Environmental Policy

RFP Contracting is a private Maintenance Company, working in both the public and the private market sectors on property refurbishment, estate regeneration, alteration and improvement works to existing buildings and new buildings, as well as preventative maintenance.

Operating mainly in refurbishment, we recognise that our activities have an impact upon our surroundings in terms of asset recycling, waste generation, the use of raw materials, and emissions to air and water. We are committed to improving all aspects of our construction process and seek through the integration of environmental management with our other business systems to minimise the impact our activities have on the environment.

RFP Contracting is committed to:
• Complying with all relevant legislation, regulation, and government guidance.
• Preventing pollution and avoiding unnecessary waste.
• Minimising the environmental impact of our operations, to reduce the effects of noise, dust, contamination, disturbance, and inconvenience.
• Consulting with our supply chain on initiatives that enhance our environmental performance.
• The efficient use of resources, promoting recycling and the use of sustainable materials.
• Developing management procedures that avoid wasteful operational processes.
• Providing appropriate environmental training for our staff.
• Continuous improvement in environmental performance in terms of recycling paper, ensuring our sites are clean and tidy, safety management, and liaison with local community representatives.

In support of this, the board of RFP Contracting has:
• Initiated the integration of environmental management, based upon ISO 14001, into the management procedures in the Company.
• Instructed that Project Environmental Plans are formulated for each major project.
• Established management reporting and feedback on environmental issues.
• Published this environmental policy to confirm its commitment to all members of its supply chain.

Undertaken to review environmental performance and where appropriate publish results.

ORGANISATION
This section of our policy details RFP Contracting structure for implementing Environmental matters.

As the business aim of RFP Contracting is to integrate its construction processes together, it is equally necessary for all the disciplines and functions in the company to adopt a consistent team approach for this Policy to be achieved.

All employees of the company are therefore responsible for ensuring, to the best of their ability, that the company procedures are implemented.

On our projects, the specific environmental duties and responsibilities will be assigned to individual team members in the relevant Project Environmental Plan.

Managing Director
The Managing Director is accountable to the Board for the Environmental performance of the Company.

In particular this will require him to:

Ensure the Company has a comprehensive, up to date Environmental policy that meets statutory obligations,

Ensure the policy contains a demonstration of his personal commitment by the inclusion of a signed and dated Policy Statement.

Review the Policy to ensure that it remains comprehensive, relevant and up to date.
Assign duties to key personnel to apply the Policy throughout the Company

Contracts Managers, Supervisors and Site Managers
All managers and supervisors, including Site Managers are accountable through the recognised chain of line management for implementing this Policy.

In particular, managers and supervisors are required to:
• Be familiar with and demonstrate their commitment to this Policy and promote continuous environmental performance
• Where appropriate instigate a formal Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment for the activities under their control
• Ensure that a Project Environmental Plan is published, maintained and complied with for their Project and distributed to all relevant parties.
• Assign specific environmental duties to members of their site management team and subcontractors.
• Ensure that no toxic, noxious or offensive substance is discharged into the atmosphere, waterways or land.

Estimators
They will:
• Consider at time of tender, the information contained in the enquiry related to environmental issues.

• Consider the possible impacts on the project by current legislation, approved codes of practice and other specific site constraints

Employees
All employees are accountable through the management structure for conforming to the requirements of this Policy and of statutory requirements.

In particular, every employee is required to:
• Take care and attention of the environment
• Co-operate in fulfilling the Company’s pursuit of continuous environmental improvement.
• Be familiar with and implement this Policy
• Conform to the requirements of the Project Environmental Plan, where applicable.

PLANNING AND ARRANGEMENTS
This part of the policy identifies the risks and threats to the environment commonly encountered during RFP Contracting activities. It also describes RFP Contracting arrangements for eliminating or adequately controlling these risks or threats accordingly.
• Threats of the workplace

The environmental threats commonly encountered during normal operations include:
• Pollution of water courses
• Pollution of ground
• Air pollution, e.g. smoke, dust, fume
• Generation of excessive noise

The following describes the detail arrangements for promoting environmental risk management at the individual sites and offices.

Planning and Design
Great importance is placed on planning effective environmental management into projects before construction activities commence. Effective environmental management needs to identify and eliminate or control foreseeable environmental threats before they happen during the execution of the works. Planning environmental management into the project therefore starts at the initial tender stage, when proper account is taken of statutory and RFP Contracting detail environmental requirements. Identified environmental threats of the work are assessed by the estimators and potential solutions considered within the bidding process.

Environmental Risk Analysis
On each project, the Contracts Manager will ensure that an Environmental Risk Analysis has been undertaken. The management controls deemed necessary to prevent adverse environmental effects from the construction process will be specified in the Project Environmental Plan.

Project Environmental Plan
For any project, environmental plans will be prepared appropriate to the specific issues relevant to the particular site and the construction methodology.

Policy
Planning
Identify environmental issues
Identify environmental requirements
Draft objectives
Draft management programme to support objectives

Implementation
Define responsibilities
Training awareness and competence
Communication
Documentation
Documentation control
Operational control
Emergency procedure

Checking and Corrective action
Monitoring and measurement
Non-conformance and corrective action
Records
Audit
Management review

As part of RFP Contracting ongoing commitment into improving its Environmental Management performance it has embarked upon a programme of measurement and feedback to monitor its success. Following a lengthy period of investigation into the processes at its Head Office, measuring the hidden costs associated with Waste, the Company has commenced acting on a number of recommendations agreed to by the Managing Director.

This brief paper summates those actions recently instigated and gives commentary on any lessons it has learnt in the process.

Paper
The re-use of discarded photocopying paper and of redundant paper retrieved by the business as notepaper has reduced the amount of paper removed from the Office and avoided the need of purchasing preprinted feint ruled note pads. The introduction of re-cycling the paper that has been discarded has also reduced the amount of rubbish being collected from the office from a collection every week to fortnightly.

The introduction of a PC to every member of staff has materially affected the amount of paper purchased by the Company, and has resulted in an increase consumed in the past 2 years. We have now set about redressing this imbalance by arranging our printing system facilities to reduce this use by:

1. Re-using single sided for drafting purposes;
2. Having presentation, final issue on clean paper;
3. Wherever possible electronically issuing information to recipients;
4. Using electronic issue of facsimiles, avoiding the need to retain transmittal notes.

We have also looked to receive all our incoming enquiries issued to us electronically. We are looking to develop our internal processes to reduce the amount of paperwork generated with our suppliers. We currently use e-mail trading for our purchasing and issue payments to our subcontractors via BACS, wherever possible.

Water
We have set about improving the facilities at our offices by introducing dual flush cistern.

At our sites, we are involved in many processes involving the use of water, ranging from cleaning to adding into materials, and for welfare. It is our policy that at our sites a risk assessment and environmentally safe system of work is implemented to, amongst other factors, save water. Wherever appropriate we seek to maintain all suitable equipment to avoid leaks, using spray nozzles to minimize losses from hoses being left running; and in directing the focus of water for optimum effect.

Electricity
We have set about a maintenance and improvement policy to replace our lighting with low energy lamps, on dimming controls.

Our switching arrangements have been altered to provide more direct, local control to reduce use, and PIR detection for automatic control. External lighting is by photo electric cell control.

At our sites, we have installed timer devices on our lighting systems to control timing of operation.

Waste
At our office we have implemented a number of waste reducing initiatives, ranging from the reduction in use of paper, recycling the waste paper, flat packing of card to reduce disposal, whilst generally looking to minimize the amount of packaging and “junk mail” we receive.

At our sites we are continually looking at reducing the amount of waste we generate from poor housekeeping, poor standards in workmanship and in the more direct approach of ordering accurate quantities of materials required for the project.
It is company policy that whenever appropriate, temporary materials will be re-used and transported to another project for use and that temporary packaging is returned to the provider rather than be disposed of. We are currently reviewing our suppliers list to assess their abilities in minimising the amount of packaging material delivered to site for disposal.

RFP Contracting Reducing Paper
It is a stated objective of the company to reduce the amount of paper, yet improve communication across the business.

We have, as you should all recognise, invested in the use of computers. Consequently, we are looking to harness the full potential of Information Technology and adopt this as our main thrust to minimise paper processes whilst improving communication.

We have noted however that the advent of the computer has markedly increased the amount of paper we now use as a company and that we need action to counter this trend.
Ideas abound in how we may reduce the amount of paper we as a company use and certain measures to be implemented, but these all rely upon each of us.

The purpose of this note is to advise everyone to consider how, in fact, they use paperwork, to consider how they may individually use less, and to communicate any ideas they may have to their colleagues.

RFP CONTRACTINGLTD ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN

Waste Reduction & Recycling
In order to comply with the employer’s requirements for this project and as part of RFP Contracting ongoing commitment of improving its Environmental Management performance, we will be introducing methods of segregating the waste generated on building sites enabling us to recycle materials wherever possible.

When required a minimum of two skips will be provided on site, one for general waste and one for recycling. All skips will be provided with suitable signage indicating what waste may be deposited into each skip.

Further segregation of recyclable materials is undertaken by the licensed waste carrier at the waste transfer station.

It will be the responsibility of the site manager and/or foreman to advise all operatives employed on the site of our environmental policy and to ensure that the following measures are adhered to: -

General Waste
General waste from the works, which cannot be recycled, will be deposited into general waste skips within our site compound. This skip will be removed from site on a regular basis by licensed waste carriers and disposed of accordingly.

Timber & Metal
All waste timber and metal arising from the construction process will be deposited in the recycling skips.

Paper
Waste paper generated from the site accommodation will be segregated for recycling as follows;

Site Offices: In the first instance, paper will be re-used as much as possible using both sides of copy paper before discarding. Separate waste bins will be provided for waste paper and these will be regularly emptied into the recycling skip located in the site compound.

Welfare Facilities: Waste bins will be provided for depositing paper, paper towels, metal cans, plastic bottles and cardboard. These bins will be regularly emptied into the recycling skip located in the site compound.

Toilet Facilities: Waste bins will be provided for depositing paper towels. These bins will be regularly emptied into the recycling skip located in the site compound.

Asbestos & Other Hazardous Materials
Asbestos and other hazardous materials will only be removed and disposed of by specialist, licensed carriers and contractors. Any work to or disposal of this type of material will be subject to specific Method Statements, Risk and COSHH Assessments provided.