Environmental policy

Drax Power Limited recognises its responsibilities to society and the environment and is committed to being an innovative leader in the management of the environment across all its activities and in all its business decisions.

We regard compliance with applicable legislation as a minimum level of achievement and we will comply with other requirements which relate to our environmental aspects. Furthermore, we are committed to managing, monitoring and reducing where practicable the environmental impacts caused by our business through continual improvement of our operations, in particular emissions to air, discharges to water, disposal of waste and the use of natural resources.

We will maintain a reputation for effective environmental management, in part by certification to the international environmental management system standard, ISO 14001:2004. This system will be used to set out and periodically review environmental objectives and targets.

We will discuss our activities with our stakeholders, engaging with them to help refine and broaden our understanding, taking note of their views and investigating any concerns promptly.

We will promote environmental awareness amongst our staff, business partners and contractors, ensuring that they understand the environmental aspects of their activities, that they act responsibly and are competent to carry out their jobs.

Environmental Policy Implementation

Drax has a major impact on the environment because of our size and the fuels we use. Our environmental performance is a high priority at all levels of the company because it is a major driver of our operational management and commercial strategy. We believe that all environmental incidents can be prevented – an incident free operation is a primary objective of the company.

Policy will be implemented by ensuring that:

  • activities with a potential for environmental impact are adequately covered by procedures certified to ISO14001;
  • all staff have been effectively trained to recognise the environmental impact of their jobs and means of managing those impacts, including the capability of responding to emergency situations;
  • all equipment with a potential to cause a environmental impact is adequately maintained in order to reduce the potential of an incident;
  • line management are accountable for compliance with regulations and the environmental performance of their area of responsibility, including the management of contractors; and
  • staff are encouraged to identify areas where environmental improvements may be made either to on-site impacts or to those caused by our procurement or by our suppliers.