A 2009 energy reduction initiative in Long Marston scrap yard near Stratford upon Avon reduced energy consumption by 21%.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate governance is a high priority for Sims Metal Management. We review and audit a wide range of resource usage across our business, whilst our core business of metal recycling benefits society as a whole. Recycling helps to preserve scarce natural resources, lessen water usage, reduce pollution and cut dependence on landfill.
Sims Metal Management has a corporate commitment to measure and report our sustainability performance in the following areas:
- Energy use
- CO2 emissions
- Water consumption
- Waste generation
- Key Health & Safety indicators
- Employee numbers and training
In fiscal year 2011, we improved our operational efficiency reducing carbon dioxide produced per tonne of metal recovered.
These key performance indicators, together with our reporting on fiscal parameters and corporate governance, form the basis of our response under the benchmark guidelines as set out in the Global Reporting Initiative. During 2011, Sims Metal Management participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP6) for the sixth consecutive year, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the forth time. We also participated in the CDPs inaugural Water Disclosure Report.
In September 2010 Sims Group UK Limited became the first metals and electronics recycling company in the UK to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard. The award was made after the company took action to manage and improve carbon efficiency at all its UK operations. View the related news release.
The Carbon Trust Standard is the world’s first award that recognises organisations for genuine carbon reduction. It is based on a rigorous and independent assessment which certifies that organisations have measured, managed and reduced their carbon emissions across all their operations and are committed to reducing them year on year.
This is part of a number of initiatives to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment in the UK and contributes to the work that our ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification is bringing to the business..
At the 2011 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sims Metal Management was, once again, named in the world's top 100 most sustainable corporations.
The Global Top 100 Most Sustainable Corporations list identifies companies which consistently demonstrate superior leadership and performance on a range of environmental, social and governance policies relative to their industry peers.
Companies on the list are considered better equipped than their competitors to thrive and succeed in the longer term due to the sustainable approach used to manage their business.
Read the related news story or visit the Global 100 website for more information.
During fiscal year 2011, Sims Metal Management handled over 14.3 million tonnes of metal worldwide. The energy saved by recycling this metal rather than extracting virgin materials prevented the emission of more than 14.7 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere, almost enough to neutralise the carbon emissions of Sweden.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using recycled steel instead of primary ore in steel production reduces:
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Energy consumption by 74%
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Air pollution by 86%
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Water consumption by 40%
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Water pollution by 76%
For further information about the Sims Metal Management approach to corporate social responsibility, please email or call 0800 008 7223.