Reducing our Ecological Footprint, Every Step of the Way
As a manufacturer of relief items for refugee and displaced populations, we recognize our responsibility in responding to the most pressing global issues. Climate change is one of the most threatening of these issues, and needs to be addressed by all tiers of society, including the private sector. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact , environmental impact is one of our focus areas to contribute to a more sustainable humanitarian supply chain.
The backbone of our environmental efforts is our overarching environmental policy for our factory H. Sheikh Noor-ud-Din & Sons (HSNDS), which states that it is our commitment to continually improve our Environmental Management System (EMS) to enhance the environmental performance and minimize its ongoing environmental impacts. We adhere to all national and regional environmental quality standards and will continue our efforts to minimize our ecological footprint. We aim to avoid, reduce or control the creation, emission, and discharge of any type of pollutant or waste to reduce adverse environmental impacts.
Our EMS program has set some clear targets to reduce our footprint and promote environment supporting activities to address issues such as waste generation, pollution, wastewater, and GHG emission – all related to climate change and the urgent need to reverse the global warming curve. Actions plans are in place to reduce paper consumptions by 30% by 2019 by introducing e-systems, to reduce electricity consumption by 10% by replacing old equipment such as lights and air-conditioning systems with more energy-efficient solutions.
‘Plant for Pakistan’
In addition, a tree plantation campaign has been completed before the end-of-year deadline. Since last year, we have planted 2000 trees in Lahore, amounting to a carbon dioxide potential of 96,000 lbs per annum. Alternatively put, these trees off-set flight emissions equivalent to almost 650 round-trips from Lahore to Dubai. The campaign is in line with the national initiative ‘Plant for Pakistan’, a massive countrywide call to plant 10 billion trees in the next five years to tackle climate change. Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, is victim to uncontrolled and unplanned urban expansion that has taken its toll on Lahore’s tree cover. In winter the city is choking on smog and the large-scale loss of trees reduces the amount of CO2 being taken up by the greenery. HSNDS is playing its role by not only replenishing the rapidly depleting tree cover but also by limiting emissions from our manufacturing units in Lahore, within PEQS (Punjab Environment Quality Standards).
