SAXTON | people | connecting and communicating

Introduction

Saxton Corporation is aware that its operations affect the environment and the communities in which we conduct our business. We believe that we have a responsibility to identify and manage these impacts as effectively as possible. We are committed to continually improving our environmental performance and moving towards the best possible practices in corporate sustainability.

The policy was created by Saxton and its employees, new employees are informed of the policy and are encouraged to contribute to the achievement of its objectives. The policy is published internally, available to stakeholders, and will be published on our group's websites in June 2010.

A general overview is also included in the employee training programme and employees are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions.

Environmental policy overview

Saxton Corporation endeavours to:

• minimise the environmental impacts of our current operations and ensure that the environmental impacts of prospective operations are fully considered and minimised prior to their introduction;
• reduce consumption of materials in all operations where possible, to re-use rather than dispose of materials, and promote recycling and the use of recycled materials;
• seek to improve the energy efficiency of our offices and to manage energy wisely in all operations;
• reduce, where possible, the level of harmful emissions from our office premises;
• introduce programmes that aim to minimise waste;
• dispose of waste in a responsible manner; and
• provide the necessary training and support in order to ensure these requirements are met by staff.

Environmental impact

As a company working in the hospitality and entertainment services sector, there are no major environmental risks associated with our operations. However, in recent years, we have actively endeavoured to diminish our environmental impact across our operations. Important issues for the Saxton Corporation are the demand for energy and CO2 emissions resulting from the company's operations and the use of paper internally and sent externally to corporate and individual clients and in the bookkeeping process.

To help monitor and minimise our output, we have identified the following areas as key concerns.

Energy

Saxton Corporation aims to reduce the consumption of energy and will also strive to ensure that their office premises use energy in as efficient a manner as possible. Energy is used for office lighting, heating and cooling systems and for the operation of office equipment and kitchen appliances.

Heating and air-conditioning

To make more efficient use of heating systems we will ensure that the temperature is set for a comfortable working environment and never more than 22C. Air conditioning units will only be used when required and will be switched off when the office is not in use.

Lighting

Saxton encourages the use of low energy lighting and has installed lighting controls to segment areas, allowing lights to be switched off when not required.

Kitchen appliances

We will aim to ensure that our kitchen appliances are energy efficient and that they release the minimum amount of waste product.

Paper

We seek to reduce the amount of paper used and to increase the amount of paper that is recycled. We strive to minimise the amount of paper purchased and strongly encourage staff to re-use or recycle paper. This initiative is apparent in many forms, including our sole use of electronic formats for staff pay information. In addition, our staff are encouraged to make use of electronic communications such as email and to think carefully before printing online information (particularly emails).

Waste

Kitchen waste is collected and removed each day by a selected employee and general office waste is collected and removed weekly by cleaners and taken to a compactor for removal by a waste contractor. Toner cartridges are collected after use for donation to charity. Disused computers and other hardware are donated to charity. Disused equipment, which cannot be sold or given to a charity, will be collected by an approved third party company who will dispose/recycle the hardware in a manner that is environmentally friendly.

Water

We seek to reduce the amount of water used.

Transport

To reduce CO2 emissions from transport, Saxton encourages employees to use public transport wherever possible and car sharing is promoted (and currently in practice). Conference calls are used regularly to reduce the need for regular travel.

Supplier and client interaction

From June 2010 we have been informing our suppliers and long-term clients of our environmental policy and we will look to favour companies with established environmental policies and practices in regard to prospective suppliers. We will also aim to use local suppliers and local goods and services, where feasible.

Involvement in the community

Since its inception in 1965, Saxton Corporation has been fostering good relations with the communities in which we operate. Particularly through our ongoing relationship with Scouts Australia, we have supported our next generation of leaders and environmental exercises such as the Murray Darling Rescue and National Tree Day for over 18 years.