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At Altecnic, we are conscious of our impact on the environment and are pleased to announce that in April 2007 we became the first CarbonNeutral company not only in Staffordshire, but in the UK plumbing and heating industry.

In 2006 we decided to alter the negative effects we have on the environment. By working with the CarbonNeutral Company we conducted an internal energy audit to realise our carbon footprint. This included energy use, our distribution and deliveries, water consumption and business travel. Becoming CarbonNeutral involves a process of identifying this carbon footprint by assessing greenhouse gas emissions, finding cost-effective ways of reducing CO2 emissions and subsequently offsetting any remaining, unavoidable emissions. Once the audit had been completed, a report was compiled and sent to the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM) who analyses the data.

The total Greenhouse Gas Emissions produced by our operational activities were equivalent to 1456 tonnes of CO2. We found that our supplies and deliveries have the biggest environmental impact in Altecnic totalling 69.1%. An in-house staff survey identified that each year, our employees commute a total of 236,880 miles every year - equivalent to driving around the world nice and half times! We also found that we were using 1550 cubic metres of water a year - twice as much as standard, and after investigations, reduced water consumption by 1 cubic metre a day, equating to 365,000 litres per year.

We are beginning to drive through green initiatives through Altecnic, including a swap to 80% recycled paper, timers on electrical equipment, paper recycling points through the office and warehouse and encouraging our staff to be 'environmentally aware'.

Our Commercial Director, Cynthia Fisher said: "We believe that it is important for businesses to look at the impact they are having on the environment, and working with the CarbonNeutral Company has made us think seriously about the amount of energy we consume and has certainly changed attitudes within our business. I'm delighted that we're able to make this effort and that the benefits of our efforts are being felt across the world".

With help from the CarbonNeutral Company we have invested in offsets projects in the UK and around the world. Our offset projects include Hendre Ddu Woodland Forest in Snowdonia National Park, energy efficient lighting in Jamaica and a wind farm in Te Apiti, New Zealand.

For more information on the projects we are supporting please click on the links below...

Energy Efficient Lighting, Jamaica
Te Apiti Wind Farm, New Zealand
Hendre Ddu Woodland Forest, Snowdonia

Altecnic's CarbonNeutral Certificate

Portfolio
  • Logistics - Following our carbon audit we are aware that distribution is a major contributor to our carbon footprint; at present it accounts for 20% of our total footprint. We are keen to encourage transport partners to use best practise environmental standards with the aim of ensuring distribution channels are as environmentally friendly as possible. As part of our environmental responsibility we ensure all our transport partners make their best endeavours to become CarbonNeutral.


  • Supply Chain - The vast majority of our products are from Europe, ensuring that our product miles are kept to the minimum. We have also informed our Suppliers of our CarbonNeutral status and encourage them to follow in our footsteps.


  • Sales Engineers' Mileage - Currently we have a diesel fleet for the Sales Engineers, however a study is currently being undertaken to investigate the feasibility of using LPG and Hybrid vehicles. We ensure our Sales Engineers are being economical in their driving and making the best of their journeys in their cars.


  • Waste/Recycling - Altecnic has implemented energy saving measures which includes a waste minimisation program. We have reviewed our plastic usage and reduced plastic waste. We are now using recycled paper wherever possible and have reduced our water consumption by 23%


  • Energy Supplier - Scottish Power guarantee that 6.6% of the energy supplied to us is derived from a renewable source (the average is 4.2%). We will continue to look for the most 'green' energy provider, who take responsibility over the impact they have on the environment.


  • Air Travel - We are aware of the environmental impact of air travel and keep this to a minimum. The use of video conferencing as an alternative is currently under investigation.


  • Employees - We actively encourage our employees to minimise their own Carbon Footprint, from car sharing to turning off their monitors at night.