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Calor takes its responsibility as part of the business community seriously and is therefore in active engagement with a number of organisations, local authorities, government departments and trade bodies.

Calor is a Foundation Corporate Partner of Forum For The Future and a proud member of Business In The Community’s One Per Cent Club, which recognises businesses that donate one per cent of pre-tax profits to community projects.

We play a leading part in the LPGA – Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association – which exists to communicate the environmental advantages of LPG. We are a member of the CBI and play an active role in the Environmental Industries Commission.

As well as working with the Environment Agency on specific projects, we are in direct contact with HM Treasury, DEFRA, The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the DTI and the Department of Transport in policy areas where we can provide unique insight and expertise in relation to LPG – for example, health and safety regulation and environmental taxation.

Calor, along with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, RSPB and WWF, supports the work of Globe UK, an all-party group of MPs whose aim is to promote sustainable development for a balanced environment, through political education and Parliamentary action.

Such activity demonstrates our understanding of the part we can play in promoting a sustainable agenda, and our commitment to doing so. Further information on business lobbying – the next frontier for Corporate Social Responsibility – can be found at www.greenalliance.org.uk

From 1999, LPG received a five year duty concession from The Chancellor of the Exchequer in recognition of its reduced emissions compared to diesel and petrol. Calor worked with other fuel suppliers and the LPGA to build the retail infrastructure and conversion network that would enable motorists and fleet operators to use cleaner fuels. There are currently over 100,000 UK vehicles running on Autogas – automotive LPG – and over 1,300 UK refuelling stations.

As the end of the stated period approached, there was widespread concern that a significant increase in duty would not only adversely affect the LPG market, but would hamper research into other alternative fuels such as hydrogen.

As part of the LPGA, Calor contributed to the industry’s submission to HM Treasury – A Bridge To The Future, which spelled out the environmental benefits of LPG and made the case for LPG as a viable road fuel alternative pending the development of hydrogen and similar technology. Importantly, A Bridge To The Future linked road fuel emissions to social inclusion policy areas such as public health and air quality.

In the March 2004 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the duty differential between LPG and diesel and petrol would be substantially maintained, with only 1p per litre in duty added each year for the following three years.

In 2004 Calor became the first ever commercial sponsor of The Green Flag Awards, the recognised benchmark for quality public spaces. Our experience in supplying cleaner fuels to local authorities and their contractors to power groundcare equipment saw our involvement in preparing guidance for the Green Flag Awards entrants on sustainable fuels and safe fuel storage. Fellow organisations include CABE, CABE Space, The Civic Trust, English Nature, and English Heritage and Calor works with them under the auspices of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the operation of the scheme.

Calor is determined to build upon its 70 years of responsible trading and community participation for the future. As stated at the beginning of this document, while we are acknowledged as an industry leader in many areas of sustainability, we recognise that there are nevertheless areas where we can continue to improve.

Calor recently underwent a Sustainability Challenge by Forum for the Future. This review highlighted specific areas of industry leadership as well as areas for improvement.

As a result, and in illustrating our commitment to sustainability, we are committed to the following:

• We will be bolder about promoting the concept of sustainability, particularly among our staff

• We will aim to be as recognised for our commitment to sustainability as we are for health and safety – within five years

• We will establish a clear ‘Sustainability Channel’ on Calor’s web site, where stakeholders can communicate their views on our performance

• We will list all our principal affiliations on Calor's website, showing those organisations with whom we work to discuss and advise on business and policy development

• In addition we will state where we have made policy interventions on key issues

• We will monitor our waste production, energy usage and emissions to providea clearer picture of our own environmental performance

• We will provide training to all new employees to ensure compliance with environmental
management systems

• We will investigate the use of more environmentally responsible products in the areas of electrical goods, recycled paper, water based paints, and recyclable materials throughout our organisation

• We will advise customers on the efficient use of Calor’s products

We hope that you have found this document useful. We’re interested in receiving your views and feedback. If you would like to discuss a specific point with us, please email your enquiry to sustainability@calor.co.uk or call us on 01926 318634.