corporate and social responsibility

To help us achieve our environmental goals, we have established an Environmental Management Section (EMS) team to audit our operations.

The EMS team measures our environmental impacts and ensures our systems and practices are maintained in strict accordance with international environmental standards. It also provides regular updates for employees on our environmental performance and conducts educational sessions, for example on saving energy, minimising waste and efficient use of resources.

How we’re protecting the environment:

• We recycle 99.75% of our distribution centre waste
• We are a member of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) a voluntary initiative designed to improve companies’ environmental performance
• We have worked with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, one of our key clients, to deliver an Environmental Management System that has been awarded ISO9001 and ISO14001:2004 standards and EMAS accreditation

For further information, please see our international Environmental Report

How we’re doing our bit for charities:

• Our Public Sector team in the East Riding of Yorkshire selected Dove House hospice in Hull as its charity for 2011. Through activities including fashion shows, a family fun day, a sponsored 10k run and a collection at the Hull City FC ground, employees managed to raise £7,850 during the course of the year. This was topped up by the arvato management, and a cheque of £10,000 was handed to the hospice just before Christmas. In 2010, the team supported The Prince’s Trust (Yorkshire & Humber) and were the first team from the Humber region to reach the £10,000 target in its Million Maker Scheme
• At arvato’s Chesterfield site, employees have selected Ashgate Hospice as their charity for 2011. So far, our fundraisers have collected nearly £3,000 through activities including cake bakes, raffles, a dog walk, midnight stroll, fancy dress race, Snowdon mountain trek and several quiz nights. More fundraising activities are planned throughout the remainder of the year
• Seaforth Community Shop in Sefton was another of our charities for 2010. We helped with fundraising to upgrade the facilities for a training centre for young people with a disability and supported the shop with marketing
• arvato employees have also taken part in Macmillan Cancer’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and we support Age UK in place of Christmas gifts to clients
• Our finance services team set up ACORN (arvato corporate responsibility network) to help social organisations not in receipt of sponsorship. Employees chose a number of social, health and education charities, raising thousands of pounds for worthy causes

How we’re being a good citizen:

• We have developed internship schemes to give young people business experience.
• We participate with Liverpool John Moores University to provide internship opportunities for its business studies students
• In Sefton and the East Riding, we are running Apprenticeship Schemes, giving young people the chance to take part in ICT and business administration work placements, and study for nationally recognised NVQ qualifications
• We partner with Working Links, an organisation that supports the long-term unemployed, former offenders, lone parents and older workers. We work in unison with the body as an equal opportunities employer, ensuring that the jobs we offer are equally available to those in their target groups
• We worked with our client, Chesterfield Borough Council to donate two tonnes of paper to a local nursery. Read about it on the Derbyshire Times website
• Once all the content has been deleted from our old ICT equipment, it is donated to a company that provides IT equipment at low cost to organisations and individuals unable to afford it