Environment
Serco is committed to responsible stewardship of the environment, wherever we operate and specifically where our activities have the potential to adversely affect the environment. We aim to identify and reduce our environmental impacts, by minimising the use of energy and other resources and by reflecting our principles of sustainable development in all our activities. Our policy and guiding principles on environmental issues are embedded in our business through our management systems.
The directors of Serco Group plc are ultimately responsible throughout the company for policy and ensuring its effective implementation. The Chief Executive champions this on the Serco Group plc Board.
A full-time Director Health, Safety and Environment is responsible for the development of policy and company standards, ensuring legal compliance and continual improvement.
A Health, Safety and Environment Oversight Group meets at least quarterly with representation from all divisions. This is supported by a specific Environmental Oversight Group.
Each division is responsible for developing management systems to meet Group policy and comply with relevant statutory and regulatory requirements relating to their business. They are required to include environmental performance information in their quarterly review of systems and performance. This information is consolidated into a quarterly assurance report for the Serco Group plc Board.
Significantly, across over two thirds of our business we are working on our customers' premises and are therefore not in direct control of the environment within which we operate. That is why collaborative working with our customers on environmental issues is important. Serco recognises its responsibility to ensure that any adverse impact on the environment is reduced or, where possible, eliminated by applying the most appropriate management systems at contract level - whether designed by our customers or by ourselves. Where we are not in control of the working environment, we support our customers in applying their own environmental management systems and objectives.
Our role is also to be proactive and consider initiatives such as re-designing our processes to reduce what we use, recycling, and re-using items - which also improves the overall efficiency of the contract. Where we have control of environmental programmes, we recognise the importance of understanding the views of stakeholders. Case study examples of environmental initiatives are provided in our Corporate Responsibility report.
The Director Health, Safety and environment provides independent internal audit of the divisions. Recent audits have identified no material deficiencies and where improvements were identified action plans were agreed with the relevant division. As a result of this the Serco Group plc Board is assured that appropriate management systems, processes and procedures are in place to manage environmental issues and that each division continues to give these matters appropriate commitment and management attention.