We are delighted to announce that Chime Communications plc (Chime) has been awarded a Business in the Community (BITC) Big Tick in recognition of our carbon reduction achievement. This will be formally announced in a Financial Times supplement on 29th May 2008.
Chime became a carbon neutral company as of 1st January 2007. In order to do so we took a number of significant steps to reduce our emissions; from empowering employees to become more environmentally friendly and carbon aware to switching to a green energy tariff, working with suppliers to identify ways to reduce impacts in the supply chain and offsetting the emissions that cannot be avoided.
Chime’s climate change strategy is driven equally by management and the Climate Change Champions within each company.
As participants of HRH The Prince of Wales’s May Day Summit 2007, Chime made the following pledges:
1. To reduce our carbon footprint by 30 per cent
2. To raise the awareness about climate change to our staff and empower them to take action
3. To encourage suppliers to measure and minimise their own carbon footprint
4. To raise customer awareness about the actions they can take to reduce their carbon emissions resulting from the use of products and services
Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said:
“I congratulate all the winners of a Big Tick this year. It is fantastic to see so many strong examples of responsible business practice. The Big Tick is now recognised as both a valuable and difficult award to achieve. It means a company has demonstrated ways in which they positively make a difference to the environment, their workplace, the community or in the marketplace in which they sell, advertise or trade.
Those who achieve the Big Tick are leading companies, ones that run their businesses aware that they depend above all on the talent, innovation and loyalty of their people. They know they cannot build a successful sustainable business without constantly showing their commitment to being a better business.
Business in the Community mobilises business for good. The Awards for Excellence is our annual benchmark of the very best. It is reassuring to see such a high standard in all the Big Tick winners this year.”
The other 2008 companies awarded a Big Tick are:
• B&Q plc
• Marks & Spencer
• Sainsbury's
• Serco Leisure
• The Co-operative Group
• Tesco
• Tullow Oil
• United Utilities
• Yorkshire Water
Chris Satterthwaite, Chief Executive of Chime, comments:
“Like every other business, we use resources and produce waste, but in terms of actual environmental impact, our emissions are not that significant. Where we can and do have a major impact, though, is through the messages we give out about ourselves, and through our work helping clients to communicate their actions and achievements. We believe that everyone has a responsibility for addressing climate change; as a communications group, we have a particular opportunity in enabling environmental messages to be heard. The starting point for that, of course, is with our own actions.”
In 2007, Chime exceeded their target carbon reduction of 30% by cutting their total CO2 emissions by 37%. They also supported their commitment to communicating environmental issues through use of their products and services via a number of high profile client campaigns. These include working with BSkyB on their market leading environmental and social campaigns. In addition, Chime agencies have worked on numerous other client projects to promote the green agenda, with VCCP recently working for the Carbon Trust and Corporate Citizenship (a specialist corporate responsibility consultancy) continuing to develop ClimateSMART, an end to end service that aims to help clients identify and address their environmental impacts. Corporate Citizenship advises clients including Unilever, Diageo and Pearson on the full spectrum of issues relating to corporate responsibility strategy and implementation to enable them to achieve sustainable success.
In 2008 Chime will aim to cut carbon emissions by a further 5%, a total of 42% in just two years, and is developing a working practices guide for employees and clients, to encourage the consideration of environmental impacts on client work. Chime has also pledged to ‘work in partnership with suppliers to reduce emissions in the supply chain’ and ‘mobilise customers to take action’ at the 2008 May Day Summit.
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For further information on Chime Communications plc or any of our Group companies please contact Kate Dickins at Chime on 020 7861 8560.
Notes to Editors
Chime Communications (plc)
* Chime Communications plc (Chime) (company turnover £165 million) helps clients create, manage, monitor and market their businesses, brands and reputation both in the UK and internationally.
* Chime is the holding company for the UK’s leading public relations group, Bell Pottinger, the UK’s leading research and consultation group, Opinion Leader; and one of the fastest growing advertising and marketing services groups in the UK, that includes VCCP, Teamspirit, TTA and the recently acquired leading sports marketing business, Fast Track.
* Chime is made up of three divisions, 38 agencies and over 1,000 people with offices in locations including London, Munich, New York and Dubai.
* Chime is now a member of the FTSE4Good Sustainability Index, demonstrating the growing external recognition of our achievements.
BITC The Awards for Excellence
* The Awards for Excellence, which includes the Big Ticks, enables companies to show how behaving in a responsible way really does create successful and sustainable businesses.
* Business in the Community is a unique movement in the UK of over 800 member companies committed to improving their positive impacts on society. A further 2,000 companies are engaged through programmes and campaigns.
Chime Environmental Management Programme - Detail
* Chime commissions an annual independent Climate Impact Assessment to provide a full account of the carbon emissions from our business operations, including business travel, commuting, energy consumption and waste management.
* The 2006 total annual carbon footprint for Chime’s UK business operations was 3100 tCO2e, which is 3.9 tCO2e per employee.
* Chime recognises that involving employees in the implementation of environmental and climate change commitments is fundamental to success
* Chime reports on environmental commitments and progress to key stakeholders on our corporate website and in our stand-alone corporate responsibility report.
* To empower and engage our employees to help us reduce our carbon footprint we have implemented numerous proactive management strategies:
1. Climate Change Champions
2. Internal awareness campaign asking employees to help reduce carbon emissions in every area of the office.
3. A ‘Green Day’ was held in November 2007.
4. In 2007 Chime hosted a Climate Change Leader and Community Spirit Awards at our internal awards ceremony the Chime Cymbals,
5. Production of an inter-office Green Journey Planner for London
* Chime cut total CO2 emissions by a massive 37% in 2007. Having pledged to reduce their 2006 carbon emission levels by 30% by the end of 2007, and overachieved by 23%.
* The 2007 move to carbon neutrality was achieved through a large number of key actions including:
1. Sourcing energy from a green supplier
2. Adopting energy saving criteria in all equipment acquisitions
3. Adopting carbon neutral suppliers for all local travel (taxis etc)
4. Abolishing bottled water from all meeting rooms saving glass manufacture, transport and landfill
5. Setting up Chime’s Cycle2work scheme
6. Segregating and recycling all major office waste
7. Using recycled printing paper and other office supplies
* In 2008, Chime will continue to focus on improving the energy efficiency of office buildings to reduce the most significant carbon footprint contribution.
* During 2008 Chime will also explore more direct flight-routing to reduce the CO2 associated with air miles, as well as providing further training in video-conferencing alternatives.
* To ensure carbon neutrality Chime is supporting a number of carbon offsetting projects, which give carbon credits. Carbon credits are generated by projects which invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.
* Chime has invested in three projects:
- Waste Heat Recovery, India
- Solar Water Heating, India
- Methane Capture, Germany
