Spirax Sarco won the Gloucestershire Live Corporate Social Responsibility Award in 2022 having demonstrated they are pushing the corporate boundaries of conventional CSR to make it more inclusive and to educate and support the companies they interact with.
We reveal what they are doing to lead the way in this area.
Who are Spirax-Sarco?
- Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc is a multi-national industrial Engineering group with expertise in the control and management of Steam, electrical thermal energy solutions, peristaltic pumping and associated fluid path technologies.
- With beginnings which can be traced back to 1888, Spirax-Sarco Engineering Ltd became a public limited company on 15 May 1959.
- Headquartered in Cheltenham with three sites: Charlton Kings head office, Training centres and Runnings Road manufacturing plant, with circa 600 employees.
Leading by example
Spirax Sarco are a FTSE 50 company and a large employer in the Gloucestershire area, who believe it is their duty to lead by example and to do the right thing in all aspects of their activities, ranging from how they treat customers, employees, the surrounding communities, to complying with all legislation, standards and customer specific requirements that regulate their business and their impact on the environment.
The skill sets of the workforce at Spirax Sarco include manufacturing, engineering, distribution, quality, health and safety and support teams. The business has a strong apprentice programme and a graduate scheme feeding into many of these roles.
From developing solutions for customers to reduce their impact on society to supporting their suppliers to become better at everything related to CSR and sustainability, they never forget their people, who are at the core of everything they do. CSR is comprised of environmental, ethical, philanthropic, and economic responsibility and they excel in all these areas. Examples include:
Doing the right thing – renewable energy
Spirax Sarco are one of few companies that are purchasing 100% renewable sources of electricity. They discontinued the utilization of natural gas in their production processes thus significantly reducing the number of scope 1 emissions, despite having had a financial negative impact of almost £1M by doing so.
Looking after our people and our planet
Biodiversity is very important, and they planted various flowers to attract bees and support wild meadows, offered plots for employees to do gardening in an eco-friendly manner with the produce going to local food banks. They maintain hybrid working and thus minimize commuting time and impact of vehicles use on the community and environment. They have continued to develop their family friendly employee policies and have given an extra day’s holiday as a well-being day, and have introduced an emergency dependent care leave policy, etc.
Supporting local charities
After the traumatic events at the 2020 Euros when a footballer suffered a nearly fatal sudden heart attack, Spirax Sarco provided basic CPR and defibrillator training to all their staff. After hearing about the Cheltenham Public Hearts Campaign and that there was only one defibrillator unit in Cheltenham High Street covering a population of over 100,000, they donated 10 units with lockable cabinets to the charity with an additional 3 units to others. They launched their Spirax Sarco Educational Fund and applied for funding to provide CPR and defibrillator training to be delivered to schools of all ages within their local region. They have also made a defibrillator available in the Industrial Park in which they operate, secured to the exterior of their building.
When they discovered that the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity receives no government funding and is reliant on public donations for a life-saving service, over 200 days of volunteering were provided to turn an abandoned shop into a sustainable charity shop. They partnered with The Sober Parrot to provide lunch for the volunteers while also providing an income for this charity.
