Corporate Social Responsibility

The Group continued with the development of its formal corporate responsibility initiative, launched during 2008 to coordinate existing activity and ensure monitoring of key metrics across its manufacturing and other operations. The aim of this initiative is to ensure the Group is compliant with all relevant regulation and legislation whilst enhancing the working environment for our employees and minimising the environmental impact of our manufacturing processes. There is internal reporting of key metrics throughout the business.
 

Formal directives and certification

The Group manufactures products in both Sweden and the UK and undertakes research and development in the UK. The Group complies with all local and European legislation relevant to the respective territories. The Group’s manufacturing facilities in Stockholm and Huntingdon are both ISO 9001 and ISO14001 certified. It is the Group’s policy to maintain this level of certification for its manufacturing facilities and to comply at all times with all relevant environmental and other legislation in the territories in which the Group operates. The Group is also compliant with REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) and is continuing to work towards OHSAS 18001 in both Huntingdon and Sweden.

With regard to the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances) directives, the Group understands the environmental aims of these directives and, although Xaar’s product portfolio is not directly covered by these directives, will ensure its products comply wherever practicable and allow its OEM customers to fulfil these environmental policies more readily.
 

Employee welfare

Xaar encompasses research, design, development, manufacturing, marketing and the sale of state of the art inkjet technology products, requiring Xaar employees to work in a variety of locations across the world.

The Group places considerable value on the involvement of its employees and has continued to keep them informed on matters affecting them and on the various factors affecting the performance of the Group.

It is Xaar’s intention to conduct business in a matter that protects the public, the environment and employee safety. Xaar’s Health & Safety policy provides a framework for setting and reviewing of Occupational Health & Safety Objectives. This demonstrates Xaar’s commitment to the prevention of injury and ill health and also the continual improvement in Occupational Health & Safety Performance. Xaar recognises that the combination of a safe place of work and safe working practices, together with a productive and innovative environment, are critical to the continued success of the Company.

The management of Xaar is committed to achieving and maintaining full compliance with health and safety legislation.

Although certain responsibilities under this policy can be attributed to specific roles within the organisation, and in particular with different levels of management, each and every Xaar employee shares the core basic duty to understand their responsibilities to observe instructions put in place and, where necessary, to draw these to the attention of others.

To achieve its Health & Safety Policy, the Company will ensure that:

• the organisation is led by example;
• systems are in place to engage, train, develop and maintain competent and informed personnel;
• resources are allocated to enable safety standards to be maintained;
• employee involvement and open communication are encouraged;
• plant, equipment and facilities are safe and without risk to the health and welfare of all persons who could be affected by their use or maintenance;
• substances required and used in the workplace are handled safely;
• a comprehensive risk assessment programme is maintained covering all activities and processes, with control measures implemented to minimise risk where applicable;
• adequate welfare facilities are provided;
• where accidents or “near misses” occur, they are reported, investigated and treated as the source of learning for ongoing working practices; and
• best practice is shared across the Group.

Social responsibility

• Three teams were entered into the BBC Children in Need fun run around the Cambridge Science Park in November 2011
• Various charitable donations have been made, including to East Anglian Children’s Hospice
• The social club, which is aimed at encouraging staff to have fun and get to know each other socially, held several events throughout the year including theatre trips, comedy nights, dry slope skiing and nights at the races
• Xaar were delighted to become a sponsor of PrintIT! during the year. PrintIT! is a major initiative to encourage young people to embark on careers in the UK printing industry
• Xaar sponsored a student of the Bartlett School of Architecture, in support of an exhibition.