SUSTAINABILITY

Christmas Inspirations recognises that it has a responsibility to the environment beyond legal and regulatory requirements. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods. We will encourage customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to do the same.

Responsibility

Mrs Andrea Barnett, Chief Executive, is responsible for ensuring that this environmental policy is implemented. However, all employees have a responsibility in their area to ensure that the aims and objectives of this policy are met.

Energy & Water

We also find it very important to pay attention to the use of energy and water. That is why we are planning to install solar panels at our office in Beverwijk. In addition, we already take the following things into account:

Reduce the amount of energy used as much as possible
Switch off lights and electrical equipment when not in use
Adjust heating with energy consumption in mind
Take energy consumption and efficiency of new products into account when purchasing them

Transportation

As a wholesaler, we naturally make extensive use of transport. That is why attention will also be paid to this and an attempt will be made to minimize transport. We will use the following points for this:

Reduce the need to travel, restricting to necessity trips only
Promote the use of travel alternatives such as e-mail or video/phone conferencing
Favour ‘green’ vehicles and maintain them rigorously to ensure ongoing efficiency

Office suplies

In our office in Beverwijk, a lot of attention can also be paid to sustainability. Therefore, we will take into account the following points:

• Evaluate if the need can be met in another way.
• Evaluate if renting or sharing is an option before purchasing equipment.
• Evaluate the environmental impact of any new products we intend to purchase.
• Favour more environmentally friendly and efficient products wherever possible.
• Reuse and recycle everything we are able to.

Monitoring and improvement

To ensure that our sustainable ideas are actually implemented, we will regularly monitor and see where we can improve ourselves. We do this by using the following points:

• Comply with all relevant regulatory requirements.
• Continually improve and monitor environmental performance.
• Continually improve and reduce environmental impacts.
• Incorporate environmental factors into business decisions.
• Increase employee awareness through training.
• Review this policy and any related business issues at monthly management meetings.

Policy aims

We endeavour to:

Comply with all relevant regulatory requirements
Continually improve and monitor environmental performance
Continually improve and reduce environmental impacts
Incorporate environmental factors into business decisions
Increase employee awareness and training

Paper

At Christmas Inspiration we make use of a lot of paper and packaging. Because of that we think it’s important that we do this as sustainable as possible. To make sure this goes well, we have made a few rules:

Minimise the use of paper in the office
Reduce packaging as much as possible
Seek to buy recycled and recyclable paper products
Reuse and recycle all paper where possible

Maintance & cleaning

For cleaning, we will also take into account the following points:

Use cleaning materials that are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Use materials in any office refurbishment that are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Only use licensed and appropriate organizations to dispose of waste.

Culture

At Christmas Inspirations we think it is important that there is a sustainable culture within the company. We do this by having our employees think about sustainability internally and contribute ideas. We do this by using the following points:

• Update this policy at least once annually in consultation with staff and other stakeholders where necessary.
• Involve staff in the implementation of this policy, for greater commitment and improved performance.
• Provide staff with relevant environmental training.
• Work with suppliers, contractors and subcontractors to improve their environmental performance.