The Environment and Sustainability

School Farm - A thriving ecosystem

Cairn Research is located in farm buildings that have been specifically adapted to suit our needs. These buildings are on seventy acres of prime Kentish farmland, which is owned and managed by us and we have adopted an ecosystem approach. This strategy ensures the integrated management of land, water and living resources which therefore promotes sustainable use in an equitable way.  We rent the serviceable land out to a local farmer, the apple orchard to a local award-winning cider producer and the cherry orchard to another local person who runs it as a ‘Pick Your Own’ venture. So not only do we ensure that the land is used for its original purpose, we are also proud to support the local community.  The rest of the land is maintained by us as an unofficial nature reserve and we have carried out several improvements. Notably, we have restored the natural water course, which was diverted by the previous owner leaving a stagnant, lifeless pond. The water quality has now vastly improved due to our intervention and the land is much closer to its original state.  We are now rewarded with an abundance of wildlife such as Little Egrets, Coots, Moorhens, Mallards, and even a breeding pair of Swans with their cygnets visiting us and enjoying the restored natural lake.

Some areas of the land that Cairn Research owns are wooded and had been neglected to such an extent they required a huge investment of time and money to return them to a condition in which they could function again as a viable ecosystem.  So, we embarked on a project to sustainably manage these areas by removing the dead wood and fallen trees and planting new trees native to the area.  This has also resulted in an increase of the biodiversity of the area and yet again we have been rewarded with the re-appearance of woodpeckers, kingfishers and grass snakes.

A sustainable and responsible employer

Cairn Research (the Organisation) recognises that it has a responsibility to the environment, both locally and worldwide, beyond legal and regulatory requirements. Therefore, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and to continually improve our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods, with regular review points. We encourage our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to do the same.

The Organisation has an active Environmental Policy which is a living document and it is regularly updated. It includes our commitment to the WEEE Directive, RoHS Directive and the REACH Regulations. Staff are issued with this policy at the induction process and are made aware of their role in the implementation of it. The policy can be found below.

 

Policy aims

Cairn Research Ltd and its employees endeavour to:

  • Comply with and exceed, where possible, all relevant regulatory requirements
  • Continually improve and monitor environmental performance
  • Continually improve and reduce environmental impacts
  • Incorporate environmental and sustainability considerations into business decisions
  • Supply comprehensive employee training regarding this policy

In order to put theses policy aims into practice we will endeavour to address the following:

Use of paper

The Organisation aims to:

  • Minimise the use of paper, with the eventual aim to go paperless
  • Ensure that product specific packaging is as environmentally friendly as possible
  • Ensure that product specific packaging is re-usable
  • Ensure that we buy recycled and recyclable paper products
  • Reuse and recycle all paper where possible

Energy and water

The Organisation will endeavour to:

  • Seek to reduce the amount of energy that we use as much as possible both in the office and whilst site based
  • Switch off lights and electrical equipment when not in use
  • Adjust heating with energy consumption in mind
  • Use led lighting wherever possible
  •  
  • Bear in mind the energy consumption and efficiency
  •  of any new products purchased

Office supplies

The Organisation aims to:

  • Consider the environmental impact of any new products that we buy
  • Favour more environmentally friendly products wherever possible
  • Reuse and recycle wherever possible
  • Use recycled printer cartridges wherever possible and recycle empty cartridges
  • Actively promote the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle philosophy

Transportation

Cairn Research Ltd:

  • Will favour ‘green’ vehicles and maintain them as specified in order to maintain ongoing efficiency
  • Will restrict the need to travel to only those considered necessary
  • Will promote the use of public transport and car sharing whenever possible
  • Will use alternatives to travel to meetings if they are practicable. Examples of these could be video conferencing, skype calls, telephone or the use of webcams.

Maintenance and cleaning

The Organisation will:

  • Use cleaning materials that are as environmentally friendly as possible
  • Only use licensed and appropriate organisations to dispose of waste

Miscellaneous

We are also committed to:

  • Planting native trees at our rural offices
  • The maintenance and improvement of both the agricultural and non-agricultural land owned by the Organisation
  • Installing solar panels wherever practicable on the Organisations buildings

Monitoring and improvement

We are committed to:

  • Complying with and exceeding, wherever possible, all relevant regulatory requirements
  • Continually monitoring and improving environmental performance
  • Continually monitoring and reducing environmental impacts
  • Incorporating environmental factors into business decisions
  • Increasing employee awareness through training

WEEE

Cairn Research Ltd. is committed to total compliance to the WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU and

has in place the relevant measures to ensure compliance is maintained. Cairn Research Ltd is a member of a compliance scheme run by Comply Direct and has registered as a WEEE Small Producer as required by The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations.

  • Company registration number – 01881330
  • Comply Direct scheme membership number – CD01/01044
  • WEEE producer registration number – WEE/MM2472AA

The RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive

The Organisation is compliant to the RoHS Directive 2015/863 (RoHS 3) and uses suppliers who are also compliant and who can provide RoHS Certificates of Compliance for their products.

REACH Regulation

Cairn Research Ltd is compliant with the REACH regulation which addresses the production and use of chemical substances and their potential effect on human health and the environment.

 

We welcome all comments and suggestions regarding sustainability from our customers and suppliers, so please get in touch! sales@cairn-research.co.uk