CMS staff put wellbeing first with activities to enhance working environment

Staff at CMS Window Systems have embarked on a sustained programme to improve the natural environment surrounding their main production facilities and HQ, which kicked off with the company’s first ever ‘Wellbeing Week’ in October.

At the heart of the initiative is an action plan to promote biodiversity through sustainable ecological practices, with CMS employees taking an active role in line with its participation in the environmental awards programme, the John Muir Award.

These activities will help the company achieve its goal of having a zero negative impact on the environment, which it is already making good progress towards by reducing landfill waste to zero and constantly reducing energy usage.

Wellbeing Week, which is set to be an annual event, featured a range of hands-on activities including the ‘Big Litter Pick’ across CMS’ 15 acre Castlecary site.

The types of litter and its origin were analysed by Amy Ledger, Environmental Advisor at CMS, to ascertain the source of the waste and work to ensure it is removed in future.

The week was also an opportunity for employees to enhance their own physical and mental health through introductions to gym membership, education on healthy eating, combined with the introduction of wholesome meals in the staff café, along with discussions around mental health awareness and wellbeing.

More than a dozen members of the CMS workforce took part in the litter pick to help the green spaces around the production areas, offices and vehicle routes to thrive, and between them collecting a considerable amount of litter.

As with all the waste generated through the operations in CMS factories, all the rubbish was sorted into different material types, so it can be sent to respective recycling or waste-to-energy specialists.

The net result is that CMS now sends none of its waste materials to landfill.

In combination with the litter pick, pollinating plants have also been planted around the main CMS reception area and bird boxes, bat boxes and bee B&Bs have been introduced to allow a sheltered habitat for all.

Within one bird box, a bird watch cam has been installed, and many of the boxes were made using recycled materials from the CMS factory yard, with others being sustainably sourced.

Amy Ledger, Environmental Advisor at CMS Window Systems, commented: “Increasing a desirable habitat for pollinators, providing shelter for wildlife, and clearing litter will all help us to enjoy the green wellbeing aspects of our workplace, particularly given that 25% of our HQ site is natural woodland.

“Our natural surroundings are so important, and we must do what we can to protect and enhance this, allowing everyone at CMS to enjoy the wild place, but also ensuring we can minimise our environmental footprint.”

Wellbeing Week is the newest addition to CMS’s sustainability strategy, which has seen it win a host of awards over the past decade, including a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development in 2017.

In addition to environmental protection, this considers social and economic sustainability to ensure CMS has a positive impact on the local communities in which it operates, including through job creation, apprenticeships and a programme of charity support.

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