I am pleased to introduce the latest in our continuing series of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports. Waste Recycling Group Ltd (WRG) has now been reporting on environmental, corporate and social responsibility issues since 1999, developing year by year to incorporate emerging and evolving standards of corporate social responsibility.
WRG continues its alignment with the corporate aspirations of our parent company, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC). The FCC Group has seen the appointment in 2008 of a new Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Baldomero Falcones. In a recent interview, he reiterated the importance of corporate social responsibility within business:
“Corporate social responsibility is a key leadership function in the most advanced companies. The public sector is a notable FCC customer, both in the construction and services areas. We have seen how environmental and social criteria are of growing importance in calls for tender, whether at the bid acceptance or evaluation stage, representing a factor to be considered when awarding contracts and one which must be implemented in the execution of any project.”
WRG’s customers have high expectations with regard to corporate social responsibility – particularly our Local Authority customers. With climate change and sustainability at the forefront of the Government agenda, maintaining high standards in this area is crucial for our customer focus. The significant change to this year’s CSR report is that, for the first time in 9 years – and further reducing our carbon footprint in this area – it is available in web format only; this is in keeping with the trend to make corporate information accessible for all and the advantage is that it can be updated throughout the year.
Most businesses within the UK are being affected by the current global economic crisis and it is a time of significant structural change, but it is imperative that good companies remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and compliance. This CSR report and our open reporting processes demonstrate that WRG is performing well when benchmarked against our competitors, despite the current climate.
Keeping our colleagues, customers and visitors to our sites safe and healthy is of the utmost importance, and for the fourth consecutive year we have seen further reductions in RIDDOR reportable accidents, demonstrating improvements that exceed our annual targets.
The coming year provides us with exciting challenges. For example, we continue to strive towards delivery of our new Integrated Management System, which will provide us with an efficient system of standards and procedures to ensure best practice in the management of the environment, the health and safety of our colleagues and those who work with us, and excellent customer service. We must ensure, however, that we progress towards embedding corporate social responsibility within the culture of WRG through its day-to-day operations and management systems.
We have a responsibility to ensure that we operate a sustainable, efficient and profitable business that adds real value to the society that we are part of, and we look forward to progressing with our aspirations and goals in this area.
Jim Meredith
Chief Executive
Waste Recycling Group Ltd
