Howard Hunt Achieves Environmental Standard

Howard Hunt Group, the UK print and direct mail company, has been certified to the environmental management standard ISO 14001.

Howard Hunt Group, the UK print and direct mail company, has been certified to the environmental management standard ISO 14001.

The accreditation followed a final audit conducted earlier this month.

An 'environmental taskforce' was set up at Howard Hunt and trained to create, implement and manage an EMS that would meet the requirements of the standard.

The taskforce carried out a full environmental review of operations to identify business activity that may have effect the environment such as emissions, noise and energy usage.

Following the review, the team formulated an environmental policy committed to continual improvement of environmental performance and full legal compliance, which was endorsed by the company's board and communicated across the business.

The team was required to outline how the policy would be achieved by documenting green procedures for all relevant activities.

To achieve the ISO 14001, Howard Hunt Group drew up environmental projects and programmes to address the environmentally-significant aspects of its operations.

One such programme was to reduce the amount of isopropyl alcohol used in the printing process.

Others included improved inspection and maintenance of compressed air systems to avoid air leaks and energy wastage, the use of national change of address files to ensure against the production of unnecessary direct mail packs and working closely with its clients to reduce the amount of cardboard used in packaging.

Luke Pigott, a director at Howard Hunt Group said: "We are delighted to have met the standard, confirming the positive action we are taking to protect and sustain the environment.

This achievement is testimony to the commitment of staff across the company in implementing a formal environmental management system, the concept for which has been many years in the making.

Achieving the ISO 14001 is part of a larger corporate social responsibility programme.

We hope that the accreditation will attract equally socially conscious clients and help us to build upon the success we've enjoyed over the last few years." The company said that it plan to integrate the EMS with other systems already in operation such as quality assurance and health and safety to produce a streamlined approach to management for the benefit of staff, customers and suppliers.

ISO 14001 is an internationally-recognised voluntary standard for environmental management systems (EMS) concerned with the minimisation of negative impact that a company's operations may have on the environment.

The standard is recognised as an effective element in sustaining the environment for future generations through the prevention of pollution, as well as the promotion of energy efficiency and waste management.

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