Environment

ENVIRONMENT

  • Electricity – We had solar panels installed on our business premises roof in 2014. This has produced 100.22 MWh in the last 12 months compared to our consumption of 100.65MWh giving us a typically self sustainability figure 99.6%. Solar and LED lighting with motion sensor detectors have been installed throughout our premises to reduce unecessary power waste.
  • Gas – Air sourced heat pumps were installed on site to reduce the gas boiler usage with the heat pumps being run by solar generated electricity.
  • Other business travel – we have reduced travel by operating more remote meetings. COVID has accelerated this programme and we now expect a much greater portion of meetings to be held remotely, as well as adopting a hybrid home/office working model going forward.

ENERGY

Solar Panels

Camlab produces over 100% of its own electricity needs. This id done by utilising a roof wide solar array on our 30,000sq.ft. warehouse in Cambridge. Although we still have to draw energy from the grid at night, we produce over half of our own power with the balance feeding into the national grid. Heating and cooling for the offices is provided by advanced heat pump technology. This produces 4-5 times more kW of heat as it consumes. Future projects will include rechargeable battery technology to further increase our own energy usage and reduce our reliance on fossil based sources.

PACKAGING

We re-use over 50% of the cartons and packaging materials that we receive in. Where possible we send out products without additional packing materials. During 2022 we also switched to a paper based tape so the packaging is fully recyclable after use. All of the new packaging we use is responsibly sourced and we continually work towards better solutions to ensure the product gets to our customers in the best condition with minimum impact to the environment.

Re-used packaging

SUSTAINABILITY

Constantly looking at ways to take Camlab forward in a sustainable way is key to our management and staff. Pioneering the use of electric vehicles in 2015 we now have over 30% of our company drivers switched over to full electric vehicles. We have discouraged the use of Hybrid vehicles wherever possible. We do not feel these vehicles address the goals of reducing emissions or fossil fuel use.

WASTE

We take care to minimise our waste as much as possible with a strategy of re-use wherever possible.
We also recycle paper, glass, metals, cardboard and plastics.

Environment

OUR STATEMENT

The following statement is an extract of our ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems Policy. It is available in original form on request. Camlab are suppliers of laboratory equipment and process instrumentation. The company recognises that it can only achieve its business objectives if the operational performance of its activities, along with the products it supplies, reflects the changing environmental priorities of the Community it serves.

The company is committed to introducing and developing practicable and cost effective environmental best practices throughout the business. It is recognised that the pursuit of economic growth and a safe, healthy and hygienic environment must be closely linked. The protection of the environment and its ecology from the company’s activities is part of the management’s responsibility. Camlab also recognises that its day to day activities impact on the environment in a number of ways (water and energy usage and general waste). It is committed to preventing environmental pollution (Noise, Smoke, Oil, Light etc). It is these impacts that the company wishes to minimise. The company is committed to a programme of continual environmental improvement and will establish systems and initiatives to bring about the broad principles of this policy. Camlab also recognises that in a wider context, the organisation wishes to become a low carbon and a sustainable business. To do this Camlab is committed to providing resources to engage with suppliers and become agents for change.

We aim to reduce the carbon emissions impact of both its upstream and downstream commercial activities.

In particular Camlab will:

  • Meet, and where possible exceed, the requirements of all relevant environmental legislation.
  • Seek to reduce the consumption of materials in all operations, reuse rather than dispose wherever possible, and promote recycling and use of recycled materials.
  • Work with suppliers and contractors to minimise the impact of their operations on the environment through a quality purchasing policy.
  • Work with customers as required, to help meet their environmental objectives and provide information to assist measures to influence customer choice towards those products and services that help meet their stated targets.
  • Design energy efficiency into new services and buildings, and manage energy wisely in all operations.
  • Provide products that are safe to use, make efficient use of resources, and which can be recycled or disposed of safely.
  • Include environmental issues at relevant management meetings, and train all employees to adopt and improve good environmental working practices.
  • Provide necessary training to raise awareness of the environment, and encourage energy saving and waste minimisation.
  • Monitor the company’s environmental performance through auditing on a regular basis and through the examination of data.
  • Extend Camlab’s scope of influence to identified major external stakeholders to help estimate their carbon impact as part of our commitment toward reaching net zero and as part of our carbon offset
  • To share best practice by making available to others our approach and methodology to assist them to reduce their own impact of greenhouse gases.
  • Include all associated carbon measures to reduce the impact of travel to work and to customers.
  • Set GHG targets aligned to a 1.5°C near-term target, so as to be eligible to set new net-zero GHG targets.

ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES

To ensure Camlab operates efficiently with respect to the environment and meets the requirements of ISO14001. These objectives are set and monitored through KPI’s within Policy Deployment.

Net-zero targets include:

  • Near-term science-based targets are absolute scope 1 and 2 Green House Gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets that should be achieved by 2030, from a predefined base year.
    • Long-term science-based targets which are absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions reduction targets that should be achieved by 2050, from a predefined base year.

Leadership Commitment

The Managing Director will have overall responsibility for the Environmental Management System and will communicate performance and improvements to the board. The board will make available resources to enable the company environmental objectives. The company is committed to a programme of continual environmental improvement and will establish systems, processes and initiatives to bring about the broad principles of this policy.

Communication

This environmental policy is available to all employees via the Business Management System and BreatheHR, and available to all external stakeholders and interested parties on www.camlab.com. The company’s progress toward sustainability and Net Zero will be measured and reported as part of its corporate social responsibility and made publicly available.

Our environmental ‘mission’ and vision 

  • We will extend the scope of measurement of Green House Gases (GHG) to include our indirect partner emissions as part of our total carbon reduction programme. 
  • We wish to be a ‘leader’ on environmental sustainability within our market-sector.
  • We will do this through positive community engagement with our people our partners, suppliers, customers, employees and other stakeholders for the improvement of sustainable science.
  • We will help others to implement ‘best operational practice’, helping to accelerate the reduction of our total carbon footprint.
  • We will work toward a mutual reduction in both emissions and costs to demonstrate a positive long term financial payback to become carbon neutral and help meet our Net Zero commitments to protect our planet.
  • By pro-actively and transparently publishing our information, sharing our in-house knowledge and engaging with our partners in the environmental community, we hope to become a catalyst for accelerated change and help reduce the costs of global warming, for the benefit of all.

Download our full sustainability document here:

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