Environmental impact Medium
Employer/employee ranking 29/33
Staff numbers 210
Energy reduction 8%
Recycling n/a

Hundreds of thousands of trees are still standing tall thanks to Sonae UK’s recycling efforts this year. The company manufactures chipboard for the furniture and construction industries and its use of recycled materials saves 400,000 trees every year, with 98% of the material used at the Knowsley plant having had a previous life. Employees believe Sonae does a lot for the environment, giving an 80% green score. They know where to put waste for reuse at work (85%) and are encouraged by their bosses to do so (72%).

Following prosecution in 2002 after water which extinguished a fire leaked into a brook, £6.5m was invested to prevent future incidents. Employees think investing in green initiatives is money well spent (87%) and that environmental impacts are improving (an 81% score).

“We’ve now got employees who are a lot more sensitive to it \,” says John Huckstepp, human resources manager. “With every bit of investment, our standards are getting higher and higher.”

Staff are kept up to date with eco issues (74%) and, while being green doesn’t get in the way of work (77%) and is a high priority, employees do not tend to consider the environmental impact of work-related travel (54%). Most people use private cars to come in, earning a green score of just 19% for this, the fifth lowest in the survey. However, bosses are open to suggestions for improvements (78%). Recently a production line operator was presented with a cheque after suggesting a slight repositioning of some pricey circular saw blades, which are difficult to recycle as they are made from a metal alloy. It resulted in 40%-50% less pressure being put on them so that they last significantly longer.

There is a dedicated environment manager at the Knowsley site and staff say that eco matters are an everyday consideration at work (80%).