M Group Services’ collaborative efforts for a greener, cleaner future

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of Parties (COP) as it is more commonly referenced, came to an end this week.

Government, charities, community groups, business leaders, young people, climate scientists and other experts and stakeholders from all over the globe came together in the United Arab Emirates, in the pursuit of a common goal: effective climate action.

At M Group Services, we are constantly looking at ways to collaboratively work together, across our operating businesses, but also with outside organisations, in a way to meet our sustainability goals and protect people and the planet. Below, we discuss some of the key collaborations and partnerships that help us to reach these goals:

• Last year, we signed up to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Membership of the UNGC gives us an opportunity to continue to learn, be forward-thinking and consider ways to work with people and protect the environment.
• In September, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of our Carbon Reduction Group (CRG). With representatives from each Division, the CRG works to understand and to amplify our response to climate change. This year, the GRG achieved ISO14064 certification, a greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting standard, while also working towards developing a science based GHG reduction target.
• We have worked together with each operating business to make sure they are all independently ISO:14001:2015 certified, with a bespoke Environmental Management system governing their processes. This means that all projects, regardless of their size, are carefully planned to ensure we have minimal impact on the environment and communities in which we work.
• We are working in partnership with Storm Technologies to recycle IT Group-wide. The scheme has seen us recycle almost 5,000 items since March 2020. If a device can be refurbished, it is sent back to us instead of new IT equipment, saving large amounts of CO2, from the process of manufacture of a new item, to its packaging and delivery.
• Each year, we order around 200,000 items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Group-wide. Our partnership with PF Cusack works to make sure that we have a scheme to actively recycle old PPE, providing an opportunity for all operating businesses to dispose of PPE sustainably.

At M Group Services, we are proud to have received the accolade of ‘Industry Top Rated’ , by global ESG rating agency Sustainalytics, for our commitment to the environment and sustainability. We continue to work collaboratively to ensure we are operating as sustainably and responsibly as possible, across all operating businesses.

Speaking on our commitments to climate action, Andy Hunt, Director of ESG and Innovation at M Group Services, said: “Playing our part in tackling the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and working at arresting global climate change is one of the largest challenges of our time. Every step we take, large and small all adds up, and I’m inspired by the increasingly active role our clients, people and supply chain partners are taking. This is a true endurance event which may never have a finish line. As a collective we have the stamina to stay the course.”

To read more about our sustainability commitments, please read our latest ESG report here.