Dedicated to maximising the impact of sustainability initiatives both internally and externally, Robert Horne has launched its first Action Group dedicated to sustainability. 

The Sustainability Action Group (SAG) has been formed by the leading paper, board and plastics merchant to develop and implement internal sustainability initiatives through sharing best practice, reducing duplication of effort and ensuring that existing and new initiatives achieve their full potential. It will also seek to balance economic, environmental and social issues in order to achieve long-term sustainability goals, which could also result in cost savings and a reduction in the company's carbon footprint.

Members of the group include senior management representing various parts of the organisation including purchasing, human resources, business papers, facilities and others. 

Tim Barker, Environmental Manager at Robert Horne, and one of the founding members of SAG says: "As an organisation which has been at the forefront of both environmental and sustainability initiatives, we are very much aware of our need to ensure that initiatives are rolled-out across the whole organisation.  It is also important that we positively communicate what the company is doing in order to engage employees, promote behavioural change and ensure the success of initiatives from a business point of view."

One example of SAG's role is to log sustainability initiatives undertaken by the company internally with the idea of sharing best practice. For example: Robert Horne Sign & Display has adopted audio/teleconferencing to cut down on meeting journey times and costs.  

SAG estimates that to date, this has saved approximately £2000 a year, a month's worth of travelling and approximately three tonnes of carbon dioxide. 

"Remote conferencing is a good example of a technology that many parts of the organisation have been using for some time for both economic and time pressure reasons.  However, the sustainability benefits have not been recorded so that other parts of the organisation can also benefit from this activity.  This is exactly what SAG will be looking to change and promote internally," says Tim.

Other examples of sustainability schemes already being developed include installing motion sensors so that lighting turns off when not in use, a ‘switch off' campaign for electrical equipment, and car share programmes.

He continues: "As with any initiative, it is important that internal mechanisms are in place to ensure it works effectively and that experiences are shared.  Robert Horne has recognised this and established SAG so that it has the authority to take initiatives forward throughout the organisation.  Significant funding has been allocated for the Action Group and individual departments will be set sustainability objectives, demonstrating that the company is truly committed to this initiative.

"We have been very impressed with the range of sustainability initiatives already taking place internally and the formation of SAG will make sure that the lessons from these successes are built upon for the benefit of the whole company in the long term."