1 December 20239 January 2024

Focused on the future: 2023 round-up

In September 2022, we launched our Focused on the future initiative; to minimise the environmental impact of our operations, ensure they’re well governed and maximise the positive social impact we can make. As we near the end of 2023, we’d like to take this opportunity to share some of our achievements for us, our customers, the public and the environment.

An EV future

Circa 67% of our tCO2e metrics comes from vehicle emissions – so this has been a key area of focus for us. February 2024 will see 50 new petrol-hybrid Toyota Corolla Commercial Vans joining our fleet, replacing some of our current petrol and diesel vans. We’ll then continue this transition to hybrid vans throughout the coming months.

Investing in our planet

We actively measure the production of waste across all our sites – all in line with our ISO 14001-accredited environmental management system, so a more sustainable choice of business or employment with Energy Assets can be assured.

We have a traceability system in place and we’re proud to say that 97% of our waste is recycled, as our;

paper collections are converted into tissue paper
cardboard is bailed and reprocessed
cans and tins are recycled
plastic bottles are used to produce some building products
battery recycling points are used

food waste and residual waste generate energy through anaerobic digestion plants -some can even be converted into fertiliser
returned electricity meters are tested, ensuring only those which are out of operating tolerance or no longer functional are disposed of
old assets and equipment are donated to test sites, helping to inform future sustainability solutions
meters, regulators, modules, loggers, spools and valves are refurbished where possible.

We also re-cycle our metering assets, avoiding c. 26 tonnes of assets going to land fill financial year to date.

Earlier this year, to mark World Wildlife Day, we donated to The Wildlife Trusts. Another one of our environmental initiatives was the commencement of our annual partnership with the WWF to help their planet-wide conservation efforts. We initially did this by adopting a different animal each month for the year. We found that our colleagues actively supported this initiative, voting on the name of each ‘animal of the month’ and we’ll be continuing this programme for 2024.

Our charity panel

As one of our first Focused on the future activities, we invited colleagues to nominate initiatives local to each of our offices across the UK who would benefit from our support. Here’s a round-up of how we’ve helped each organisation…

Maddi’s Butterflies – is based near our Darwen office and works closely with Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. They’re a small charity, so our support helps make all the difference. We’ll be repeating our actions from last year, supporting their Pyjama Appeal.

East Lancashire Hospice – a local community hospice which provides care for adults who have a life-limiting condition. We’ve taken part in both seasonal raffles (spring and autumn) that the hospice hosts, buying a ticket for each of our employees each time.

Breast Friends and Family aim to support patients through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery. They work closely with St John’s Hospital and are another very small charity. We’ve donated hampers to the charity as their ‘star prizes’ for two of their fundraising raffles.

Nightingale Care Home play an important role within the Sheffield community and our colleagues in Sheffield have a strong existing relationship with them. They provide care for the elderly and mentally infirm, ensuring residents are treated with the utmost respect, their is privacy protected and their dignity is preserved. We’ve made donations towards their initiatives to support the Care Home and its residents.