FAQs The environment
Questions and answers
Has your company published an environmental policy?
Yes. ABF's environmental policy is published on this web site and is part of the Corporate Citizenship section of the Annual Report.
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Does your company publish:
a) internal environmental reports?
b) an external environmental report?
ABF publishes both internal environmental reports and an external environment report on the web site.
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Does your company have an environmental management system?
We require all subsidiary companies to implement the requisite level of risk-management controls to ensure compliance with our Environment Policy. This enables them to install the level of risk management system which best suits their business needs and local circumstances.
Thirty six of our sites have an environmental management system externally certified to ISO 14001 or equivalent. This is eight more than last year. The remaining operations have environmental management systems which are broadly in line with the key aspects of ISO 14001.
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Who is responsible for managing your environmental programme:
a) at the board level?
b) at an operational level?
Des Pullen, our Group Human Resources Director has overall responsibility for ABF’s Safety & Environmental Policies and performance and reports to the CEO. He is supported directly by a Group Safety & Environment Manager, who also works with the Director of Legal Services on compliance issues.
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How much carbon dioxide did the company emit last year?
In 2007 the company emitted a total of 3.07 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
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Does your company operate a programme for improving energy efficiency?
What targets has your company set to improve energy efficiency?
ABF's policy is that energy is used efficiently and that its consumption is monitored. In 2007 the company used a total of 21.17 Terawatt hours of energy. 80% of the energy was used in the sugar and yeast operations. Each group has a responsibility to improve its energy performance according to its specific requirements and idiosyncrasies. Many of the ABF's UK companies have made a written agreement with the UK government to meet specific short-term and long-term improvement targets.
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Does your company operate a programme for improving water usage?
What targets has your company set to improve water efficiency?
It is ABF’s policy that our operating companies must use all natural resources, including water, efficiently so that we are not wasteful. Group companies continually review water consumption and set themselves improvement targets as appropriate. Last year the established companies reduced their water consumption by 3.8 million cubic metres.
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What are you doing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from your operations?
All our operating companies have an obligation to monitor their energy usage and to make sure that we use energy efficiently. The majority of ABF's carbon dioxide is due to the energy requirements of its factories, however, in many cases, such as sugar, the energy used is produced highly efficiently.
48% of our total energy usage is from the burning of bagasse (sugar cane fibre); a renewable fuel source.
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