Workplace Guides

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps organisations monitor, control, and continuously improve their environmental performance.

The Equality Bill received Royal Assent in April 2010. The Equality Act 2010 brings together 116 different pieces of equality law, providing a single legal framework through which inequality and discrimination can be challenged.  It covers ‘protected characteristics’ of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and religion or belief.

ESG, short for Environmental, Social and Governance is a set of factors measuring a business's impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable it is. ESG has a positive impact on fundamental business practice relevant to the long-term success of any organisation improving their reputation, reducing risks, identifying opportunities, improving culture, intrinsic value and providing authenticity through transparency. It measures how a business integrates environmental, social, and governance practices into their operations, and ultimately their sustainability.

Lithium-ion batteries/cells are a common part of 21st century life, being used in equipment from smartphones and pacemakers to UPS (uninterrupted power supplies) and solar energy storage.

Not all Lithium-ion batteries are the same and their chemical characteristics of the cells will depend on aspects such as power output, cost and life span.

A suitable electric vehicle charging risk assessment will highlight any possible issues, but how will this affect your response plan/existing fire procedures?

The primary objective of an evacuation plan is to make sure that in the event of a fire, the occupants of a building can reach a ‘place of ultimate safety’ outside the building. This is defined as a place in which there is no immediate or future danger from fire or from the effects of a fire.

If you are the responsible person and know that your fire evacuation drill is coming around again, it is worthwhile taking some time out to evaluate the objectives of the fire drill and why we carry out fire drills. The guidance states that fire drills should be carried out at least annually to make sure that all occupants are aware of building evacuation procedures. However, should you have staff within the building working of a night or different shift patterns, you will need to carry out more frequent fire drills to make sure that all shift patterns are covered at least annually.