CO₂ Reduction Pledge

As a responsible supplier of fuel into the UK, we understand the impact of CO₂ on the environment and as a result of this we are working towards a sustainable and responsible business model that develops our long term business strategy with the ability to provide a comprehensive socially and environmentally supportive fuel supply solution to the UK marketplace.

As a result of this we strive to steer business strategies and projects within our own group of companies that lead to positive environmental change.

Our core business principles:

Internal Green Policy

• A good carbon management plan starts with emissions avoidance and as part of out ongoing commitment to the environment. We have undergone an internal audit to calculate the CO2 produced by our business and to actively decrease it by way of reusing, reducing and recycling.

Enhanced pro-environmental action through Voluntary Carbon Capture

• After avoiding and reducing our emissions as far as possible we wanted to go a step further and positively compensate the environment for the unavoidable CO2 that any business operation generates.  After much research we opted for woodland carbon capture – at home in the UK where the schemes would be sustainable and monitored, and the benefits reaped locally
• Our woodland creation partners are Forest Carbon Ltd who follow all Kyoto carbon forestry principles and UK forestry and biodiversity best practice. They are responsible for the planting of 2 million trees in the past 4 years for clients like Marks & Spencer, Stagecoach, Mears Group, and The Green Insurance Company.

Working to reduce our customers' CO2

• The woodland areas that we continue to finance will absorb CO2 equivalent to our entire operation, plus 10% of our customers' emissions from the fuel purchased on our fuel cards, at no cost to the customer.
• Our customers are encouraged to top this up to 50% or 100% through an easy-to-use card 'club' scheme. We believe that this approach is educational, stimulating wider eco-awareness than would be achieved by providing the entire CO2 compensation for our customers.

Supporting British Communities:

• Not only do native and naturalised woodlands benefit the UK's waterways, soil, fauna and flora, they make pleasant recreational spaces for the public.

Responsible sourcing

• We are developing our Responsible Sourcing policy 'green supply chain', which sets out certain standards which we ask of our suppliers.
  • A key example of such change was that at the beginning of 2010 we changed our printing house in order to guarantee that paper based documentation is made from recycled paper and is also FSC registered.
  • If such standards cannot be met immediately we are working with our suppliers in order for them to achieve over time.
  • We monitor our 'green supply chain' annually and as our suppliers become more accountable for their own 'green supply chain', we will eventually have a 100% sustainable business model.

Accountability

• Our parent company Marquard & Bahls embrace the responsibility of environmental support.
  • As part of their continued effort of preventing environmental damage and as a quick response to emergency situations they decided to become a shareholder of 'Oil Spill Response' the world's largest organisation for spill response so that as a group, we are well prepared for emergency situations.

• http://www.forest-carbon.co.uk/
• http://www.forestry.gov.uk/carboncode on the CO₂

• http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/WoodlandCarbonCodepilotv116_08_10.pdf/$file/WoodlandCarbonCodepilotv116_08_10.pdf

• http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/