Meteor and the Environment

‘GET ON TO GREEN' WITH METEOR! METEOR URGES MOBILE PHONE USERS TO UNPLUG UNUSED CHARGERS  

April 2008 saw Meteor introduce its first ever Green Week! As well implementing a week long internal campaign for staff, we also used the week to highlight to mobile users how they can be more energy efficient by unplugging their phone chargers when not in use.

Did you know? That esearch shows that unused phone chargers left plugged into sockets waste up to 20%* of the normal energy levels when charging. Mobile phone penetration is at 116% with over 5 million mobile phones, with as many chargers, in use in Ireland today. By unplugging a charger at night, or before leaving for work or college in the morning, significant energy savings could be made. While charging time depends on the charger used, on average it only takes 3 hours to charge a phone, meaning significant wastage from an energy perspective. 

A mobile charger plugged unused for one year uses enough energy to microwave 78 dinners or boil 58 kettles; a mobile charger plugged in unused for 6 months will use enough energy to cover 8 dishwasher loads.**
John Brophy, Meteor's Health and Safety Manager said "Mobile phones are one of the most popular communication tools nowadays, meaning there are plenty of people recharging mobile phones who can make a significant difference to the environment if they simply unplug their chargers after use.  It is not unusual to see phone chargers plugged in at office desks, at home and in the car- if everyone makes the change we can help to make a difference."

So plug out your unused charger and Get on to Green with Meteor!

*Source: Power Of One, energy efficiency for Ireland
**Source: Energy Efficiency Division, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Meteor's Environmental Practices

Meteor's Health and Safety Manager John Brophy is presented with the ISO 14001 certificate by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, TD, along with members of Meteor's Heath and Safety Team  

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment through our internal environmental policies.

In October 2007 Meteor was awarded the ISO 14001 Environmental Standard by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, TD. ISO 14001 allows organisations to better identify, manage and control their activities so that they do not have an negative impact to the environment. Only companies and businesses that adhere to the strict guidelines are awarded the recognition of the ISO 14001.

Meteor's Environmental Activities

• Meteor's goal is to protect the environment by preventing or minimising the environmental impact of our business activities. We recognise our responsibilities and the importance of the contribution which we can make to the environment. Our commitment to environmental protection was rewarded in March of 2007 by the National Standards Authority of Ireland when we were presented with the international environmental management standard, ISO 14001. Our environmental management system provides us with a strong framework to manage and continually improve our performance. Meteor has established objectives for the use of energy and the recycling of waste across all parts of the business.
• Energy Use We are maximising the use of renewable energy resources. All of our retail stores and many of our base station sites are currently supplied by Airtricity. This has significantly reduced our carbon footprint.
• Minimisation of Waste: meteor are members of the REPAK packaging recycling scheme. Repak have advised and assisted us in the prevention of packaging waste. We have managed to substantially reduce the amount of packaging and sales material which is placed on the market and we are continually seeking opportunities to achieve further reductions.
• Recycling Waste Our waste streams are segregated and recycled so as to minimise landfill use. A waste management recycling programme ensures that material such as redundant computers, fluorescent tubes, batteries and scrap metals are recycled or disposed of in an eco friendly manner.

Jack & Jill Foundation

In January 2007 Meteor became an official supporter of the Jack & Jill Foundation's Mobile Phone Appeal. The Jack & Jill Foundation was set up to care for families with terminally ill babies suffering from irreparable brain damage (referred to by doctors as SDD). We encourage staff and customers to recycle their old and unused mobile phones by supplying freepost envelopes in our 38 stores and Meteor offices. Simply pick up an envelope and drop it in the nearest postbox.

METEOR POLICY STATEMENT ON HEALTH, SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• Meeting or exceeding the requirements defined by applicable environmental, health and safety legislation, in addition to other Environmental, Health & Safety requirements defined by company standards and procedures
• Use our integrated Management System as a tool to evaluate our Health, Safety & Environmental performance to focus us on continual improvement
• Educating and training employees in safe work practices
• Clearly defining employee responsibility for adhering to Environmental, Health & Safety standards by communicating this policy to employees
• Seeking suppliers, vendors and contractors dedicated to Environmental, Health & Safety responsibility
• Measuring, reviewing and monitoring our Environmental, Health & Safety performance and progress against set objectives.
• Providing information and programmes to employees to ensure their well-being
• Open communication amongst employees and interested parties through Environmental, Health & Safety reporting
• Making this policy available to interested parties
• Regularly reviewing this policy on a bi-annual basis at the Management Review Meeting to ensure that it remains relevant and appropriate to the organisation

In addition to compliance with regulatory requirements the following specific objectives are pursued.

Health and Safety

Meteor seeks to conduct its activities in such a way as to pro-actively prevent harm to the health of its employees and other stakeholders. We will strive to ensure well-being in our employees by initiating positive health programmes. It is the policy of Meteor that all of its workplaces are smoke-free and that all employees have a right to a smoke-free environment throughout the workplace with no exceptions. We are committed to the prevention of all injuries, including incidences of ill health both physical and non-physical at work.  Hazard Identification and risk assessment is an integral part of this process.

Environment

At Meteor we aim to protect the environment by preventing or minimising the environmental impact of our activities.