The next generation CSR report comes 2 years after the company’s inaugural report marked Foster as the first European company in commercial refrigeration to set its own robust environmental targets. Now the company is proving its ‘working today, protecting tomorrow’ mandate, is paying off, with independent verification to back up its success. With £4m investment in a new low-carbon manufacturing facility providing the tools to build the award-winning EcoPro G2 product, and a string of environmental awards to date; Foster really is working today to protect tomorrow.
Paul Veried, Vice President, Refrigeration and Weigh, Europe, part of the Foster steering group which created this second report, said: “Our first CSR report set out in real terms how we planned to make our business as sustainable as possible, and this second report shows us how we are meeting these challenges and planning for the future.
“The nature of a manufacturing business means it carries with it a certain environmental impact, and therefore it is our responsibility to ensure we are doing things right. We see ensuring best practice in every aspect of production as key to making sure we keep this impact to a minimum – throughout our entire supply and production process, right through to our customers, with products which run as efficiently as possible.”
The report focuses on four themes: Climate Change, Sustainability, Social Responsibility and crucially, independent verification. Foster’s activities and procedures adhere to ISO standards which are audited by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance and which are endorsed by the Carbon Trust to meet its stringent standards. Veried added: “It is vital that our assessments and practises are audited for them to remain credible, we are not interested in ‘green wash’ in our business; we are interested in real value-added results.”
As well as the green credentials of the EcoPro G2 cabinet and its production facilities, Foster’s environmental successes to date include pioneering work with Hydrocarbon refrigerants and being the first in the industry to be recertified for the second time with the Carbon Trust standard.
Other highlights include:
- Sustainable manufacturing with a new low carbon production line.
- 64% reduction in C02 emissions per cabinet produced.
- Waste reductions in cardboard waste 56%, general waste 72% and chemical waste down by 82%.
- Product recycling: At the end of their useful lives Foster ensures that up to 98% of old products are recycled or reused – minimising landfill and element deterioration impact
- 51 % of components sourced from within a 35 mile radius of Foster’s UK factory
- The EcoPro G2 (EP700 H) is cheaper to run than a traditional light bulb – Foster currently offer customers free energy monitors to quantify the energy consumption of their cabinets, proving they can be operated for the claimed £65.30 over 12 months.
Veried said: “Foster’s first CSR report was truly a milestone, and we see this second report in the same light. We are proving just how far we have come and how much is possible and we are extremely proud of the achievements shown in this CSR report.”
To view the 2103 Foster Refrigerator CSR Report visit: www.fosterrefrigerator.co.uk/csr