Our Responsibility

Our Responsibility - Harwell's Sustainability Policy

At Harwell we recognise the need to operate sustainably, upholding our responsibility to the planet, our people and to operate a responsible business. We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint. Sustainability is integrated into all our business decisions and we ensure all colleagues are aware of this policy and are committed to implementing and improving it.

Our core service of damage restoration of contents rather than replacement, coupled with the training and consultancy we offer in effective emergency management and incident prevention and mitigation, reinforce our drive to reduce our environmental impact. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do.

Harwell Restoration is a part of the Polygon Group. Key areas as specified in Polygon Group’s Sustainability Report 2023 (published April 2024) and as part of ‘Our Responsibility’ program are:

·       Environmental Leadership

·       People First

·       Responsible Business

Environmental Leadership

As part of Polygon Group, a decision was made in January 2023 to take the market-leading step to commit to the Science Based Target initiative, the global benchmark for private sector companies to set ambitious emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science. Our near term science-based emissions reduction target was approved in June 2024 and we will report progress annually.

All business units within Polygon must establish a strategy and clearly defined path to reduce emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement, limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Specific practical steps Harwell are taking and will continue to take include

·       Source renewable energy only from November 2023

·       Ensure all company vehicles are fitted with driver feedback technology (Lightfoot) to improve driver efficiency, reduce emissions and promote responsible driving

·       Deploy and despatch technicians with maximum efficiency and use video inspections where possible to reduce mileage and utilise couriers/third parties where possible to reduce emissions

·       Avoidance of air-travel within the UK and use of video-conferencing wherever possible to reduce international air travel

·       Utilise plant more efficiently – install energy monitors and automatic-shut offs to freezers and drying plant to reduce emissions

·       Move to a new building built to modern construction standards in January 2025

·       Reduce like for like  waste to landfill annually  

People First

We expect our colleagues to act in a professional, responsible, conscientious and ethical manner. We are therefore committed to creating a safe and inclusive working environment where everyone regardless of role or location is supported, engaged and inspired to learn and develop. To this end we have the following focus areas:

·       Creating and maintaining a safe work environment

·       Building a culture of learning and development

·       Cultivating a positive and rich employee experience

Specific practical steps Harwell are taking and will continue to take include:

·       Conduct annual externally managed and audited employee survey. All departments within Harwell meet to discuss results and make plans for improvement.

·       Maintain above benchmark results from employee survey across all indices including Organizational and Social Work Environment Index, engagement and efficiency

·       New learning management system introduced to all staff in January 2024 (PolyPro)

Responsible Business

By helping to restore customers’ property after incidents such as fire and floods, we prevent business interruption and reduce distress in domestic claims. We restore objects that mean a lot to people or which have historical value for society, helping to safeguard the UK’s cultural heritage.

Specific practical steps Harwell are taking and will continue to take include

·       We encourage colleagues to make contributions to the local community and/or environmental and charity bodies. All colleagues are entitled to a day’s paid leave to make such contributions annually and this work is celebrated via intranet and company app.

·       Always offer customers alternative options for transport, disposal options in quotations to customers which are more sustainable but may be more expensive.

·       Selection of suppliers according to our sustainability principles

·       As part of Polygon Group, we have a robust compliance program including mandatory annual training for all staff in issues ranging from codes of conduct, integrity and cyber and information security

·       We collaborate with stakeholders within our wider industry to improve standards through industry bodies including the British Damage Management Association.

Our performance will be measured as part of Polygon Group, audited externally and reported publicly. This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis.

Kathryn Rodgers, Managing Director
July 2024

For further information, please see our Group pages on Sustainability here.

Waste to landfill

The whole nature of our business- restoration of anything from books, documents, vinyl records, artwork and furniture that has been damaged by fire or flood avoids waste to landfill in significant quantities. Items are recovered, restored and returned to pre-incident use. For materials that cannot be restored or which are not authorised for restoration by insurers, landfill may be the only option although we are investigating options including incineration. In 2023 16.92 tonnes of waste were generated by Harwell of which 38% was recycled.

Carbon Footprint

At Harwell Restoration we are working hard to reduce our emissions and carbon footprint as a whole. In 2022 our Scope 1 emissions (using the international standard Greenhouse Gas Protocol) were 61.62 tonnes of CO2. In 2023 these emissions were reduced to 19.85.