Environmental

Throughout the business we apply a structured approach to minimising our environmental impact. This includes:

• Implementation and maintenance of formal environmental management systems registered to ISO 14001: 2004 - such systems cover 86 per cent of our operational employees.
• Measuring our energy consumption and emissions and setting targets to improve performance.
• Carrying out environmental risk assessments and developing site management plans.
• Delivering solutions to clients to enable them to minimise their environmental impact.
• Providing training to employees and our supply chain to raise environmental awareness.
• Providing facilities to segregate and reuse or recycle waste.

The direct and rising cost of energy, the risk of climate change from continued levels of emissions and the need to comply with UK legislation, particularly the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), are concerns for all businesses. We work with our clients to deliver solutions to improve their energy management. At Interserve, we are committed to reducing our energy usage and carbon emissions, and have significantly cut down the energy used in our own offices.

CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

Interserve published a guidance information note together with an update covering the changes made since the publication of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Interserve has reported its carbon footprint since 2003 and for 2010 a total greenhouse gas footprint of 43,099 tonnes CO₂e can be attributed to activities carried out by Interserve in the UK.

We also participate in the international Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), where our rating has been consistently high. In 2009 we qualified for the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) in the FTSE 350 report. For 2010 and 2011 we were not included in the body of the report but on each occasion we were the highest-scoring organisation outside the FTSE 350. Interserve's results:

The natural environment and its ecosystems have significant socio-economic value and it is important that the economic exploitation be made in a sustainable way.

By the nature of our contracts, we are often responsible for looking after the natural environment and we are committed to minimising the use of natural resources and preventing unavoidable damage and pollution of the environment. Interserve carries out environmental impact assessments and delivers effective control and mitigation measures for construction works. In many cases our well-planned activities can enhance the natural environment, increasing biodiversity and providing a valuable resource for local communities.

A key factor in managing environmental impact is to minimise the amount of waste created and to reduce the amount sent to landfill.

All our fixed and temporary sites operate procedures to stream and recycle waste. Interserve has signed up to the WRAP Halving waste to landfill commitment aiming to increase the proportion of waste diverted from landfill, increase the proportion of recycled materials used on building sites, and achieve zero net waste to landfill on our construction sites.

Waste management

All fixed and temporary sites operate procedures to stream and recycle waste wherever possible. In offices this includes recycling paper, printer cartridges and redundant equipment, and on sites can include timber, metals and inert hardcore etc.

• Total waste generated at fixed sites in 2009 is estimated at 659 tonnes (2008: 609.4 tonnes). This equates to 22.13kg per employee (2008: 22.63kg per employee), a reduction which met our target for the year (see Environmental targets).
• Interserve operates a commercial waste service and processes potentially recyclable material through a waste transfer station.
• During 2009 we collected a total of 57,423 tonnes from clients (2008: 45,963 tonnes) and processed 12,364 tonnes through the transfer station (2008: 17,404 tonnes).
• A total of 8,947 tonnes (2008: 3,767 tonnes) of material was reclaimed including 155 tonnes of steel and 466 tonnes of timber (2008: 284 tonnes and 236 tonnes respectively). This represents a recovery rate of 72 per cent (2008: 22 per cent).

As the effects of climate change are felt, buildings can be adapted in order to save energy, cut costs and reduce carbon. When we refurbish and upgrade our clients’ estate we audit energy usage and provide solutions to eliminate wastage and improve efficiency, utilising an array of energy-saving technologies and tools including:

• Renewable energy
• Lighting
• Sub-metering
• Insulation
• Windows
• Heating
• Building management systems

Interserve is a major service provider into the water industry, designing and delivering projects to ensure safe drinking water and effective treatment of waste water.

We are committed to managing water consumption across our business. Water is primarily used within the company to provide welfare facilities in office environments and total water use for 2010 at fixed sites was 44,869 m³, a 7.8 per cent reduction on the 48,644 m³ recorded for 2009.