A PETERBOROUGH firm’s pledge to cut its energy consumption by 20 per cent over the next two years has led to its parent company achieving top environmental status.
Nationwide Platforms is part of Lavendon Access Services, which has become the first powered access company in the UK to achieve ISO 14001, the international standard for environment management systems.
If the depot in Newark Road, Peterborough, achieves its energy reduction target by 2012, it will save enough electricity to light 20 average family homes for a year.
Nationwide Platforms Peterborough depot manager Nick Childs said: “Achieving ISO 14001 has been a real team effort and a lot of hard work. But it’s well worth it because we know we are working as efficiently as we can and helping to protect the environment.
“It also makes good business sense, because an increasing number of our local customers also have stringent energy saving targets and can be assured that we are contributing effectively to that effort.”
Lavendon is Europe’s biggest provider of powered access and aims to set the industry standard for protecting the environment.
ISO 14001 provides a core set of international standards that organisations can use to design the most effective environment management systems. Nationwide Platforms Peterborough, along with other Lavendon depots, has shown it meets this standard for a range of measures, including energy use, waste management, recycling, noise and light pollution.
Kevin Appleton, chief executive of the Lavendon Group, said: “Nationwide Platforms Peterborough has done a great job in contributing to us achieving the very important ISO 14001 standard. Whilst it makes strong commercial sense, we also believe it reflects the company’s determination to be a socially responsible environmentally-conscious organisation. Efficient use of energy and other resources means less waste and less cost which improves our profitability and means we can concentrate more on meeting our customers’ needs. It shows the great strides we have made as a company. In 2008, I set the challenge of gaining the accreditation within two years. It is a great credit to all our staff that we’ve achieved that goal.”
The standard applies to all Lavendon Access Services depots that have been modernised as part of the company’s Technical Excellence programme, which includes Nationwide Platforms Peterborough.
Lavendon Access Services is heading towards an integrated suite of ISO standards. With ISO 9001 and 14001 already achieved, the company is due to have ISO 18001 in place by April 2011.