A key driver towards our success is the degree of autonomy which is afforded to local management teams, allowing them to serve local markets in the most appropriate manner. To support their activities, we have developed an environmental policy supported by a minimum operating standard and a set of behaviours that are being introduced into all our operations.
2009 represented our second year of implementation of a web-based reporting tool to track and report globally in a consistent manner, on our greenhouse gas emissions in our ‘Top Ten’ countries. Overall, we are delighted to report an improvement in our environmental performance this year and achievement of our 2008-2009 environmental targets. However, whilst our ability to report our performance accurately has improved, this continues to be a challenging data collection exercise for us and we still have more work to do in terms of improving the quality of data provided by our suppliers, particularly in the area of waste. This year, we will continue to work with our ‘Top Ten’ countries to optimise the quality of information available, to enable us to report our progress.
In the majority of our locations where we are not directly responsible for the procurement of utilities, equipment, fuel etc., we are working closely with our clients to consider how best to improve the environmental performance of our operations. Initiatives to support this activity include the launch of an e-learning tool in the UK to educate our employees on practical steps that they can take to reduce the impact on the environment in their day-to-day operations.
This year, our Australian business achieved internationally recognised ISO certifications for the environment, safety and quality across the whole business, becoming the first company in Australia to achieve this recognition.
Across all of our countries, we are working hard to reduce the impact of food waste. In many countries, food waste accounts for more than 15% of the materials being sent to landfill sites and the food degradation process produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide. In addition, there is also a significant economic impact in the disposal of food waste. Compass has created a sustainable programme for building awareness and minimising the impact of food waste called ‘Trim Trax’. An important element of the programme is to track, measure and minimise food waste at site level, giving our front line employees the tools, perspective and ownership that they need to ‘trim’ and ‘track’ food waste during the production process. Implementing ‘Trim Trax’ can reduce the cost and footprint of food waste disposal and has lead to improvements in the way we work and a more sustainable future. The ‘Trim Trax’ programme has been successfully implemented in our North American business, with phased roll-outs planned into our other regions such as the UK, Continental Europe and South America.
Reducing the amount of ‘food miles’ within our business makes sense from both a commercial and environmental perspective. This year, we have successfully implemented improved logistics models to reduce the number of deliveries required to each site on a daily basis by consolidating all the volume into a ‘one stop shop’. For example, in Ireland, we have removed about 2.2 million kilometres from our deliveries, saving 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum. In France, we have reduced delivery kilometres by 20% since 2002 and, in the United Arab Emirates, the new logistics platform is expected to reduce deliveries by around 600,000 kilometres this year.
In 2009, we were pleased to participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project (‘CDP’) which operates in 66 countries around the world, enabling companies to measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies in order that they can set reduction targets and make performance improvements. We are using the feedback from the CDP to help shape our future environmental strategy.
