and more comfortable that our organisation is setting out a climate and nature-conscious future.

Our Sales team for example has a critical role to play in explaining the benefits of cleaner technology to our customers and making the transition to new technology an easy and painless process.  Our commitment is to deliver communications that are aligned both internally and externally with the need to demonstrate genuine commitment and progress across all facets of sustainable development.

A change in mindset and approach is often required to embed sustainability in an organisation. Sustainability implications arise from everything we do, so a holistic and cross-functional approach to decision-making is essential.  We need to coach our teams to overlay sustainability thinking on their daily tasks.  Training and skills development is key to empowering people to identify genuine opportunities to become more sustainable, developing and rolling out training programmes which engage, enable, and empower teams and individuals at all levels of the organisation is key, and to provide training in environmental sustainability to all employees by the end of 2025.

Sustainable Development Goals

  1. No poverty
  2. Zero hunger
  3. Good health and well-being
  4. Quality education
  5. Gender equality
  6. Clean water and sanitation
  7. Affordable and clean energy
  8. Decent work and economic growth
  9. Industry innovation and infrastructure
  10. Reduced inequalities
  11. Sustainable cities and communities
  12. Responsible consumption and production
  13. Climate action
  14. Life below water
  15. Life on land
  16. Peace, justice, and strong institutions
  17. Partnerships for the goals

Tracey Glew

Managing Director