Firms support green initiatives

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Local companies are urging employees to adopt more environmentally friendly policies at work and in their personal lifestyles with a series of displays linked to National Environment Week and National Recycling Week starting on Monday 4 June.

Peterborough City Council’s environmental management team will provide displays, promotional materials and leaflets to promote the ‘going green’ initiative, which this year has won the highest level of support to date.

“We are thrilled that local companies are showing this level of support,” said education and campaigns officer Kirsty Martin.

“These major employers can make a real difference within the community by encouraging their people to adopt ‘greener’ lifestyles and working practices.”

A week-long competition for employees, linked to the recycling week theme of ‘Transform something day’, offers prizes, donated by John Lewis, which include a selection of garden tools, a digital wind-up radio and a set of six recycled glasses.

The John Lewis store in the Queensgate Centre is supporting a company-wide ‘War on Waste’ initiative to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment. “We are encouraging Partners to suggest new, sustainable ways to deal with waste,” said David Key, maintenance section manager at the Peterborough store.

“Another idea is to recycle the old electrical appliances we take away from our customers’ homes when we deliver their new one through schemes such as the city council’s Electrical Appliance Recycling Plant.”

John Lewis will host displays from a range of environment and recycling organisations in its staff dining room throughout the week. These include the city council’s environmental management and Travelchoice teams, the Energy Saving Trust, Anglian Water, Compass Re-store and Compass SOFA, Real Nappy Network and Re-made East.

Other companies also hosting displays include: Tuesday – Diligenta (Pearl Assurance) at Lynch wood; Wednesday – Perkins Engines; Thursday – Masterfoods/Mars at Shrewsbury Avenue, Woodston; Friday – Royal and SunAlliance – Lynch Wood; Monday 11 June – Acco UK at Bretton Way.

Councillor Graham Murphy, Cabinet member for Environment and Community Safety, said: “Support such as this from local employers can make a major difference to the city council’s strategy to reduce the volume of householder waste being buried in landfill sites. Following the ‘reduce, re-use, recycling’ advice also offers waste disposal cost savings for business.

“The city council is working hard to increase household recycling rates from 43 per cent last year to over 65 per cent in the future under a strategy designed to minimise dependence on landfill as a waste disposal option. I am glad that local firms are also making their own plans for similar reductions in the commercial sector.”

For more information about Recycling Week visit www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk

May 2007 - Peterborough UK Community Website