ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

The environmental factor has passed in recent years from being an unknown to being one of the key factors in the strategy of the company. There are several reasons for this, and particularly the increase in the environmental costs, the greater regulatory pressure from the administration and the greater sensitisation and awareness of all of the social forces with regard to the environment.

There is a certain complexity to successfully managing the environment in our areas of activity, both with regard to the volume of information to be worked and the diversity and complexity of the different businesses.

To ensure compliance with environmental legislation is an important, excellent objective, but it is not sufficient, and it is necessary to go much further; it is necessary to work much more on the subjects: environmental costs, pollution and its impact on the environment, the training and sensitisation of all of the workers, and the environmental risks.

Good management is essential of all of the aspects that might affect the environmental behaviour of the Group, paying special attention to the intangible value of this behaviour (the environment can very negatively or very positively affect the prestige and the image of the company). The leading companies in their sectors of activity currently stake on environmental management as a factor of competitiveness and turn the potential problems into opportunities, to stand out from the rest of the competition.

One of the factors limiting the enhancement of environmental management is the company’s perception that it “is not a polluting company”, which is not always true. Any activity generates waste, produces waste waters, stores potentially hazardous products or is affected by the control and prevention of legionnaire’s disease, for example. The risk of poor environmental management always exists to a greater or lesser extent.

TRANSVERSAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Any organisation with a potential must have a strategic plan to specify the path to be followed in the coming years with regard to environment, quality and prevention of labour risks. This is the function of the Transversal Management Plan that Grup SERHS is developing this year 2008.

Having this strategic plan guarantees not only the continuity of the company, but also its growth and profitability. The concept of profitability now undoubtedly depends on careful management adjusted to the dimensions and requirements at all times.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Without quality in the management of all of our processes...
Without sustainability associated with our activities...
Without safety for people in the surroundings...
Without being respectful with the team and the parties concerned...
A company with a will for a future and growth can not evolve or consider growth with rigour without considering these concepts.

The quality of the products and services is now an aspect that is supposed in many companies. It is a primary aspect, but also requires careful maintenance to open the way to continuous improvement.

For a service company such as Grup SERHS, customer satisfaction is key to business; however, this does not only concern the external customer, but also the internal customer and all the parties concerned and which interact.

Today the concept of quality management has evolved a great deal and is well integrated in the heart of companies as a transversal concept that affects the majority of company processes.

It is not enough to do things well and work according to set procedures; the quality culture must be well rooted in the organisation for this will allow the success of the new projects to be assumed with complete guarantees of success.

Specific plans will also be made in the Transversal Management Plan for each area of activity on the following subjects:

• Increasing energy efficiency
• Waste management
• Waste water management
• Management of atmospheric emissions
• Collaboration in protecting the surroundings and the environment wherever our activities are developed
• Optimisation of the work processes, including the possibility of achieving quality standard ISO 9000, environmental standard ISO14000 or EMAS and OHSAS 18001 in the prevention of labour risks.
• Creation of a common procedure manual integrating quality, environment and the prevention of labour risks.

SERHS DISTRIBUTION

The fact of distributing drinks in returnable, reusable containers (boxes or barrels) helps to reduce a very large volume of this material, which otherwise would have to be collected by the municipal cleaning services to be sent to disposal units or, in the best of cases, to be recycled by selective collection.

We can therefore say that the companies distributing to the sector of hostelry and collectives carry out a very positive function for the whole of society in preserving the environment.

In recent years an internal regulation of the area has been established by which all new purchased commercial vehicles comply with community regulations applicable to reducing the emission of polluting gases and particles according to article 41.1 of RD 283/2001.

From the beginning of 2007, all new lorries brought into the area have an auxiliary tank for a liquid called AdBlue, which eliminates the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere. This is a clean, non-toxic solution of a chemical compound called urea. AdBlue can be handled in complete safety.

A process has also been carried out to renew the forklift trucks in the stores, replacing the diesel versions with electric, a cleaner energy that avoids the emission of gases in the stores.

Companies with their own mechanical workshops have an agreement with a waste manager by which the oils from the vehicles are collected, which are rich in sulphurs, chlorides and metal and which therefore suppose a considerable environmental risk. It is avoided pouring the used oils in the drains, water currents or the land. A single litre of contaminated oil can pollute a million litres of water and five litres of used oil contaminates the air that a person breathes for three years.

SERHS DISTRIBUCIÓ has made a considerable investment in machines for pressing cardboard and plastic, in order to compact all these wastes and send them directly to companies recycling these kinds of materials. It has also been possible to improve the cleanliness and tidiness of the stores.

SERHS PROJECTS AND EQUIPMENT

From this operative area, when carrying out the projects commissioned by hotels, restaurants, cafeterias and collectives, they receive advice for new systems to be applied that allow the environmental policy to be improved.

The main factors focus on:

• improvement of waste management:
a. Fat separators for kitchens.
b. Functional designs that facilitate waste classification.
c. Management and evacuation during the work.
• improvement of the optimisation of energy consumption:
a. Rainwater recovery.
b. Water-economising taps and cisterns.
c. Low consumption electrical installations.
d. Energy recovery.
e. Suitable isolation for maintaining temperatures.
• improvement in the acoustic control procedures:
a. Isolation to limit expansion.
b. Use of decorative materials that reduce noise.
• improvement in the use of recycled material for construction.

SERHS FOODS

Certifications 2007

In this year, the area of SERHS Food passed the follow-up audit of the ISO 14001:2004 on environmental management. The audit was also approved of the certification system, the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system and the ISO 22000:2005 food innocuous management system.

Waste control

Each of the companies of the SERHS Food area manages its own waste according to the law waste management. The objectives achieved in 2007 were:

• Reduction of DQO (organic material) and oils/fats from waste waters.
• Waste segregation: this is applied to waste segregation (organic material, cardboard, packs, etc...) or through providers approved by the Generalitat, Government of Catalonia and/or other specialised entities.

In 2007, the waste increased over the previous year as we increased our production. It must be stressed that all frying oil is collected by one company, which uses it to make biodiesel. A new oil and fat decanter was also installed with a larger capacity (1,000 litres), as those previously available were of 250 litres. Environmental training was given to the workers of the area as in other years.

The Area of Food Production and Management has a well-prepared, professional quality department which establishes the procedures to be followed in continuous innovation and search for awareness of the new laws and regulations concerning environmental matters, which are expanded, renewed and/or modified constantly.

All of the companies of the area therefore work to adapt the industries to the new environmental and health regulations. This is primordial for the area, not only as a concept, but also as a work procedure, given that a high level is offered of professionalism and rigour as a competitive advantage.

Control of energy and polluting costs

Furthermore, a very important subject of significant impact to be improved, where this area is making a great effort in economy and management, is the use of natural resources (natural gas) as energy consumption products, to the detriment of other more polluting products (diesel).

Each year, energy studies are made and an evaluation is carried out to be able to improve the production planning and thus reduce costs. In order to anticipate the new legislation planned for 2010, at the present time work is under way to replace the cooling gas in the cold rooms for one that meets these requirements. One important fact has been the reduction in electrical consumption of 2% over 2006.

There has been an increase of 15% over the past year in the consumption of natural gas, as the machinery has been changed and this new equipment works with this kind of non-polluting energy. The consumption of diesel was reduced by 11.4% with respect to the previous year.

Work salubriousness

Special mention must be made of this, as SERHS Food trains its team in salubriousness and food hygiene strictly and continuously, centre by centre. All of the workers have their corresponding, obligatory IPE (individual protection equipment).

SERHS TOURISM AND SERHS SERVICES

The widespread introduction of new technologies and innovative communications systems in operating tasks has caused, on the one hand a reduction especially in the use of paper and, on the other, the sending of communiqués by electronic mail and the creation of web portals. This has all given greater speed in communications and an improvement in energy expenditure.

From these areas the following is promoted:

• The introduction of technology to help to meet the objective of “the paperfree office”.
• To carry out all of the centralised recycling of any electronic equipment of all the companies of Grup SERHS.
• Recycling of paper, cartridges and toners of printers, dealing with the centralised collection with a certified, authorised company.
• Both the new offices of SERHS New Technologies and the Data Processing Centre have rooms with air conditioning and heating programmed to guarantee the right temperature but also to ensure energy savings when this is possible (we optimise energy consumption).
• The new Data Processing Centre has been designed and built bearing in mind these technical and environmental parameters.
• Intervention has begun in projects of automation/domestic robotics, helping the rest of the companies of the Group to improve their energy efficiency and therefore to optimise the expenses. Digital invoicing. This is a system for issuing and receiving invoices without any need to print them out on paper.

This new procedure achieves greater paper savings and also speeds up and enormously simplifies the company administration both in management times and sending costs, as this job is done by electronic mail. Communication visa electronic mail is also enhanced, as well as the sending of multiple mails to workers and shareholders instead of letters, with the corresponding use of paper and energy consumption in transport.

Document digitalisation. A procedure for filing documents which instead of being physical with the corresponding need for space, becomes a “virtual” file.

It is therefore structured in a system for organising the different materials following the requirements pertaining to each kind of document (reproduction of originals, legal considerations, ...). In departments such as Human Resources of the Area of SERHS Services the objective has been achieved of having (and storing) 90% of all new documentation in digital format.

The multifunction devices (equipment that gathers functions in the same machine, such as printers and fax at the same time), and unified messaging via electronic mail are also important aspects in these areas.

SERHS HOTELS

In February 2008, with a will to develop its activity in a more sustainable manner and bring environmental criteria into their management and business culture, the Vilars Rurals started a project along with a leading environmental consultancy of renowned prestige. The intention is to give the Vilars Rurals high added value in relation to the environment and sustainability. The aim is to be positioned as a reference company in the area of the environment and to have a respectful management model integrated in the environment both for workers and customers.

Within this area, since November 2007, the area of SEHRS Hotels had paid attention to the management and operation of different areas of accommodation and restaurant facilities in the Vall de Núria complex.

This mountain resort has adopted an environmental management system based on the international ISO 14001. This is a tool with the main aim of continuously improving the system, preventing pollution and of the activity to be included in the general forms of management that might have an effect on the environment. Logically, this system is subject to periodical audits that allow, with transparency and objectiveness, the compliance to be shown with the commitments of action and principles of the Vall de Núria. The resort has an environmental management system certified by TÜV International in 2001, renewable every three years. Vall de Núria shows and assumes its pact of harmony and integration with the environment and towards society.

The environmental policy of Vall de Núria is based on the preservation, the conservation, the improvement and respect for the environment and heritage, and is one of the main values and strategies of the company.