Synergy Accounts takes its responsibility for the environment very seriously, and has had policies in place for a very long time - even before environmental responsibility and recycling were as popular and commonplace as they are today.

All our staff are informed about our policies on joining, and adhering to those policies is an important part of their contract of employment.

Recycling:

We take many measures to assist with recycling because of the benefits it provides to the environment. Our policy is to recycle absolutely anything that can be recycled either ourselves or where that is not possible using local facilities.

• Packaging Materials: Wherever possible we use recycled packaging materials, and we even collect packaging from other small businesses in our area and re-use that to reduce the amount that goes to landfill and incineration. Packaging used to deliver goods to us is also used to send goods to our customers whenever possible. Recyclable materials that are not in good enough condition to be re-used are sent for recycling in line with our policies.
• Cardboard: We try to re-use boxes whenever we can, and as often as we can, but eventually they are no longer usable. Any boxes that cannot be re-used are flattened and sent for recycling. Even cardboard inserts and boxes from food eaten by our staff are collected and recycled.
• Glass: All glass bottles and jars are washed and sent for recycling.
• Metal: All metal items are collected, and even food cans and staples extracted from packaging and paper products, and sent for recycling.
• Power Cells: Rechargeable cells are used whenever possible. Batteries and other failed power cells are routinely collected and taken to a special recycling centre for disposal. This prevents leakage and damage that would occur if they were sent for disposal with normal waste.
• Paper: Normal paper such as correspondence, junk mail, invoices, delivery notes and so on is shredded, newspapers and magazines boxed, and sent for recycling. Where possible this is done using facilities that provide charitable donations, for example to Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital, in recognition of the effort.
• Email: For many reasons, one of which is the reduction in waste, we do not normally send paper invoices. Communications are, whenever possible, sent by email. This saves literally tons of paper each year.
• Containers: Plastic Bottles and Tins from the kitchens are compressed, plastic bags are sorted and packed. All are then recycled.

Transport:

Our staff are actively encouraged to use bicycles or to walk whenever possible. When this is not possible we encourage the use of public transport. Synergy Accounts does not own any vehicles at the time of writing, but does use couriers and Royal Mail for delivery services and occasionally has to rent or borrow vehicles for stock movement or other business related tasks. This is unfortunately unavoidable, but we do encourage our shipping suppliers to be as economical as possible.

Power Consumption:

We encourage our staff to minimise power consumption wherever possible, and have moved to lower power devices wheneverwe can. For example, all staff use LCD displays instead of CRT as they have a much lower consumption level. All staff are instructed to switch off unused devices whenever possible. Low consumption lighting is fitted wherever it is safe and sensible to do so, and timers are used to automatically switch off any unattended devices when it is possible to do so.

Waste Disposal

Only a tiny fraction of the waste we produce that cannot be recycled eventually goes for conventional disposal - we estimate significantly less than ten percent overall. Between November 2008 and January 2009 an average of just one black bin bag of waste per week was sent for disposal, with everything else being re-used or sent for recycling.