Good environmental practices are high on The Corporate Team's list of business priorities. As a service company we have a duty of care to our customers and the community to pursue environmental policies which reflect the impact of our business on the environment. This commitment is communicated throughout the organisation.

Current environmental policies include:

Strict compliance with all the applicable environment legislation

Making appropriate use of recycling opportunities

Using environmentally sensitive disposal arrangements

Using environmentally sensitive procurement

Assessing the environmental impacts prior to making major investment decisions

Ensuring that guidance, training and procedures are in place to enable all our staff to
    contribute towards caring for the environment

Setting measurable targets to reduce our impact on the environment

Reviewing our policies on a regular basis so as to ensure they are effective & up to date.

Minimising the Company's Environmental Impacts:

Whilst TCT's environment policy affects every aspect of its business three particular applications of that policy are intended to address the way in which the company could reduce it's impact on the environment.

A) Effective Waste Management

TCT operates from offices in central London. The kind of waste which TCT produces is typical to businesses operating from a service office environment and includes:

Paper: The biggest potential source of waste for most offices is paper hence TCT is proactive in avoiding using paper wherever possible - e.g. by communicating electronically.

Office equipment: All office equipment but particularly computer equipment can be a significant source of waste. Legislation such as the WEEE Directive 2007 provides clear instruction as to how electronic office equipment may be appropriately disposed of and TCT strictly observes these regulations.

Food packaging: Staff who consume drinks and food in the office can generate waste in the form of plastic bottles, metal cans and other types of food and drink packaging. TCT recycles these through Closed Loop Recycling Ltd.

Cardboard: Cardboard packaging, which is typically used to protect office equipment supplied, generates waste - TCT recycles cardboard through Closed Loop Recylcing Ltd.

Sanitary waste: TCT ensures that sanitary waste is not only disposed of hygienically but also of in a manner that causes least harm to the environment.

Water: TCT's business does not entail high usage of water but appropriate maintenance is carried out to ensure that water is not wasted through for example faulty plumbing and staff are reminded to turn taps off properly.

Light bulbs: special arrangements are in place for the appropriate disposal of light bulbs.

B) Efficient use of Energy

TCT aims for maximum energy conversion through:

Best practices in systems development

Using a computerised energy management system

Lighting heating and ventilation controls

Measuring use of gas and electricity in kWh and targetting to reduce consumption of these by 20% in 2009.

Adopting vehicle driving techniques, which save fuel.

C) Sustainable Purchasing

Making suppliers aware of TCT's environmental concern and attempting to influence environmental policy of suppliers where possible is now a TCT priority. This applies to all items, which TCT purchases in the course of its day-to-day business but it particularly applies to hotels and conference venues.

Considering the impact on the environment before deciding what to purchase - e.g. buying paper which is made from recycled material.

TCT will always assess the extent to which a hotel or conference venue meets 'green criteria'. All hotels and venues are now asked to supply detailed information about their environmental policies as part of TCT's annual RFP process.

When booking hotels or conference venues TCT looks for evidence of the extent to which they are 'green'. TCT has a clear idea of what criteria must be met for a hotel or conference venue to be considered green.

Hotels must have an Environmental Policy in place, which adequately covers their approach to the following key issues:

Framework - the hotel must have a framework for dealing with environmental issues. There must be a senior person in charge of the environmental management of the property. A staff structure should be in place so that it is clear who is responsible for making sure that the property is managed environmentally in every department.

Awareness - staff and guests must be aware of what is required to comply with the environment policy in place. This can be achieved by training, posters, and information in rooms and on notice boards etc.

Minimisation of waste and use of energy - the hotel must have a coherent policy in place to minimise:

1) Its use of energy (gas, electricity, oil)
2) Its use of water
3) The amount of waste destined for landfill sites
The plan should include current measures of each of the above and targets for annual reduction through processes such as The Hotel Carbon Index.

Sustainable purchasing - the hotel must integrate sustainable criteria into its purchasing policy and procedures. This includes encouraging the purchase of products from local suppliers to cut down on transport & use of energy and buying products that can be disposed of in a sustainable way.

Protecting and Supporting the local community and environment - the hotel should support the local community and do what it can to protect the local environment - e.g. provide no vehicle zones, mandate maximum speed limits, support local nature reserves, protect native species of plants etc.

Venues for Conferences & Events should follow the guidelines of the Government's Greener Events initiative such as:

Encouraging delegates to book and pay for attendance and all associated products online thereby saving paper through usage of fax machines and postal service.

Looking for venues, which can be easily accessed by public transport thereby making it easier for delegates to attend without using cars.

Minimising the use of accessories that are harmful to the environment (e.g. plastic leaflet wallets)

Making sure handouts can be downloaded from the Internet rather than distributing copies in abundance.

Making sure delegates know that the presentations made by speakers can be accessed electronically after the event.

Looking for venues, which are proactive in being environmentally friendly. Promote them and encourage the ones that are not to become so.

Examples of environmentally friendly practices for venues to consider:

Using locally produced food reduces transportation requirements

Having in house AV equipment reduces transportation requirements

Use fair trade tea/coffee and offer tap as well as bottled mineral water

Avoid wastage of food

Minimise unnecessary lighting, heating and air-conditioning

Provide milk/cream in jugs rather than plastic cartons

Have meeting and exhibition spaces, which are naturally lit

Recycle paper and cardboard waste - have recycling bins available

Environmental Training:

TCT recognises that managing environmental impact is a shared activity, and that small contributions by a large number of people can be significant. Our induction training includes a brief module on environmental management, which outlines many of the programmes referred to in this document:

TCT is implementing environmental training and instruction in the following areas:

Waste management, especially wastage and recycling of paper and toner cartridges

Minimising the use of printed materials, for instance brochures

Communicating electronically whenever possible, and reduce to a minimum the use of paper based communications

Efficient vehicle driving techniques for travelling staff

The use of public transport in preference to individual car travel when practical.

The need to be frugal with lighting, heating and air conditioning - reminding staff of our target to reduce gas and electricity consumption by 20% in 2010. 'Small control variations can make a big difference' being an important adage to observe.

The Corporate Team recognises that the environment should feature high on the agenda in respect of its dealings both internally and externally. The communication of our objectives is important not only to our staff but equally to our suppliers and customers too. We are committed to review our operations so that we continually improve our performance in respect of good environmental practices.