Corporate Social Responsibility
Environment:
One of the consistent and core objectives of the Group’s environmental policy is to ensure that our manufacturing operations worldwide are managed responsibly, in materially full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, and that environmental damage or nuisance does not, as far as is practicable, occur as a result of a failure of any control or process throughout our operations. The Group continually reviews and evaluates its processes and practices and, where possible, takes action to reduce any potential impact of its operations on the environment. Each of our businesses establishes an environmental policy which guides its activities.
Other key features of our environmental efforts across business units include reducing energy consumption, emissions and waste, increased use of sustainable or recycled raw materials and the operation of environmental management systems, including ISO 14001.
Technical Coated Fabrics
MTX has inaugurated its “eco-care” system to demonstrate its commitment to environmental issues and to bring the responsible way in which it deals with energy and resources, sustainable materials and recycling of coated textiles under one all-embracing label. The eco-care concept accompanies products throughout their lifecycle, including incorporation of ecological criteria in the selection of raw materials, the use of environmentally friendly production processes, the utilisation of recyclable packaging materials and in participation in the development of recycling systems.
MTX’s R&D department has worked consistently on the use of ecologically harmless raw materials and the ongoing development of production methods that save on both energy and resources. The department bases its work in this area not only on the EU’s REACH Directive, but also researches and tests substitutions of both ecologically and economically relevant materials. These efforts are accompanied by improved equipping of production facilities and system optimisation to avoid production waste.
MTX uses predominantly recycled materials for packaging, while the establishment of local storage facilities ensures not simply just-in-time deliveries for clients but also reduces transport activities, transport costs and environmental pollution.
Towards the end of the year, MTX launched a project to improve the efficiency of material usage for which the German government offers financial support. Its application for support has been approved and it is the intention to finalise this project within the first quarter of 2011.
MTX has set an ambitious target to recycle 100% of its waste and is already making good progress towards this target. The first area the business has tackled is re-use of the waste compound from its PVC coating process, to create new coating material that has 70% recycled content which can be used to make grey standard tarpaulins. A second project has focused on recycling the waste edges from PVC coated material, which is trimmed before it is despatched to customers. Successful trials have taken place incorporating this waste in low cost tarpaulins and the aim is to eventually use the recycled waste in all coating materials.
Performance Technical Textiles
Bonar Technical Fabrics focuses its efforts on use of “green” energy, the reduction of energy use and emissions, the replacement of virgin raw materials by recycled ones where possible and the minimisation of waste. All production processes operate according to the environmental management system ISO 14001.
All electrical consumption across the Bonar Technical Fabrics sites in Belgium for to 2011 to 2012 will be provided from renewable energy sources such as wind, geothermal and hydro power. This initiative is expected to result in a reduction of up to 12,500 tonnes in carbon emissions for the current year and next, substantially reducing the company’s ecological footprint. Many of Bonar Technical Fabrics’ products are designed to improve or minimise damage to the environment. Geotextiles have many environmental protection applications: soil stabilising fabrics assist with erosion control, riverbank reinforcement and slope protection; and filtering fabrics prevent contamination from landfills and have applications in water purification. Agrotextiles help growers to increase yields with less water and energy, making better use of increasingly scarce resources: greenhouse screens save energy; weedcontrolling groundcovers make pesticides unnecessary; “aquaflux” groundcovers optimise the use of water thanks to their water retention and distribution features. A new initiative in the agrotextiles range will see the launch in 2011 of a fully bio-based groundcover, completely produced from annually renewable resources (principally corn).
Bonar Yarns aims to reduce the environmental impact of all its operations. It operates an environmental management system within the framework of ISO 14001 - documented and maintained environmental evaluation and legislative control systems are in place which are relevant to the products, processes and substances used. Use of artificial grass can reduce water consumption and the use of energy to produce it and the emissions from such production.
Colbond is seeking to further develop its leading position in the broad use of recycled and sustainable raw materials, optimise its manufacturing technologies in order to further reduce the consumption of energy, whilst improving process functionality, and seeking opportunities to switch to clean and renewable energy sources. It is also actively pursuing redirection of waste streams into reuse and recycling alternatives with the elimination of waste as the ultimate goal.
It also seeks to provide the most ecologically benign product lines available for customers’ applications and to develop solutions that promote environmentally sustainable products within its core markets.
It has announced an extension of its Colback® range of environmentally sustainable carpet backings and bituminous roofing membrane reinforcements. Its entire range of standard product types is now available in recycled polyester variants, whilst still delivering the same cost-effective high performance as traditional Colback® types. The new Colback® range extends the Group’s leadership in the field and significantly strengthens its competitive edge as it can offer the recycled content versions at the same price points as virgin raw material Colback® types.
Colbond has recently announced the launch of Colback® Green, a high performance carpet backing made of 100% sustainable raw materials and delivering the same high performance as traditional Colback® products. It contains post-consumer recycled polyester and polyamide-6 generated from carpet waste and creates the first recycling loop for the face side of carpet tiles and broadloom carpet.
Colbond has also increased the use of recycled materials in its Colbonddrain® range of products during the year. This is a pre-fabricated vertical drain for accelerated soil consolidation in civil engineering projects which has a patented high performance drainage core made of polyolefin from recycled bottle caps and labels. Colbond also offers EnkaRetain & Drain® a drainage, protection and insulation layer developed to suit the demands of the growing North American green roof market, with a composite made from post-industrial recycled polypropylene.
Colbond has also launched major initiatives to make even more efficient use of resources: measures to significantly increase fleecing process efficiency to lower air consumption; the installation of new low-energy humidification units; investment in a new boiler to reduce steam consumption; and the appointment of energy engineers in its plants and projects to reduce water consumption are examples.
In seeking to minimise waste for customers, Colbond is taking advantage of its two-step Colback® manufacturing process which allows production of tailor-made widths. The Detection Cut Compensate (DCC) system on the Colback® fleecing lines reduces length waste.
The Colback® Pro product line allows for 20% energy reduction for customers via lowering of temperatures during molding of car carpets, a 5 to 10% reduction in raw materials via pre-stretching before molding and a 25% energy reduction during production of Colback® Pro due to lower bonding temperatures.
Colback® can also be used as high-performance support layer for filtration media and activated carbon layers which increases efficiency and durability of the finished product and is suitable for both air and liquid filtration media helping to reduce the impact of environmental pollution.
Social and community issues:
Management of health & safety
The health and safety of our employees and others who may be affected by the Group’s operations remains an integral part of line management responsibility. Each location has designated personnel to ensure that health and safety issues are given proper attention. The communication of health and safety matters with employees remains core to ensuring that health and safety issues are integral to operations and that standards continue to improve within the Group. The Board does not see any accident as acceptable and has requested the Environmental, Health & Safety Committee to reinforce the Group’s zero-tolerance approach to accidents across all activities carried out in its operations and work practices.
During the year, two employees were very sadly killed in separate incidents at the Group’s plants in Lokeren in Belgium and Yizheng in China. The accident in Belgium occurred in February 2010, and, since the event, the Group has worked closely with local regulators to determine the causes of the accident in which the deceased employee was, at the time of accident, undertaking an unplanned activity outside the normal course of his job. There has, of course, been a wideranging internal investigation into the incident. Although the machine involved carried the appropriate CE Safety certificate and the production risk assessments had been carried out, the hazard associated with the unexpected activity being carried out at the time of accident had not been identified and immediate remedial action was taken to ensure that a similar accident should not happen again anywhere across the Group’s operations. A full review of all similar machinery and activities across the Group is continuing with local action plans in place to ensure that all machinery and work activities are as safe as possible. The Group has received confirmation that no enforcement or punitive action will be taken by authorities in relation to the machine or work practices in use at the time. The incident in China occurred in November 2010 and involved an employee who, although not involved in vehicle movement or unloading procedures, become trapped when a supplier reversed a vehicle into position. There has been another wide-ranging internal investigation into the incident. A full review of procedures and physical environments relating to loading and unloading of vehicles at plants across the Group is underway with the intention to achieve best practice across all facilities. The Group’s commitment to providing a safe working environment for all our employees and to ultimately eradicating all workplace accidents has been intensified as a result of this year’s tragic accidents.
The Group continues to extend offers of assistance and support to the families concerned.
The Board and the Environmental, Health & Safety Committee, a sub-committee of the Risk Oversight Committee, actively review and monitor detailed statistical performance from each site within the Group, detailing accidents and incidents to identify trends and focus on areas where improvements are required. In some instances, such a review has led to an in-depth health and safety audit at specific sites and on specific machinery, involving on-site management and external specialists. Where appropriate, action plans were developed during the year from these audits which have already resulted in improvements to accident rates and risk control performance. Details of accidents and incidents are communicated between locations as appropriate in order that preventative action can be taken.
In the year to 30 November 2010, the Group had a combined rate, for the Group as a whole, of 1,553 accidents per 100,000 employees against the EU manufacturing sector rate of 3,463 per 100,000 employees. Towards the end of the year the Group moved to change the benchmark against which it measures its performance on health and safety matters to a more demanding benchmark with the aim of reaching “best in class” standards by 2013. The Environmental, Health & Safety Committee, through divisional management, has been tasked with developing action plans for each division to achieve this challenging target within the stated overall aspiration of zero accidents within Group operations.
Risk management and heath and safety issues are also reviewed in a rolling programme of visits to each location by the Group Risk Manager. The Group Risk Manager works closely with the Group’s insurance risk surveyors and the Group’s insurance brokers, and their recommendations form an integral part of internal audit reviews. The insurers’ surveyors visited five of the Group’s sites in the year. No significant issues were raised and any minor actions identified were addressed locally.
The Group values its partnership with its insurers’ risk specialist and its insurance brokers and works in partnership with them to develop agreed steps for the continuing process of improvement of potential risk controls.
Community issues
The Group continues to encourage its various businesses to engage with the communities in which they operate. For example MTX was featured in an advertising film for the community in Hückelhoven (the site of one of its production facilities), invited a local fire brigade to perform a training exercise in its premises and also donated coated fabrics to a local kindergarten. Colbond had all of its stationery, brochures and samples produced by organisations employing disabled people at their workshops. The Asheville site made food donations at Christmas in conjunction with the Enka High School FFA and a donation was made to a Peruvian charity from the Arnhem site after twenty Colbond employees participated in a 10K run in Arnhem.
