Our Corporate Social Responsibility
We are dedicated to delivering the best service to our customers and we are committed to leading the way to a greener communications process and a ‘People First’ approach with our all our staff and our communities.
You can read here about how we challenge ourselves, our suppliers and our clients to communicate more responsibly; how we develop and reward our people and you can find out about our involvement in the community.
Greenprint
We are committed to green, so in 2007 we set out Our Greenprint. Our leadership manifesto to achieve more and challenge ourselves, our suppliers and our clients to minimise the impact on our environment.
Read Our Greenprint here
Read Our Group Environmental Policy
Our Environmental Certifications
Our environmental management systems are recognised by governing bodies, we hold the following group certifications:
- IS0 14001: 2004 - Environmental Management System
- FSC Chain of Custody (Forest Stewardship Council)
- PEFC Chain of Custody (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)
Chain of Custody certifications not only confirm that the paper we use originates from controlled forests but also identifies each link in the production chain from the sourcing of timber, through to the paper manufacture and the final printing process.
Our achievements so far
We have invested heavily in new technologies and innovative processes to ensure our Greenprint challenges and targets are met.
In some cases we haven’t just delivered on our challenges, we’ve exceeded them and we’re proud to have been recognised in the following awards:
- Winner of the Sustainability Award at the Defra Procurement Awards
- Shortlisted for the Sustainability Award at the PLC Awards, sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Financial Times.
- Shortlisted for Business in the Community (Yorkshire & Humber) Carbon Reduction Award
- As a result of our submission to the BitC Environment Index we were presented with a Significant Achievers Award
Reducing our energy use
51%
the anticipated proportion of electricity purchased from renewable sources
from 2008 to the end of 2009
We have worked closely with the Carbon Trust and implemented a number of successful efficiency projects, including shut down procedures, which allow machines to be switched on only when they are ready to run, and energy awareness sessions with employees to actively seek feedback on areas we can improve.
Reducing our waste
85%
overall reduction in landfill since 2005
37%
the percentage we reduced our landfill by in 2008
Significant investment in digital print and data management capabilities, enabling our clients to communicate smarter with less wastage whilst using lower carbon technology
Challenging our suppliers
We have encouraged our suppliers to act more responsibly and improve their own environmental standards which has not only benefited us and our clients, but also the suppliers and their other customers.
100%
of our approved print suppliers are certified to ISO 14001: 2004
95%
of our paper volume in 2008 was from mills with FSC or PEFC certification.
New suppliers go through a comprehensive Pre-Qualifying process that asks specific questions about their environmental credentials, this means our clients can be confident that they are using responsible suppliers.
Challenging our Clients
We have worked with a number of clients to help them make their communications greener, from making every day changes to totally transforming a campaign.
Here are some of the ways we have helped our clients communicate more responsibly:
- We regularly reduce wastage for our clients by managing their data effectively and carrying out research so that only responsive customers are included in mailing campaigns
- We made a minor adjustment to a clients artwork on their direct mailing, which eliminated the need for a full bleed document and saved thousands of sheets of paper
- We used 100% recycled paper and vegetable-based inks to produce a membership magazine for one company that wanted to reflect their ethical stance in their printing activities
- We carefully plan logistic operations to cut out unnecessary transportation
- We implemented an online voting system for a leading mutual Building Society for their members to use at an AGM, which cut out the need for printed documents.
People First
Our people are vital to the running of our company; our success is intrinsically linked to the success of our people, so our people are the first thing we think about. We care about making people happy to work for us; we want them to feel part of the family and to grow with us as we develop as an organisation, so we invest a lot of time and resource into them.
People joining the company are supported through a bespoke induction programme, and we reward and recognise the hard work and dedication of our employees through our Heroes scheme. Personal Development Plans have been introduced to help staff to develop their careers and we offer professional sponsorships and apprenticeships right the way across the Group, actively encouraging promotion from within our existing teams.
Supporting our communities
As part of putting People First, we support our local communities in many different ways, whether that’s through sponsorship, through teaching children about an industry heritage, supporting fundraising events or donating our services to raise money for charity.
In 2008/9, we sponsored a children’s football team in Newcastle, a children’s rugby union club in Leicestershire and two rugby league clubs in Leeds.
We hold school visits where children can learn about the different areas of work, and we provide work experience in our different departments for high school and college students.
We think it’s important to support charities and we encourage our employees to take part in fundraising activities. Many Communisis employees participate in charity events, such as marathons, bike races and fundraising days, with the generous support of their colleagues. We have also offered our services for fundraising activities too; producing posters, tickets, flyers and books free of charge to raise awareness for events and to raise money for charity.