Environmental Impact

We want to support the journey to addressing climate change
and we are working hard to mitigate our own impact on the
environment.

G&H is proud that many of our products are supporting the
cleaner, more efficient generation and use of energy across
a range of applications. We are also working to ensure the
environmental impact of our own sites and manufacturing
processes are reduced as much as possible. Our investments
in solar panels and voltage optimisation systems are already
lowering our greenhouse gas emissions and in the UK all of
our purchased electricity now comes from clean, renewable
sources. Our Executive management team have developed a
plan with the objective of delivering annual reductions in the
energy used by the Group and therefore its carbon equivalent
emissions and are pleased to report that we are targeting net
zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035.

We continue to maintain links with other companies within our
sector and seek to learn from them regarding initiatives to
reduce energy consumption. We continue to use the structure
of ISO 50001 – energy management systems – to help us
identify where the greatest reductions in energy use can be
achieved. We are also making good progress at our Ilminster
and Torquay sites in implementing the requirement of
ISO14001 – Environmental Management and expect those two
sites to receive full accreditation in FY2023.

The COVID pandemic had the effect of permanently changing
some of our ways of working and many of these complement
our drive to reduce our impact on the environment. A more
flexible approach to home working and the greater use of
video conferencing to keep our teams connected while working
remotely all contribute in helping to reduce our impact on
the environment.

Our Health & Safety function which is responsible for the
coordination of our actions in the area of environmental
management now has additional resource to support a
consistent approach to the roll out of our Health, Safety and
Environmental policies across the Group and prepare the
business for the wider deployment of ISO 14001 – Environmental
Management – in the coming year. In FY2023 we are also
starting to record our monthly waste metrics and from that
data formulate a reduction plan at each of our sites. The focus
on standardisation includes monthly data analysis and
reporting, quarterly reviews with the Group’s senior executives
and by All Hands briefing sessions. Environmental matters also
represent a standing topic area in our quarterly internal
newsletter – G&H Informed.

G&H aims whenever practically possible, across our locations to:

• Minimise the use of natural resources.
• Improve our energy efficiency.
• Minimise the generation of waste whilst implementing and promoting recycling.
• Consider the environmental impact relevant to our business decisions.
• Minimise pollution and promote greener transport options.
• Inform and encourage our employees to act in an environmentally responsible manner.

We are investing to reduce our emissions as follows

• Our Torquay facility has a 297 kWp solar PV system installed which provides ~25% of the site’s electricity needs along with a Voltage Optimisation System.
• Our Ilminster facility has a 302 kWp solar PV system. A Voltage Optimisation System has been evaluated and is being installed.
• Our facility in Ashford has a 150 kWp solar PV system. A Voltage Optimisation System has been evaluated and is being installed.

As a result of these investments, we will have the capacity to generate approximately 750 kWp of electricity from solar sources.

During FY2022 we conducted internal energy audits at each of our
sites. These audits resulted in a series of actions whereby the site
will not only reduce its energy usage over time but also reduce its
impact on the environment in the near term through the following:

• LED lighting where not already installed.
• Alternative forms of heating.
• The introduction of heat recovery from manufacturing equipment.
• Installing battery systems to harness excess energy generated
  from our Solar PV systems.
• Upgrade to equipment with improved energy efficiency.
  

The sites progress on these energy reduction actions is reviewed
by the executive management team quarterly and is supported
where required with financial investment, for example in LED
lighting where not already installed. We are also reducing our impact
on the environment through our recycling programmes including:

• Use of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
  containers to promote electronic waste recycling.
• Removing plastic vending machine cups and replacing them
  with alternative reusable materials.
• Recycling of packaging materials where practicable for
  product shipments.
• Provision of recycle bins, signage and campaigns.
• Minimising the use of paper wherever possible, through
  electronic data transfer.
• Where printing is used, reusing any single sided sheets.
• Ensuring that all green and natural waste is disposed of
  according to industry standards using approved contractors.
• Keeping energy usage low, by using low energy lighting and
  ensuring computers are shut down after work.
• Avoiding unnecessary travel by making use of digital platforms.
• Purchasing products made with recycled materials where possible.
• Working with suppliers who promote sound environmental
  practices where possible.
• Recycling equipment that is no longer of use to the Group
  by donating items such as computers and printers to the
  local community.

In reporting our carbon dioxide emissions, we have followed the HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines. We have also followed the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Protocol and the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) guidelines. 2021 Conversion factors have been used for October 2021 to May 2022 inclusively, and 2022 Conversion factors used for June 2022 to September 2022 inclusively. In the US eGrid 2019 Conversion factors have been used for October 2021 to January 2022 inclusively, and eGrid 2020 Conversion factors used for February 2022 to September 2022 inclusively.

We have selected as our primary intensity measure carbon dioxide emissions per £1m of revenue for our global scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions (expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent). We are using an operational control boundary for direct GHG emissions. For scope 1 emissions we include our total owned and leased vehicles’ direct emissions impact. By far the largest element of our energy usage is our US scope 2 purchased electricity. Our reported data is collected from metered sources.

Current reporting year FY 2021 – Comparison reporting year FY 2020

The Group achieved a 27.5% reduction in its intensity measure of tCO2 emissions per £1m of revenue. The installation of solar panels on the roofs of our Ilminster and Ashford facilities together with the transition of all of our UK sites to purchase their remaining electricity needs from renewable sources were the principal reasons for the reduction.

Whilst it is not fully reflected in the emissions data shown above, we have also made significant progress in increasing the proportion of the Group’s electricity that is purchased from renewable sources. At the beginning of the financial year 43% of our purchased electricity came from renewable sources but by the end of the financial year that had increased to 63%.

If you have any questions regarding our approach or our company's impact on the environment then please don't hesitate to contact us.