At Grade One we are committed to considering the effect we have on the environment and, wherever possible, finding ways to reduce, minimise, negate or eradicate our impact.

We work very closely with our suppliers and clients to enhance our environmental commitments and we are accredited to ISO 14001 by a UKAS approved body.

As a company we have focused on a number of initiatives, looking at various ways of reducing our environmental impact.

These include, but are not limited to:

• As we expand or renew our road fleet, we look to purchase vehicles with low emissions and, where possible, hybrid power systems;
• At our Head Office we have introduced various energy saving devices including switching off devices
• Office environments also have increased electronic processes and procedures including centralised printers to vastly reduce our paper usage;
• Across sites and offices we have consolidated order systems to avoid multiple deliveries from suppliers and/or to clients;
• All sites offered eco-friendly products;
• Wherever possible we use battery operated plant and equipment rather than those that require fossil fuel generated power.
• As a general Corporate Responsibility policy, we try wherever possible to employ staff local to a project, which of course helps encourage walking, running or cycling as their preferred commute.

For the coming year, we are planning to introduce further initiatives including the full roll out of our electronic project management system which will significantly impact vehicle movements and paper usage, plus we are already trialling the use of microfibre cloths and mops which will replace chemical usage and reduce water consumption.