Corporate Responsibility

Macfarlane Group recognises that through its business operations it has a broader responsiblity for the environment, to its customers and to its employees. In order to achieve this we have a series of programmes focused on environmental care, improving the customer experience and increasing employee engagement.

Corporate Responsibility (CR) leadership comes from an internal committee consisting of members from a cross section of the Group lead by the Chief Executive. The key objectives of the CR Commitee are:

• To improve the awareness of CR across the Group;
• To develop and implement CR action plans that support the CR strategy;
• To ensure that CR becomes an integral part of daily operational activities; and
• To monitor and report on CR performance using agreed key performance indicators (KPI's).

CO2 Emissions

The Group aims to reduce its carbon footprint through a proactive approach to all aspects of the business. Energy and fuel consumption is centrally managed, which enables the Group to target reductions in carbon emissions. However, during 2012 for every £1,000 of product sold, the Group increased its CO2 emissions by 5.7% compared to 2011, reflecting the impact of sales price deflation. The detailed analysis is provided in the table below:

Energy Usage

The Group's total energy consumption per £1,000 of sales increased in 2012 by 3.0% as set out below:

Fuel Usage

The Packaging Distribution business uses Paragon Fleet Controller to calculate the most efficient and cost effective means of managing the delivery of products to its customers. In 2012 the Group fuel consumption was reduced by 4.1% per £1,000 of sales through better route planning and the introduction of more efficient vehicles as set out below:

Waste Management

In 2012 a comprehensive review of all our UK sites resulted in further waste reductions in overall tonnage and levels of landfill waste. Almost 90% of our waste streams are now recycled and we will continue to work to improve this level of performance.
The focus in 2013 will be to increase the level of recycling in the Labels business, whose by-products have traditionally been more difficult to recycle.

Environmental Care

We are committed to reducing the impact of our activities on the environment and we work closely with our suppliers and partners to use sustainable materials and resources wherever practical.

We support our customers in their efforts to reduce their environmental impact through their choice of packaging products.
Our Environmental Product Matrix, developed in conjunction with our suppliers, enables customers to choose fit for purpose packaging solutions that embrace the ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ ethos.

Registration to ISO 14001

All of our packaging sites are registered to BSI ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard, an internationally recognised standard on environmental management.

Registration involves a process of continual assessment providing instant market place recognition of our commitment to reducing the impact of the business on the environment.

Sales Order Management

The use of Customer Connect and www.macfarlanepackaging.com encourages a paperless communication of orders and reduces the cost of transactions.

In the Distribution business in 2012 the combined sales from Customer Connect and macfarlanepackaging.com resulted in 17.5% of orders being electronically transacted compared with 16.3% in 2011.

MacfarlanePackaging.com

Our web based service, macfarlanepackaging.com enables existing and potential customers to research and evaluate our product, pricing and service offer and buy packaging over the internet.

The Employee Experience

Macfarlane Group recognises the importance of ensuring the best people are recruited, developed and retained and to ensure a safe, diverse working environment that promotes good employee relations at all levels within the business.

Training

The Group invests in training in order to equip individuals with the skills and knowledge required to best serve the customer and to ensure they fulfil their personal potential. On average in 2012 each employee was engaged in 12 hours of formal training. In addition there was an additional 3,500 hours of training linked to Project Enterprise – the upgrade of our ERP system.

The Group also offers external training and coaching to develop career progression for key individuals. In 2012 we had 10 individuals on Company sponsored Further Education and coaching programmes.

Employee Engagement

We conducted Employee Surveys across the business in 2012 with a good response rate and constructive feedback.
In addition there are role specific forums, regular more informal review meetings and business update sessions that provide the opportunity for an open two-way dialogue with all our employees.

Health and Safety

The health, safety and welfare of colleagues, customers and suppliers are key business objectives within the Group.

The Group’s approach to Health and Safety is based upon the best practice guidelines issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

There is a dedicated Health and Safety manager in the business who works with local Health and Safety teams to ensure Health and Safety knowledge and standards are effectively applied on a consistent basis.

At each business Health and Safety is a main agenda item at all formal monthly review meetings and each month every operating site in the Group is internally assessed and graded on their Health and Safety performance.

In addition there are regular meetings whereby meaningful communication and consultation with local Health and Safety representatives is undertaken to ensure both group and local Health and Safety objectives are achieved.

The Group Board also reviews a monthly report on Health and Safety at each meeting and monitors any actions flowing from them.