Business Performance and Compliance
In 2009/10 Viridor delivered another year of strong profit growth despite the difficult economic conditions. Revenue was up 18.7% (£98.5 million) to £626.5 million. Profit before tax at £55.4 million was up 34.8% on the previous year and has grown at a compound rate of 18% since 2001.
We progressed various major strategic initiatives, including in particular the Greater Manchester PFI waste and renewable energy project (the largest of its kind in the UK) and the Lakeside Energy from Waste plant, both of which commenced profitable operations. We also completed the acquisition of two further recycling companies.
Viridor continues to deliver quality services supported by a robust business management system (BMS) which meets the requirements of formal environmental, health and safety and quality management standards. The BMS is the vehicle by which the company gains and maintains certification by the British Standards Institute to ISO9001 (Quality Management System), ISO14001 (Environmental Management System) and OHSAS18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) standards. Adherence to the BMS is regularly verified internally and externally.
The BMS now covers 148 of Viridor's operating sites (out of a total 188 including closed sites and development sites), many of which are multi-functional. All operations under the Greater Manchester PFI contract were fully certified during the year. The application of the BMS is one of the key tools in the integration of new businesses following acquisitions.
Complaints
All complaints received by the company are recorded and investigated. Findings are recorded and fed back to the complainant and appropriate rectifying actions are implemented.
Total numbers of complaints received has increased to 847 from 644 the previous year. This represents approximately 3 complaints per site. 42% of complaints arose from one landfill site where an active local campaign exists against the site operations. The single biggest cause of complaint across all sites is odours, accounting for 58% of complaints. In any such cases, odour management plans are developed and implemented as part of the environmental permit conditions and improvements monitored accordingly.
Previous odour complaint profiles relating to composting operations led to a company-wide review of such operations. Infrastructural and operational changes have been implemented at a number of composting plants and this has resulted in significantly improved odour controls.
Another 30% of complaints arise from Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) operations, sites which have by far the greatest level of public interaction. The company has an HWRC working group which reviews and assesses all complaint trends with a view to identifying methods of improvement.
Compliance
There were no prosecutions against Viridor during the year.
Two cautions were received from Yorkshire Water Services Ltd under section 121 of the Water Industries Act 1991 for exceeding discharge agreement parameters at Parkwood and Erin Landfills. Further improvements to the leachate treatment and management systems have been implemented at both sites.
One enforcement notice was received regarding an alleged technical breach of Environmental Permit conditions relating to odour control at Horton Landfill Site. The notice was unsuccessfully appealed.
As part of Viridor's commitment to continual improvement to its management systems, and to better working practice between industry and the regulators, significant improvements were made to its sampling and environmental data management systems throughout 2009/10. Viridor has entered into a partnership with Severn Trent Laboratories to improve sample and data flows, markedly improving environmental data verification for the purposes of demonstrating environmental compliance. The company is also trialling a scheme with the Environment Agency for the regulator to access real-time data from Viridor systems as part of a better regulation initiative.
| BUSINESS PERFORMANCE & COMPLIANCE | 2009-10 |
|---|---|
| Number of complaints | 847 |
| Number of complaints per operating unit | 3.0 |
| Number of sites with a BMS (ISO14001, 9001, & OHSAS18001) | 148 * |
| No. of Prosecutions | 0 |
| No. of Formal Cautions | 2 |
| No. of Enforcement Notices | 1 |
| No. of Abatement Notices | 0 |
* Multi-functional operating centres are classed as one site