Environmental Responsibility: Leading the Charge for a Sustainable Future
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and our Carbon Footprint
Greenhouse gases (also known as GHGs) are gases in the earth’s atmosphere that trap heat.
We are all aware of the impact of Greenhouse Gases have on our environment and in line with the Paris Accords, that we are working to toward Net Zero by 2050 with our aim to achieve this sooner.
Cleveland Cable are committed to reducing our carbon footprint wherever it is possible. While the industry is not yet fully circular, we are working hard to get to that point ourselves. As such we are signed up to the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting requirements scheme and produce annual SECR report which is available on request
The SECR considers our industry specific KPI’s and company objectives which form part of our annual Integrated management system review. Compliant to ISO 14001 SMART targets for continual improvement and are audited annually by UKAS to ensure that objectives are being achieved.
Waste Management: Toward Zero Landfill
Cleveland Cable Company aims to achieve zero waste to landfill, alongside an increased use of sustainable and recycled materials. As we are not a manufacturer, we do not carry out any processes which result in waste other than those resulting from normal domestic/office routines. All waste is disposed of in accordance with environmental legislation.
Within the past 12 months, as per KPI 6 in our company objectives, across all branches Cleveland Cable Company has recycled or diverted from landfill 100% of our waste. Our target for 2025 is to maintain this high standard and not go below 98% for recycling/recovered waste.
Scope for GHG Reporting
Since 2020, we have been working with EIC on SECR accounting for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions
There is no requirement within SECR to complete Scope 3 but we are working with our supply chain to gain this information.
Greenhouse gases are those which have a global warming potential (GWP). This was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). Our emissions are reported in tCO2e (tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent).
Scope 1
Covers emissions from sources that an organisation owns or controls directly – for example from burning fuel in our fleet of vehicles (if they’re not electrically-powered).
Scope 2
Are emissions that a company causes indirectly and come from where the energy it purchases and uses is produced. For example, the emissions caused when generating the electricity that we use in our buildings would fall into this category.
Scope 3
Encompasses emissions that are not produced by the company itself and are not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by them, but by those that it’s indirectly responsible for up and down its value chain. An example of this is when we buy, use, and dispose of products from suppliers. Scope 3 emissions include all sources not within the scope 1 and 2 boundaries.
Our Reporting Assurance
As a company it is important for Cleveland Cable Company to ensure that our carbon emissions reporting is as accurate as possible. We work with specialist such as EIC who conduct the analysis and reporting to confirm our Carbon Footprint Verification.
This is done via SECR, ESOS, which we are currently completed on ESOS 3 and working already on ESOS 4, and our ISOs. We have put ouraction plan on EA website for ESOS 3
We work with both our supply chain and our customers to use the best practices available.
We are committed to working with our suppliers and customers using targets based on science to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 42%over a 10-year period. Using 2021 as our baseline
Waste
Cleveland Cable Company also has aims of a zero waste to landfill and increased use of sustainable and recycled materials. As we are not a manufacturer, we do not perform processes that generate waste other than those resulting from the normal domestic/office routines. All waste is disposed of in accordance with Environmental Legislation which are audited throughout the year as per our Audit Schedule to ensure that we as a Company are compliant.
Office/Warehouse Waste
We have a permanent enclosed waste skip on site for general waste which is emptied weekly and 99% of this waste is recycled using an RDF and used for fuel block. This reduces our waste to landfill as per our Environmental Objectives. This is currently on contract with Veolia. Our paper is collected by Paper Restore and is collected fortnightly and recycled. Plastic and cardboard are baled and collected by Cumbria Waste on a weekly basis.
Wooden Drums & Battens
Cable drums and wooden battens are a perfect example of reusable materials. We offer a free of charge collection service of empty cable drums. All returns are reused in future orders and deliveries. Once the drum has reached its maximum lifespan, it is dismantled and sent for recycling. Cleveland Cable
Company hold a waste transfer licence to transport the wood to UK Wood Recycling (UKWR), who operate a wood recycling facility based next to the pioneering Wilton 10 Biomass Power Station - the UK’s first purpose-built wood-burning power station. UKWR reduce the amount of wood being sent to
landfill by recycling recovered wood to produce a range of products including horse, poultry, and cattle bedding, equestrian surfaces and wood chip to fuel Wilton 10.
Scrap Cable
All scrap cable is sold to local non-ferrous metal merchant and registered dealers who again recycle the cables in question
As per our KPI 6, which is one of our Company’s Objective - Cleveland Cable has within the past 12 months, the company’s percentage of waste diverted from landfill is 97.4% in 2024.
The target for 2024 is to maintain not to go below 97% for the recycling/recovered waste.
Learn more about our wood waste and drum reuse scheme.
We believe in giving back to the communities in which our branches are based. This includes support for local initiatives and causes close to our heart, as well as working in partnership with national and international charities. These include:
Electrical Industries Charity (EIC) - For over 100 years, supporting members of the electrical industries and their families regardless of age or circumstance.
Butterwick Hospice - Delivering holistic palliative and supportive care to those suffering with progressive life limiting conditions, their families and loved ones, across Teesside.
The Teesside Charity - Financially support community groups and charities based within Teesside, which promote social wellbeing and provide support to those who find themselves at a disadvantage.
Teesside Family Foundation - improving the quality of life of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill health, disability or financial hardship who do not have the resources to provide themselves for the public benefit of Teesside.
Teesside Hospice - Palliative care hospice based in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough.
Supply Chain and Ethical Practices: Supporting Diversity & Inclusion
Sustainable Purchasing
Cleveland Cable Company fully recognises and understands its obligations to carry out its business affairs in an ethical manner and has appointed the Managing Director, as being the person within the organisation who has the overall responsibility for all matters relating to the ethics of the company. Individual departmental managers are responsible for ensuring that the company ethics policy is upheld on a day-to-day basis across all areas of business, which includes the responsible and ethical sourcing of goods.
The purchasing Manager ensures that all cable materials and associated items are compliant to the highest ethical standards. The evaluation and approval of
suppliers and sub-contractors is the responsibility of the Purchasing Manager/Senior Buyer and the group QSHE Manager. Our products conform across a wide range of ethical issues covering compliance, Recycling, Carbon footprint, Embodied carbon, Our annual objectives and community benefits.
Diverse & Inclusive Supply Chains
Cleveland Cable Company has a diverse and inclusive supply chain ensuring that diverse suppliers are included in the early tendering stage.
We negotiate with diverse suppliers and constantly develop our supplier management integration processes and metrics to ensure successful and sustainable
inclusion. Where possible, we deal with local suppliers and service providers.
Ethical & Labour Standards
Cleveland Cable Company promotes and sustains good labour and standards within our own Company and throughout our supply chain. We have established and continue to maintain creditability as a purchaser of fair and ethically sourced goods and services.
All Suppliers are regularly audited to ensure we continue to meet the requirements of the Ethical Trading Code. Our own workforce respects the rights and equal treatment of all staff regardless of age, gender, skin colour or religion and are aware that unethical treatment will not be tolerated.
Conflict Minerals Compliance
Pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, companies listed on stock exchanges in the USA are obligated to disclose their use of so-called conflict minerals.
This relates to tantalum, tin, tungsten and the ores from which they originate, as well as gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbouring countries (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) – the so-called DRC region.
Challenges to our Suppliers
National, European and International Cable standards states the use of ‘Virgin Materials’. This means that there is no option to use recycled Copper or Aluminium or any insulation or sheathing polymers within the manufacturing of the cable to ensure that the product is compliant.
There is a challenge for all logistics which is one of the largest sources of emissions within Scope 1, 2 and 3 to look at development and commercial availability of electric vehicles which are suitable for further distances than are currently around.
View our Conflict Minerals Declaration
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Cleveland Cable Company aim to be fully compliant to the UK government goals of achieving net zero by 2050. We have spent the last 2 years receiving specialist consultation on the matter and though we have just started on our sustainability journey, believe this is achievable in advance of the target date of 31st December 2049.
We already recycle over 97% of waste products ensuring that we reduce any waste to landfill. We have provided for major investment across all sites to reduce carbon and carbon equivalent usage in order to be carbon neutral across the warehouse facilities.
In the last 12 months we have installed Solar Panels at our Northampton branch which is our 3rd largest, and our next installation will be at our Birmingham branch and also looking at increasing the solar system at Head Office.
We are looking at our fleet where we have increased our electric cars and vans also looking at different options for fuel such as biofuel.
We are looking at accreditation for our lab to ISO 17025 which has moved into a new building.
Summary
As a company we are looking at all aspects of our daily working to ensure that we are a Sustainable Company both for the future of our employees, suppliers and our customers. Looking at our emissions and how we can reduce them together to ensure the future of our planet.
Explore our CPD Providers page