An environmental management system is a set of processes and practices in place within an organisation to reduce their environmental impacts and increase its operations efficiency. 

Having an environmental management system in place in your workplace is an absolute must for any modern day business. Implementation of an environmental management system will not only reduce your businesses carbon footprint, it will also reduce your business costs by wasting fewer resources. 

Creating a successful Environmental management system requires the following to be completed by your company:

• Design and develop an environmental policy
• Identify how the company interacts with the environment and plan to make improvements by setting objectives and strategies to meet them 
• Implementation of your EMS strategies 
• Continuous monitoring of the system to ensure that the goals are being met
• Review of the system and the companies’ environmental performance. 

Here at label source we supply a huge range of Environmental Management signs and tapes all compliant with the ISO 14001 regulations. 

Encourage your employees to recycle their waste in the work place.  We supply recycling signs, which feature the instantly recognisable “Mobius loop” recycling symbol clearly printed in white in a green background.  These signs cover a wide range of recycling materials such as;

• Glass
• Paper/card
• Metals
• Plastics
• Aluminium and more. 

Clearly label your bins for clear waste segregation. In any Environmental Management system, waste segregation is incredibly important. Segregating your waste ensures that it gets disposed of in the correct manner. To help your employees identify and segregate waste within your management system it is best practice to use waste segregation signs. Here at Label Source we supply a range of waste management signs used to identify various different types of waste such as hazardous waste, food waste, recyclable solids and more. 

We also supply a range of WRAP recycling signs, Wrap signs are highly visible colour coded signs that encourage the correct disposal or recycling of various materials including Textiles, plastics, electrical, glass and more. Click here to view our full range of WRAP Labels.

Protect the environment and put in steps to conserve energy. Switching off lights, machinery and computers when not in use will not only help reduce the carbon footprint, but will also save your company money.  Using our resource conservation signs and notices around your workplace will encourage your employees to take energy saving measures whilst at work. These signs are available for water, electricity and heating conservation and more. 

Click here to browse our full range of Environmental Management Signs. 

There has been outrage in Bradford City Hall after recent visit from health and safety officials.

The bosses of City hall have advised that all contraband appliances will be confiscated, however, the office is refusing to hand over their cherished toaster after their bosses inform them that the toaster could potentially set off smoke alarms in the grade-I listed building essentially banning the workers from making toast in their office.

Even though this may seem absurd, it is important to take sensible fire safety measures in the work place. Banning toasters because they could set off smoke detectors may seem extreme, but if they smoke detectors are set off, a full building evacuation takes place, wasting your company’s time and more importantly, the fire services time.

It is important that you test your fire alarms regularly, and ensure that your employees are knowledgeable on the fire evacuation procedure. It is important that your office has fire exits and escape routes clearly labelled.

Click here to view our range of fire safety products.

The employees at the Bradford city are also banned from using fans, portable heaters, hairdryers and their personal rubbish bins are also being removed and replaced with a large recycling bin, because they fail to meet the local authority’s eco-friendly standard. Employees have instead been advised to dress appropriately for the time of year, with the aim of saving energy.

Here, at Label Source we strongly believe that companies should ensure that they have a clear environmental management system in place.  It is important that, as a company, you are making sure that you are recycling as much as you can, and only printing out emails and documents if it is necessary.

We stock a wide range of environmental signs and tapes, here at label source, including recycling signs, waste segregation signs, WRAP recycling signs, Contaminated Land Signs, Resource Conservation signs & Notices and more. Click here to view our full range.

If you have any questions regarding Label Sources products or require more information about our signs, tapes and labels, please  contact us by telephoning 0800 3761 693 or emailing a member of our customer service team at info@labelsource.co.uk

If you are a business owner, here are some facts and figures that may interest you:

• It has been estimated that the UK wastes £12 billion on electricity every year. (Source: Fresh Business Thinking)
   
• The average small business spends roughly 10% of its total overheads solely on electricity. (Source: Fresh Business Thinking)
   
• Britain's energy reserves are slowly but surely running out (Source: The Economist)

With this information in mind, it's a good idea - from both a financial and an environmental standpoint - for business owners to seek new ways of conserving electricity within the workplace. One effective change that's easy to implement is simply switching things off when you're not using them - this may seem like obvious advice, but it really can make a big difference to your company's energy usage.

Lights are an obvious place to start. If you're using the lights in a room that has plenty of natural light - or, worse still, leaving lights on when nobody's in the room - you are wasting energy, which is costly for your business and bad for the environment. Light switch stickers like these can help to remind you and your employees to swtich off the lights when they're not in use:

Where else could you be saving energy?

• Many appliances use a lot of energy even when switched off. If you're leaving microwaves, televisions, or other items in standby mode instead of turning them off completely, you could well be wasting energy for no reason.
   
• On a related note, be sure to switch plugs off if they have something plugged into them that isn't being used. This even includes chargers that aren't currently charging anything.
   
• Be sure to turn off taps properly when not in use - water transportation and treatment uses up energy too!

Useful products from Label Source:

• Resource Conservation Signs & Labels 
• 'Switch Off When Not in Use' Sign (pictured above)

We sell a range of RoHS labels here at Label Source. But what does it actually mean to be 'RoHS compliant'? Allow us to answer your questions...

What does 'RoHS' stand for?

Restriction of Hazardous Substances, which is itself shorthand for the directive's full title: Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

What is the RoHS directive?

A legal act of the European Union (EU) that first came into force in 2003. When it took effect, the RoHS directive placed severe restrictions on the use of six potentially hazardous materials in consumer electronics and electrical equipment.

What materials are prohibited by RoHS?

The following materials are prohibited (with some expections):

• Lead
• Cadmium
• Mercury
• Hexavalent Chromium
• Polybrominated biphenyls
• Polybrominated diphenyl ether

This means that, in most cases, goods containing any of the above substances cannot be sold to the general public.

How do I comply with the RoHS directive?

In a nutshell: you must not manufacture, import, or sell any products that contravene RoHS regulations. If any of your products contain lead, mercury, or any of the other substances listed above, you may well be in breach of the RoHS, which means that you could be vulnerable from a legal standpoint. Ignorance is not a valid defence; you must be able to prove that you have taken all reasonable measures to comply with the RoHS directive.

How can Label Source help with this?

As mentioned above, we sell a huge range of RoHS labels for manufacturers and retailers to use with their products. Some of the labels indicate that the labelled product is, for example, lead-free (and hence compliant); others are designed to indicate the presence of restricted materials for environmental and safety purposes. We also offer WEEE labels and China RoHS labels, both of which are closely related to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive and may indicate compliance by association.

Click here to browse our full range of RoHS/WEEE labels.

Here at Label Source, we've got quite the comprehensive range of Environmental Management Signs & Tapes. Most workplaces have an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System in place, so you'll be more than familiar with our various environmental signs and tapes, however, there are still many workplaces who currently don't have an enviornmental management system in place

Recycling Signs 

Environmental management systems are designed to help you and your business organisation to reduce waste and help save the planet by helping the environment, and must comply with ISO 14001 which is a set of industry standards for environmental management systems. If your organisation doesn't currently have one in place, then there are a number of simple steps you can take to help recuce your carbon footprint and make your contribution to saving the planet. 

The added bonus of having an environmental management system in place is that it will help you keep your business costs down and you'll be wasting fewer resources. So how do you get started? 

• Encourage recycling and waste segregation by popping the correct recycling signs above your bins to ensure staff are recycling the appropriate materials 
• Make sure all of your bins have the proper wrap recycling signs on them
• Warn of any contaminated areas by ensuring the appropriate labels are in place 
• Promote energy-saving practices with signs to ensure staff turn the lights off when they leave 
• Prohibit access to spill areas with the appropriate control barrier taps 

Spill Control Barrier Tapes 

Label Source's range of environmental signs & tapes are broken down into the following categories:

• Recycling Signs
• Waste Segregation Signs
• Wrap Recycling Signs
• Spill Control Barrier Tapes
• Contaminated Land Signs
• Resource Conservation Signs & Notices
• Spill Control & Liquid Storage Signs 

Contaminated Land Signs

All of our Environmental Management products are compliant with ISO 14001 regulations, so if your business is looking to put an environmental management system in place, rest assured you're always in safe hands with Label Source. For any information about our Environmental Signs & Tapes, please call 0800 3761 693. 
Resource Conservation Signs & Notices