What is ESG?
The abbreviation ESG means environmental, social and corporate governance. We take these aspects into account when making business decisions. Find out what exactly we do in each area of sustainable development.
E – Environmental, protection and counteracting the degradation of the natural environment
- FSC™
Preston Packaging is proud to support the responsible management of the world’s forests by by achieving FSC™ certification. We know that our tasks also include educating employees, customers and the local community. Our license code is: FSC-C140505. We are very pleased that the number of orders placed by customers for FSC™ certified products is increasing every year. In 2022, we recorded an increase of 204% compared to the previous year. By choosing a product certified in the FSC™ system, you support responsible forest management in the world.
Following the example of previous years, we joined the FSC™ Forest Week campaign last year. Except for internal communication, we also were in the Technical School Complex in Tarnowo Podgórne, with which we have established cooperation. We told the students how important forests are for our future and what the FSC™ certificate is. Finally, we planted a tree to emphasize the value of forests for future generations.
One of the actions we take in the field of ecology is educating our customers. Among them, we promote solutions made of recycled raw materials and FSC™ certified. During the FSC™ Forest Week, we presented a material to our Clients that explained how important forests are for our lives, the future of future generations and for the entire forest ecosystem.
- Everyday actions to protect the environment
Our employees take care of proper segregation of production waste every day, so that it can be recycled. We divide the waste paper into 3 fractions: white fraction, gray fraction and offset. We gave up disposable cups and replaced them with water bottles. We also run an internal “campaign” motivating employees to save water, electricity or segregate waste. We have created humorous slogans promoting ecological behavior. The squirrel on the stickers has become a symbol of concern for the environment at Preston Packaging. In this way we encourage employees to save water, electricity or paper towels.
- We operate in accordance with the principles of the circular economy
Circular Economy is an idea aimed at the rational use of resources and reducing the negative impact on the environment in the production process. This model aims to minimize the generation of waste, and thus reduce emissions and energy use levels, by creating a closed process loop in which waste generated is treated as raw materials in subsequent production stages.
As everyone knows, paper is a renewable resource. We also often use recycled raw materials for production. Our offer also includes a range of packaging based on ecological and recycled materials. This is an innovative product from Preston Packaging, which is part of the current direction of development of the packaging industry. The use of mono materials or fully recyclable materials has become a priority. The current market trend in the industry of packaging for medicines, dietary supplements and packaging for cosmetics is to move away from packaging made of plastic or highly finished (highly processed) in favor of packaging made of ecological paper. Unit packaging made of ecological and recycled materials is part of the need to improve production processes in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment.
Our primary goal is to plan production in such a way as to minimize the amount of production waste. This is our plan for the coming years. Already last year, we managed to reduce the amount of waste paper. One of the activities that contributed to this was the optimization of the process of setting the device on the print, which allowed to reduce the consumption of waste paper for setting the machine by 4% in six months. In addition, we prepare files for printing in such a way that the distribution of one-ups on the sheet is as optimal as possible, while maintaining norms and standards and ensuring the highest quality of production. And at the same time we reduce raw material waste.
- Modern technologies for the environment
Our machinery park is equipped with modern machines that help us reduce energy consumption. It is very important to relieve the environment in this way. Last year, we also decided to gradually replace the lighting in the production hall with energy-saving ones. At Preston Packaging we put a lot of effort into a system of improvements and solutions that have a positive impact on the environment and environmental education. The investments we undertake always take into account the ecological aspect.
S – social responsibility
People are a key factor for our development. We have always been a people-oriented company and we are constantly developing activities related to the policy of social responsibility.
The first days in a new workplace are very important. Proper on-the-job implementation is also important. The introduced “Buddy Program” for administrative employees is constantly being improved and we are working on the proper implementation of this idea also for newly hired production workers. We know that good onboarding is extremely important for building relationships with new people in the team.
Investments in people are as important as investments in infrastructure and machinery. We support the development of our employees through internal courses and training as well as using the support of external experts. The development of Preston Packaging is only possible when the team develops and acquires new skills.
Our company respects human rights and maintains gender equality. Currently, 51% of the company’s employees are women. We support young mothers in the process of returning to work after maternity leave. We enable you to combine stationary work with home office work.
In addition, we appreciate the knowledge and experience of women in the team. We are proud that almost half of our management positions are held by women.
We care about safety at work. Each new employee is subject to mandatory health and safety training and we make sure that periodic training of the team is carried out on time. We pay attention to ensuring that all procedures are followed, which allows us to avoid accidents at work.
We really want everyone to feel comfortable working in our company. For this reason, we conduct an Employee Satisfaction Survey. It allows us to know the mood among the team, what changes they consider beneficial, and what else we could improve. In this way, we also test the level of knowledge and follow the procedures.
We respect employees’ rights and care for their health. For this reason, in addition to financing group insurance, we provided private medical care in the benefit package. Our company is also friendly to people with disabilities.
We want the team to be informed about changes in the company, about what is happening and what we are involved in. We publish the Preston Packaging Employee Magazine on a quarterly basis, in which we include the most important topics of interest to employees. In this way, we want to explain the legitimacy of the introduced improvements.
People and building a good atmosphere in the team are the most important for us. We are a family company and the values associated with it are very close to us. Every year our employees’ children receive Christmas gifts. This year we organized a meeting with Santa Clous in our company, thanks to which we spent the morning together as a family. In addition, children had the opportunity to see where their parents work.
Last year we established cooperation with ZST Tarnowo Podgórne. Young adepts of the Printing Process Techniques class have the opportunity to do practices with us. Thanks to this, they know what working in a printing house looks like in real. One of the important events for us was the recording of a conversation about printing with the Heidelberg Polska company and the Polish Chamber of Printing, in which students of ZST took part. They could listen to experts who talked about how work in the printing house used to be and how it is now, what impact the printing industry has on ecology and what trends and challenges we face in the near future. It was certainly an interesting lesson about printing for them
We are happy to engage in local charity and support. The obvious reaction for us was to support the people of Ukraine immediately after the start of the war there. Together with the team we collected food products, clothing and medicines for Ukraine. One of the last charity actions was support in the promotion of an event during which a fundraiser was organized for a sick child.
G – Governance
This is a particularly important pillar for business partners. It affects the building of trust in the enterprise and the business run. Preston Packaging was created thanks to the involvement of 3 brothers: Filip, Jacek and Stanisław. The success of the family business has its origin in the ambition and enthusiasm of the founders, whose inspiring vision constantly affects the entire team. The family nature of the company is an added value, as it guarantees the full involvement of the managers.
At Preston Packaging, we have a clear organizational structure with an optimal division of responsibilities.
In addition to internal operations, we require ethical behavior throughout the supply chain. We carefully verify the suppliers of raw materials and other services not only in terms of guaranteeing the highest quality but also environmental protection activities and their internal policy. We also support local entrepreneurs by using their services in various aspects of our business.
SUMMARY
We are convinced that the basic aspects of business, including social, ecological and economic issues, should be developed equally. This approach builds sustainable value for current and future generations. At Preston Packaging, we all remember this every day, taking a number of actions that serve us all. People are the foundation of our company. They are the competitive advantage. As a responsible employer, we create a safe workplace and care about improving professional competences. Our slogan Quality Reinvented is present in everything we do.
