Environmental Statement

IPN realises that ‘sustainability’ is not just about our emissions, our wastes or our carbon footprint. For IPN ‘sustainability’ means ensuring that the natural environment is not harmed by anything we do; it means that we take responsibility for our staff and our neighbours and that by securing economic vitality we support and empower ourselves and our stakeholders.

The Natural Environment

IPN is aware that some processes involved in the manufacture of our products have the potential to cause harm to the environment. Being aware of these issues enables us to monitor, mitigate and prepare for any impairment before it occurs. Monthly Environmental Impact Audits are conducted to check for legal compliance; to confirm that safety and preventative measures are in place and adhered to; to determine training requirements; to highlight any areas which may require updating or rethinking; to watch over and record waste streams and to identify any operation that may prove to be a hazard or require further monitoring.

Cardboard, plastic, paper, computer components and Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment (WEEE) are all recycled. Waste product is sent for Aerobic Digestion where biogas is captured and used as energy. Zero waste from IPN ends up in landfill.

Local eco-receptors such as Cod Beck and Pilmoor SSSI are protected from (domestic) effluent discharge, oil spillage or dust emissions, and a natural reed bed in the grounds of the site filter bacteria from the waste water stream. There is no effluent from our processing operations.

Healthy Communities

IPN endeavours to support local communities, by seeking to buy locally wherever possible and to recruit from the adjacent areas.

We ensure that all of our operations do not aggravate our neighbours. This includes noise abatement and providing a clean and well-managed environment.

Commitment to healthy communities includes our own staff’ well-being and welfare. Health and Safety procedures are critical to our operations. Staff health screening is conducted annually, including lung capacity and hearing tests.

All staff are provided with personal protective equipment including breathing apparatus where required and hearing and eye protection.

At IPN we operate a fully comprehensive Ethical Policy. IPN will not condone any discriminatory act or attitude in the conduct of our business with the public or our employees.

Economic Vitality

Economic Vitality covers a range of issues. In all areas we employ Best Available Technique in our purchasing, monitoring and performance activities; we aim to reduce our environmental impact by ensuring that equipment is energy efficient and is maintained to achieve a high level of performance; by investing in new technology where it is economically viable to do so, we can ameliorate waste and pare down energy costs and usage.

We have invested in superior energy technology and operate a Combined Heat and Power Plant. This has reduced energy usage and diminished our emissions of carbon dioxide.

Towards Sustainability

We are not deluding ourselves and we do not pretend to be perfect. We know that in every aspect of our performance there is room for improvement – waste minimisation, energy reduction, water consumption, cutting emissions and our carbon footprint.

In all areas we strive to improve, to be more efficient, more streamlined and more sustainable.

IPN’S Commitment to the Environment:

• IPN believes that any operation conducted by the Company should produce the least possible impact or damage to the Environment.
• The Board of Directors ensure this level of Environmental care is achieved through the implementation of a system of measures that quantify, control and monitor any practice that has the potential for negative impact or harm on the environment.
• To achieve and maintain the requirements of this policy, Chris Cole acts as Environmental Co-ordinator, but the Operations Director retains overall responsibility for the Environmental System.
• We are committed to reducing energy and water consumption; to reduce our carbon footprint and to manage and monitor our energy usage.

The Objectives of this Policy are:

2.1 To ensure that any company activities do not impact on the surrounding Environment or the community in which we operate and at all times working to ‘Best Available Technique’.

2.2 To identify possible sources of environmental concern and reduce them to an acceptable limit.

2.3 To ensure structures holding possible sources of contamination are adequate and regularly checked for damage.

2.4 To establish and continuously develop waste management streams, non-renewable energy reduction initiatives and maintain a strategy of overall plant energy efficiency improvements.

2.5 To ensure compliance with relevant legislation and retain a current Register of applicable legislation.

2.6 To ensure personnel are trained to a level to recognise any potential environmental accident or risk and have the resources available and knowledge to deal with the event.

2.7 To monitor any source or potential source of emission and ensure accepted levels are not exceeded.