Environmental & Sustainability Policy

It is the policy of PEM Engineering and Construction Limited to:

  • Minimise waste.
  • Minimise the consumption of resources (materials, fuel and energy).
  • Minimise or eliminate environmental pollution.
  • Minimise environmental effects that could be caused by company activities.
  • Not prioritise funding needs ahead of sustainability requirement.
  • Work with our supply chain to ensure responsible and sustainable resources.
  • Control environmental effects caused by raw material resourcing.

This applies to all areas of the company’s operations.

Employees are required to comply with the company’s Environmental initiatives.

Employees must segregate waste materials and use recycling collection schemes for materials including but not limited to: Metals; Wood; Paper /card; Plastics; Glass / bottles; General site rubbish

Office waste paper must be separated from general rubbish.

A collection service for the removal of scrap materials and waste paper must be in place at all work sites.

Environmental audits at all project sites are carried out on a regular basis, under direction of the HSEQ Manager.

SPILLS

Spillage controls must be in place wherever harmful liquids are used. COSHH sheets are maintained for all hazardous substances used. All workshop locations and project sites must have suitable and sufficient provision for dealing with small scale spills. This will normally be the allocation of standard emergency spill kits which will have sufficient capacity for the level of potential incident on site. On the majority of sites this will predominantly be of diesel and oil used for mobile plant and equipment. All mobile plant and equipment shall be provided with suitable spill / drip tray positioned under the plant to capture any potential fuel / oil spills and leaks. These shall be emptied as soon as practical in the event of a spill / leak. The resultant material must be disposed of through the allocated licensed sub contract waste collection organization. In the event of a major spillage or release of a large quantity of a substance the Line Manager MUST inform the HSE Manager immediately. It is the responsibility of the HSE Manager to inform the Environmental Agency of the spillage.

NOISE

All plant and equipment must be maintained is such a manner to ensure they operate efficiently and that produced noise levels are kept to a minimum. All plant and equipment must have a suitable silencer fitted to the exhaust
system (where applicable). When working inside buildings such as workshops all doors and windows should be closed as far as practicable to reduce the propagation of noise beyond the building.

PURCHASING

All purchasing activities shall be conducted with a view to ensuring environmental considerations are included.
When purchasing materials, the possibility of bulk ordering should always be explored to reduce transportation levels. Packaging quantities should also be considered, bulk purchases often incur less packaging. Plant and
equipment should be selected which will use the most environmentally friendly fuels, have good fuel consumption figures and wherever possible be of a “silenced” design. Electrical items should also be selected based upon their
efficiency values. Low energy fittings should be specified for all new electrical lighting. When selecting suppliers and comparing quotes, the buyer should prefer safe, low impact, value driven and sustainable solutions.

STORAGE OF HARMFUL SUBSTANCES

Any chemicals, fuel, solvents or paints required for the project will only be stored in clearly labelled designated areas on the site. Bulk fuel will be stored in bunded tanks or bowsers, the bund of which will be capable of holding 110% of the tank capacity. Deflectors should be provided to keep rain water out and regular checks must be made to ensure the bund remains empty. In the event of any spillage, the principal will be to recover as much spilled material as possible and to keep it away from drains and water courses. All contaminated spoil shall be removed from site and disposed of in accordance with the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations.

REVIEWS

The management of each site is required as part of PEMEC’s HSE standards to ensure that the environmental policy, its supporting operations and controls, are subject to review and audit procedures.
Any review carried out should cover key aspects namely:

  • Legislative and regulatory requirements
  • The evaluation and registration of significant environmental effects
  • The assessment/evaluation of existing environmental practices and procedures
  • The feedback from previous incidents and aspects of non-compliance in all instances, normal and abnormal operation of the site and potential emergency conditions must be considered.