Environment
Pinstripe and BS-EN ISO14001
What is BS-EN ISO14001?
BS-EN ISO14001 is an internationally recognised environmental management system (EMS) standard. It provides a framework for controlling environmental impacts and promoting continuous improvement in environmental performance.
Three key areas must be managed:
- Compliance with environmental legislation
- Prevention of pollution
- Improvement in environmental performance
How does an EMS work?
An EMS is a cycle that contains four elements, which together result in continuous improvement in environmental performance:
Plan: identify environmental impacts and place in order of significance. Identify applicable environmental legislation. Write an environmental policy (a statement of commitment to improving your environmental impacts).
Action: set objectives and targets to work towards policy commitments and improving environmental performance. Implement procedures to control environmental impacts.
Check: monitor environmental impacts. Check you are correctly following procedures (internal auditing). Take corrective actions if matters are not going as planned.
Review: senior management reviews the progress of the EMS to ensure it continues to address the most significant environmental impacts. Amend environmental policy if this has changed (back to planning).
Attaining certification
Pinstripe's EMS has been assessed and approved by CQS (Certified Quality Systems) Ltd, a leading international certification body. This involved an assessment of our EMS documentation to satisfy it met the requirements of ISO14001, and a site assessment to verify that the documentation is being correctly followed and that the requirements of ISO14001 are being met in practice.
CQS conduct audit visits twice a year to ensure that the EMS continues to be maintained satisfactorily and improvements in environmental performance are being demonstrated.
Working Environmentally with Pinstripe
Pinstripe has steadily worked towards becoming one of the greenest printers in the country. As we have grown, we have taken a series of steps to reduce our impact on the environment. These measures are now part of our standard workflow so that we are now able to offer all the benefits to clients without having to charge them any extra.
Electricity
Pinstripe installed an electricity control and monitoring system to conserve our electricity usage. This prevents over 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere a year.
Transport
When purchasing new company vehicles, our policy is to purchase vehicles that have lower carbon dioxide emissions and improve on fuel efficiency.
Printing chemicals
We print predominantly using vegetable oil based inks. The chemicals we use are continually reviewed to ensure there are no alternatives that are more environmentally friendly. Our plate making facility is installed with a reprocessing unit which has halved the amount of waste chemicals we produce. All waste chemicals are sent to registered specialists where they are recycled.
Pre-press
We have used Computer-to-Plate technology for a number of years as part of our digital pre-press workflow. This eliminates waste film and photographic chemical waste from our processes.
Waste: reducing and recycling
Training is a key element to ensure everyone in the company seeks to reduce waste. We look to recycle all our waste; office waste, off-cuts, cardboard, plastics, chemical containers, ink tins, pallets. We work closely with our suppliers to ensure we can dispose of our waste in a responsible manner and recycle wherever possible.
Further information?
There are many more elements to Pinstripe's environmental practices. If you would like further information please contact our MD Nigel Lyon on +44 (0)121 236 0101 or email him at nigel.lyon@pinstripegroup.co.uk.
www.bsi-uk.com/Environment/index.xalter
