As a company Hildon Ltd is committed to becoming more environmentally friendly and is working hard with companies such as the Carbon Trust, The Sustainable Business Partnership and Envirowise to reduce its carbon footprint. We are also working with Councils, The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wild Life Trust and other groups to increase our Corporate Social Responsibility
Here are some useful facts and news on our progress. (* new event 4.12.09)
1 - Hildon Ltd is the only Natural Mineral Water Company to appoint an Environmental Manager which shows the commitment from the company and also allows focused efforts to drive their environmental projects.
2 - Hildon Natural Mineral Water offers a pure natural mineral water with nothing added or taken away. Naturally filtered and bottled at source in Hampshire makes Hildon Natural Mineral water the nearest supplier of National Natural Mineral Water to South and South West.
3 – Our catchment area, which our source lies beneath, is protected from chemicals and has a lovely combination of trees and grassland which is controlled by the grazing of sheep and horses. In addition to this it offers a natural safe haven for deer, foxes and buzzards to name but a few local species. Our local Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, of which we are Corporate Members, are working with us to encourage other wild life to the area.
4 – Our glass bottles come from the UK and are guaranteed to be made from at least 48% recycled glass.
5 - All our bottles can be recycled using council amenities, which we whole heartily support, and as such have started to work on with our local councils to endorse.
 6 - As part of our continued drive to become more environmentally friendly, and to reduce our carbon footprint, we purchased a Modec vehicle for some of our London deliveries. The success of this battery powered, emission free vehicle has meant we have been able to take a diesel HGV vehicle off the road. As to the future we, as part of our environmental strategy, have already placed an order for a second Modec vehicle which will be in operation very shortly.
7 –Apart from the Modec vehicle our fleet contains Euro 4 standard diesel HGV vehicles and our understanding is this is the most efficient vehicle available on the market. This type of vehicle is equipped with "AdBlue" technology a solution which is carried onboard the vehicle in a separate tank to the fuel. It is then injected into the exhaust gases as a post combustion process where it breaks harmful NOx (Nitrous Oxide) emissions down into mostly Nitrogen and Oxygen therefore reducing the harmful emissions.
8 – We back haul for other companies and therefore redyce road traffic
9 - We reuse cardboard wherever possible and then bale the remaining and send it for recycling.
10 – We give cardboard boxes to other companies for reuse.
11 – We have changed all our office lighting to be more efficient
12 – We send any on site waste glass for recycling at our glass bottle supplier.
13 - We send any waste PET bottles for recycling.
14 – We bale all our waste plastic and send it for recycling.
15 – We return or reuse all pallets
16 - We return or pass on our empty glue buckets for reuse.
17 – We have changed all our paper to be from 100% recycled source.
18 – We print on both sides of the paper before sending it for recycling
19 – We recycle our print cartridges.
20 – We have a switch off policy for lights (interior and exterior)/computers/heating/ and other electrical appliances.
21 - We have invested in new coffee machines which accept mugs. By doing this we have removed the need for plastic cups.
 22 – From 4th June 2008 Hildon Ltd, with the above initiatives and in partnership with The CarbonNeutral Company, have achieved Carbon Neutral status There are many loose claims around ‘carbon neutral’. The CarbonNeutral® brand mark signifies a specific claim, with the parameters of the carbon footprint defined by a standard, TheCarbonNeutralProtocol. The brand mark is awarded when CO2 emissions are reduced to net zero in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol.
The two projects which Hildon have chosen are:
1 )Sebenoba-Karakurt Wind Power Project
This project sees the construction of 21 new wind turbines at two sites in Turkey. By providing renewable energy, the project reduces Turkey's reliance on fossil fuels for electricity supply. The project aims to generate emission reductions of 127,000 tCO2 equivalent in between 2007 and 2009, verified and certified to the Voluntary Carbon Standard. Click here for more information.
2) Rhine-Ruhr Waste Gas Power Project
This project captures methane from three abandoned coal mines in Germany. Methane is 21 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. The project will generate emission reductions of 385,500 tCO2 equivalent in 2006 and 2007. Click here for more information.
Permission to display the CarbonNeutral mark is only given to organizations when CO2 emissions have been measured and reduced to net zero through a program implemented in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol.
After much research Hildon Ltd chose The CarbonNeutral Company as a partner because they have an outstanding quality assurance programme.
23 - The amount of packaging that goes on to the market with our products is off set by our contributions to the government through recycling levies as part of the Packaging Waste Regulations. With the help of Synergy compliance scheme, Hildon is helping to increase the amount of recycling & recovery in our own bottling facilities as well as the capacity of existing recycling facilities around the country available to the public. This means that the bottles for example are more likely to be recycled and end up as new bottles to be used again, thus reducing the strain on limited resources, diverting more waste away from landfill and helping to protect our environment
 24 - July 2008 Hildon Ltd reached the finals of the Sustainable Business Awards 2008.
* 25 - November 2009 Hildon Ltd moved their electricity to supply to a renewable sourse.
In recognition of our responsibility to use resources efficiently and to minimise our environmental impact wherever possible, Hildon Ltd is now powered with CCL Exempt energy through SSE.
Scottish and Southern Energy Group, of which SSE Energy Supply Ltd and SSE Generation Ltd are members, generates more renewable electricity than any other energy company in the UK.
*26 – 2009 Hildon Ltd team up with Greenhouse Graphics for their leaflets, posters and brochures printing.
"Greenhouse Graphics is an award winning graphic communications company based in North Hampshire, specialising in graphic design, commercial printing, web development and marketing services. We are the leading centre for sustainable graphic communications services in our area and work with a vast number of environmentally minded businesses such as Hildon Water".
Although we have achieved Carbon Neutral Status we will not stop here. We will continue to challenge our environmental performance, enhance responsible resourcing and increase our Corporate Social Responsibility.
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