Business Must have a Strong Local Voice - Somerset Chamber of ...

Chamber Patron aims for ‘Green’ ManufacturingThales Templecombe aims for ‘green’manufacturingThe beautiful rollingcountryside of Somersetis home to one of the key UK sites for Thales, a globalengineering company employing over 68,000 peopleworldwide in areas as diverse as defence, transport,aerospace and security.Cumulative energy savings equivalent to 3,000 tonnesof CO2 have been realised at the Templecombe andCheadle Heath sites.Green Travel for commuting to work has beenencouraged by the provision of dedicated car sharespaces, improved cycle storage and extra showers forcyclists. Efforts have also been made to facilitate videoconferencing and telephone conferencing.The bucolic – but thoroughly modern –Templecombesite is not only home to world-class defencemanufacturing and engineering, but is also one of theThales Group’s most environmentally friendly, thanks inpart to the engagement of on-site ‘Green Teams’.With a working population of just under 700 employeesthe site specialises in world-leading maritime and airoperations technology, but over the last few years, thesite has introduced such a range of innovative andeffective environmentally friendly projects that it canalso lay claim to be a trail-blazing ‘green’ champion.Last year, the Templecombe site launched anotherinnovative environmental scheme to introduce a nativehedgerow boundary around its existing site perimeterfence to help encourage local biodiversity. More than560 plants of native hedgerow species have nowimproved the visual appearance of the site as well asenhancing boundary protection.The hedgerow initiative is the latest in a programme ofactivities to reduce the environmental impact of theTemplecombe site, bringing significant energy efficiencyimprovements, additional waste segregation andrecycling, reduced transport emissions and increasedawareness of green issues among employees.Nigel Branson of the Energy Green Team says: “Thewhole project can be mapped across the Thales valuesof customer focus, innovation, teamwork and peopledevelopment.In 2007 staff and management at Templecombedecided to launch the ‘Carbon Campaign’ based aroundfour Green Teams focusing on Awareness, Energy,Travel and Recycling. The initiative was extended toTemplecombe’s sister site in Stockport later that yearand is currently being extended to buildings at theThales Bristol campus.Just five years later, the results of the teams' effortsspeak for themselves. In 2011, for example, as a directresult of the campaign, more than 125 tonnes of wastehas been diverted from landfill at Templecombe, andsince 2007 the Recycling team activities have savedmore than 350 tonnes of CO2.We have made huge strides in the last five years thanksto a team effort, senior management buy-in andsupport and a sense of achievement. We enjoy passingon our experiences, but also value learning from otherideas within and outside the company. It’s a sharedcommitment to be as environmentally friendly aspossible within a world-class manufacturing facility.”The team regularly communicates to employees via thesite intranet and quarterly newsletter. All employees areencouraged to learn more – not just for their workplace,but for their homes as well.The success of the past five years has not lessened theTeam’s enthusiasm, but the challenge of reducingenergy consumption and CO2 emissions despiteincreasing manufacturing activity and an expandingworkforce will continue to test their ingenuity and drivefurther environmental innovation.www.thalesgroup.com/ukPicture: Thales Green Team13