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BRAKES ANNOUNCES CSR DEVELOPMENTS

-new packaging policy leads new initiatives-

Brakes has announced further developments to its market-leading CSR programme, with the introduction of a new, comprehensive packaging policy and the completion of a roll out of new energy efficient lighting aimed at minimising the company’s impact on the environment.

The introduction of the new packaging policy builds on the successful completion of Brakes’ 2ZERO20 black plastics commitment which removed hard-to-recycle black plastics, equating to more than a thousand tonnes, from its supply chain. It also follows hot on the heels of Brakes’ latest CSR Award, where, for the 8th year in succession, Brakes and Sysco specialty business, M&J Seafood were awarded the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) Foodservice Wholesaler of the Year.

In October, the business completed a roll out of new LED lighting across its UK-wide network of depots which will save around 500 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of driving a lorry around the world 14 times.  Brakes is now focusing on advanced plans to introduce its own sources of alternative energy, which it hopes to launch shortly.

The creation of the new packaging policy sees Brakes reinforce its commitment to ensuring that suppliers maximise the use of materials that are recyclable, reusable or compostable where appropriate, underpinning Brakes’ CSR requirements. They also cover the minimisation of waste, reduction of carbon to produce and transport packaging and minimisation of the use of resources throughout the production process.

Stuart Smith, the Brakes’ Director responsible for CSR, said: “As a business, we have a responsibility to take a lead on CSR. As the UK leader in foodservice wholesale, and as part of Sysco, the global foodservice leader, it’s the right thing to do, but is also increasingly what our customers and consumers want and expect of us.

“We’ve made it our mission to put CSR at the heart of our business across our focus areas of people, product and planet.  We want to support all the communities in which we operate, reduce our impact on the environment and ensure that we take the right steps as a business to support our customers’ own CSR programmes.”

STAR’S DR ROB LAMB RECOGNISED FOR INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT AT THE RAC COOLING AWARDS 2021

Star Refrigeration’s Group Sales and Marketing Director has received a prestigious accolade at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London during the RAC Cooling Awards 2021. The Fred Jamieson award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the industry and has been influential with both colleagues and customers in the cooling and heating sector.  It recognises Dr Rob Lamb’s achievements over his 27 year career in refrigeration.

 

Dr Lamb studied with Prof Geoffrey Haselden at Leeds University for three years before beginning his career at Star in 1998. Over two decades he has focussed his efforts on sustainability; developing international initiatives for the sharing of knowledge regarding natural refrigerants and energy and carbon reductions in the industry, with an emphasis on the transition towards net zero.

 

The judging panel were looking for the following qualities: entrepreneurial flair, innovation, determination and passion for the industry and the people within it. They agreed Dr Lamb has been instrumental in supporting the sector’s transition to net zero emissions and continues to provide guidance to both customers and peers alike.

 

Dr Lamb has authored technical papers on topics related to efficiency and sustainability and has presented at symposiums and conferences around the world including the Cold Chain Federation, the International Institute of Refrigeration and the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration.

 

Dr Lamb said of receiving the award, “I am honoured to be presented with the Fred Jamieson award. It is very special to receive recognition from others in the industry for the work I’m involved in.

I would like to thank Star Refrigeration, a company which has offered me many opportunities. Thanks to my colleagues, customers and industry peers for the nomination and everyone who has supported me throughout my twenty three years in the sector. It is the people I have worked with both at Star and across the industry who have enabled me to enjoy my career”

“I hope I can carry on making a difference to the industry for two more decades, a time which will bring us many challenges but hopefully also many triumphs.”

 

As a prominent and respected individual within the industry, Dr Lamb has been a Trustee of the Institute of Refrigeration and currently chairs the Membership Committee. Additionally, he is the chairman of the Steering Committee of eurammon e.V. and serves on the Council of the British Refrigeration Association.

 

His passion for the industry he works in extends to the people working within it, and future generations of refrigeration specialists. He constantly endorses initiatives which promote diversity in the sector, including the STEMazing programme which supports female refrigeration and air conditioning engineers from Africa. Dr Lamb also encourages STEM awareness events with local schools to encourage children to consider exciting careers in engineering. Moreover, he has promoted the introduction of diversity initiatives in the workplace for the benefit of employees.

 

Group Managing Director, Dr Andy Pearson, said, “I am delighted that Rob has been recognised for his significant contributions to our industry. He covers a very wide range of activities, writing and presenting research papers as well as developing new products and projects for our customers. It is particularly appropriate that this recognition comes from his peers in the industry and highlights the broad range of contributions he makes behind the scenes that often go unnoticed.”

 

To find out more about the annual RAC Cooling Awards visit www.coolingawards.racplus.com

 

EU TO BAN THE USE OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE (E171) AS A FOOD ADDITIVE IN 2022

The European Commission has announced that Member States have approved the European Commission’s proposal to ban the use of Titanium Dioxide (E171) as a food additive from 2022, having already been forbidden in France since 2020.

Titanium Dioxide is used as a colorant in a number of products such as chewing gum, pastries, food supplements, soups and broths. The Commission’s proposal is based on the European Food Safety Authority’s conclusion that E171 could no longer be considered as safe when used as a food additive, in particular due to the fact that concerns regarding genotoxicity cannot be ruled out. Its ban at European level was therefore only a question of political will.

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament still have the possibility to veto the decision on titanium dioxide within the next three months. If they do not, the ban will come into force at the beginning of 2022 with a six month transition period.

Eight in ten adults think social distancing is important – but four in ten actually do it – ONS

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), fewer adults are practising COVID-19 preventative measures and more people are travelling to work, but uncertainty about life returning to normal has increased.

Between 6 and 17 October 2021, 39% of adults said they had always or often maintained social distancing when meeting with people outside their household. This compares with 84% who believed it was important or very important in slowing the spread of coronavirus.

The percentage of adults always or often maintaining social distancing has fallen from 63% in mid-July, before limits on the numbers of people who could meet indoors were lifted in England. Restrictions on meeting indoors in Wales and Scotland were lifted in early August.

Around 90% of adults said they were always or often maintaining social distancing in January and February 2021, when lockdown restrictions were in place across Great Britain.

Hands, face, space

In the two weeks ending 17 October 2021, 82% of adults said they had worn a face covering in the past seven days, which is down from 97% in mid-June.

Most people continue to believe that regular hand washing, use of face coverings and social distancing (“hands, face, space”) are important or very important in slowing the spread of coronavirus.

Around the same percentage of adults in Great Britain surveyed between 6 and 17 October 2021 said they had worn a face covering as thought it was important or very important to slow the spread of COVID-19 (82% compared with 84%).

However, people were more likely to say that hand washing and social distancing were important or very important than they were to practise the measures themselves.

A total of 91% considered hand washing to be important or very important, while 82% said they washed their hands regularly when returning home.

For social distancing, 84% of adults said it was important or very important in slowing the spread, but just 39% said they had always or often maintained it when meeting with others.

Men were less likely than women to consider measures such as hand washing, face coverings, social distancing and ventilation to be important or very important in slowing the spread of coronavirus.

Between 6 and 17 October 2021, 94% of women considered hand washing to be important in slowing the spread, compared with 88% of men. On face coverings, 87% of women and 81% of men considered wearing them to be important.

Meanwhile, people aged 16 to 29 years were less likely than those aged 70 years and over to view social distancing as important or very important (75% compared with 90%).

On all four measures – hand washing, face coverings, social distancing and ventilation – young people saw them as less important than older age groups.

Travelling to work

Between 6 and 17 October 2021, 54% of working adults in Great Britain went to a place of work without doing any work from home.

This is the highest percentage for a year and the same as between 7 and 11 October 2020.

Just over 1 in 7 working adults (15%) worked only from home between 6 and 17 October 2021, down from 37% in mid-February 2021 and the lowest percentage since the current survey began in May 2020.

A further 16% both worked from home and travelled to work, similar to levels recorded in June 2021.

Office for National Statistics
October 2021

HSE CONFIRMED TO TALK AT THIS YEARS WORKPLACE TRANSPORT AND ROAD RISK SEMINAR

The next speaker confirmed at the Workplace Transport and Road Risk Seminar is Nina Day from the HSE who has worked there for 21 years. She is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and DGSA specialising in road and workplace transport. Nina previously worked in HSE’s Science Division carrying out incident investigation, consultancy, and leading a research team looking at various aspects of transport safety including safe loading. She currently works in HSE’s Transport Sector, leading on load security and manual handling in road transport. She works closely with the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, Department for Transport, Highways England, and police forces nationally, and is also involved in a number of industry groups.

Road and workplace transport can be the riskiest work activities of a business, with significant financial, legal, and personal potential consequences if something goes wrong. An effective risk management system can help to prevent things going wrong, protect your workforce, reduce costs, and keep your business running smoothly. Nina will be discussing how to address common issues in transport risk management and what lessons can be learnt from workplace and road accidents.

You can book your tickets here – Book Today

D.TEC INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES UPDATE TO THE FLEET OPERATOR RECOGNITION SCHEME (FORS)

D.tec International welcomes update to the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) which continues to insist that commercial fleet operators do more to tackle drugs and alcohol within their workplaces. 

FORS is an accreditation scheme which aims to raise the level of quality within commercial freight and passenger fleet operations, and to demonstrate which operators are achieving exemplary levels of best practice in safety, efficiency, and environmental protection. The scheme audits these operators and awards bronze, silver and gold accreditations.

Since being introduced in 2008 by Transport for London (TfL), it has grown in popularity and now extends to all parts of the UK with a significant and fast-growing number of customers demanding compliance to the standard in order for operators to carry out work on their behalf.

The latest FORS Standard (Version 6.0), continues to include a requirement for fleet operators to have policies and supporting procedures in place to prevent driver impairment through drugs and alcohol. It insists that action is taken when suspecting driver impairment and for drug and alcohol testing to be conducted before employment or the start of a particular contract, routinely, randomly, or unannounced and after involvement in a road traffic collision, incident or near-miss.

Ean Lewin, Managing Director for D.tec International, the UK’s leading provider of drug and alcohol testing services and equipment for safety critical employees, said “I am delighted that FORS continue to recognise the importance of addressing the growing trend of drug and alcohol related incidents in our workplaces and on our roads. Employers must embrace the issue and ensure that they have robust policies and procedures in place, such as those required by FORS, to help tackle the problem”.

A recent update to  guidance on work-related road risk (WRRR) for employers and workers, published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), now emphasises to employers, the importance of ensuing their workers do not drive under the influence of drink or drugs, including those provided by prescription.

In 2019, there were 7,860 drink driving related collisions resulting in 280 deaths – the highest number in a decade and an increase of 15% from the previous year.

In the same period, 92 people were killed and 672 were seriously injured in collisions where a driver was impaired by drugs. The actual figure is likely to be much higher.

The latest FORS standard will be implemented on 1st July 2022 and follows extensive industry feedback across a variety of platforms, including from FORS members, detailed technical input from the Standard Review Working Group, and the wider Governance and Standards Advisory Group which comprises a range of key stakeholders and supporters of FORS.

FORS have suggested that the new standard is intended to be a pragmatic and incremental change from the current version (5.1) and that its contents will be manageable by the industry during this particularly challenging period.

For more information on how D.tec International can help your businesses to stay compliant, visit: https://www.dtecinternational.com/FORS

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