1. Purpose
This policy sets out Murzo Group's approach to environmental management in alignment with ISO 14001:2026, recognised environmental management principles, and Murzo Group's wider sustainability, land, water, waste, packaging, product, farming, food, fashion, property, logistics, and supplier controls.
It is intended to support systematic environmental management, legal compliance, pollution prevention, resource efficiency, lifecycle thinking, environmental performance improvement, stakeholder confidence, and responsible growth without implying ISO 14001 certification unless certification has been formally achieved and confirmed in writing.
2. Scope
This policy applies to Murzo Group, its subsidiaries, workers, contractors, suppliers, landlords, tenants, facilities providers, farms, food operations, design activities, fashion and textile activity, ecommerce activity, logistics, packaging, property, cultural objects, high-value goods, international work, and third parties acting for or with Murzo Group where environmental impacts may arise.
It covers energy, water, land, soil, air, emissions, waste, packaging, chemicals, cleaning, pest control, biodiversity, transport, storage, refrigeration, food and feed activity, insect farming, animal by-products, materials, product design, circularity, procurement, construction, facilities, property maintenance, incidents, and supplier performance.
3. EMS Approach
Murzo Group may use an environmental management system approach to understand environmental context, identify interested parties, define environmental scope, assess environmental aspects and impacts, understand compliance obligations, set suitable objectives, control operations, review performance, and improve environmental arrangements over time.
The EMS approach should be proportionate to Murzo Group's activities, premises, countries, suppliers, products, environmental risks, legal obligations, customer expectations, and practical ability to control or influence environmental outcomes.
4. Leadership and Accountability
Senior management is responsible for setting environmental expectations, supporting suitable controls, and ensuring that environmental responsibilities are understood where relevant. Environmental management should be integrated into business decisions where it affects property, farming, food, packaging, logistics, procurement, product design, waste, energy, water, materials, or regulated activity.
- Environmental responsibilities should be assigned for sites, projects, suppliers, waste, chemicals, packaging, transport, utilities, incidents, and regulated activities where relevant
- People acting for Murzo Group must not ignore spills, unlawful disposal, false green claims, unauthorised releases, unsafe storage, or environmental authority contact
- Environmental decisions should consider legal, insurance, contract, safety, food, product, biodiversity, community, and reputational risk
5. Environmental Aspects and Impacts
Murzo Group should identify environmental aspects that it can control or influence. These may include energy use, fuel use, water use, wastewater, waste, hazardous waste, packaging, emissions, noise, odour, soil contamination, land use, biodiversity, pest control, chemicals, food waste, textile waste, logistics, supplier practices, construction activity, refrigeration, product lifecycle, and customer use or disposal.
Material environmental impacts should be considered before new premises, farms, product lines, suppliers, packaging, logistics routes, chemicals, cleaning systems, substrates, food or feed activities, events, refurbishments, imports, exports, or high-risk projects are approved.
6. Compliance Obligations
Murzo Group must consider applicable environmental laws, permits, licences, landlord or tenant duties, waste duty of care, hazardous waste rules, packaging and EPR obligations, water and drainage rules, chemical controls, environmental permits, biodiversity duties, food and feed disposal controls, animal by-product controls, local authority requirements, and international environmental obligations where relevant.
Where the legal position is unclear, the activity should not proceed until suitable advice or competent authority guidance has been considered.
7. Objectives and Performance
Environmental objectives may be set where useful to support responsible performance. Objectives may relate to waste reduction, energy efficiency, water stewardship, packaging reduction, circular design, pollution prevention, supplier improvement, responsible materials, sustainable logistics, biodiversity protection, spill prevention, product lifecycle, or compliance improvement.
Objectives should be practical, proportionate, and capable of being reviewed. Public environmental claims must not overstate progress, certification, carbon position, recyclability, biodiversity benefit, sustainability, or legal compliance.
8. Operational Controls
Environmental controls should be applied where Murzo Group can control or influence activities with environmental risk. Controls may include supplier selection, waste segregation, lawful disposal routes, spill prevention, chemical storage, packaging review, energy controls, water controls, cleaning controls, pest control, food waste controls, facilities maintenance, transport planning, and product design review.
Operational controls should be aligned with Murzo Group's Sustainability & Environmental Policy, Land, Soil, Water & Environmental Stewardship Policy, Waste Duty of Care, Hazardous Waste & Environmental Permits Policy, Packaging, EPR & Waste Compliance Policy, COSHH / Chemical Safety Policy, Responsible Materials Policy, Wildlife & Biodiversity Protection Policy, and Green Claims & Sustainability Marketing Policy.
9. Lifecycle and Supply Chain Thinking
Murzo Group should consider relevant lifecycle issues for products, services, materials, packaging, food, feed, fashion, textiles, design work, cultural objects, property works, and logistics. This may include sourcing, processing, transport, storage, customer use, maintenance, repair, reuse, recycling, disposal, end-of-life controls, and supplier behaviour.
Lifecycle thinking does not mean Murzo Group accepts responsibility for every upstream or downstream activity outside its control. Third parties remain responsible for their own legal compliance, environmental conduct, product use, waste handling, and claims unless Murzo Group has expressly accepted responsibility in writing.
10. Emergency Preparedness and Environmental Incidents
Potential environmental incidents may include spills, leaks, contamination, unlawful disposal, pest infestation, chemical release, firewater impact, waste contractor failure, flood, drainage issue, refrigeration failure, food or feed waste incident, animal by-product incident, escaped live insects, unauthorised release, odour complaint, or authority contact.
Incidents should be escalated promptly so that proportionate action can be considered. Responses may include containment, isolation, contractor contact, landlord or tenant contact, authority notification where required, clean-up, supplier action, customer contact, legal advice, insurance notification, product hold, or corrective action.
11. Supplier, Contractor and Property Controls
Suppliers, contractors, landlords, tenants, carriers, cleaning providers, pest control providers, waste contractors, farms, manufacturers, co-packers, packaging suppliers, construction contractors, and facilities providers may create environmental risk. Their responsibilities should be considered before work begins where environmental impact may be material.
Murzo Group does not accept responsibility for unlawful disposal, spills, pollution, false environmental claims, unsafe storage, waste misclassification, permit failures, transport failures, or environmental damage caused by third parties acting outside written approval, except where law requires otherwise.
12. Communication and Green Claims
Environmental communication must be accurate, proportionate, and not misleading. Claims about ISO 14001, sustainability, carbon, net zero, climate benefit, biodiversity, recycling, circularity, compostability, biodegradability, organic status, responsible sourcing, animal welfare, vegan status, or environmental impact must not be made unless supported and approved.
No person may imply that Murzo Group is ISO 14001 certified, independently audited, carbon neutral, net zero, zero waste, plastic free, fully sustainable, or environmentally superior unless the claim is accurate, current, authorised, and not misleading.
13. Competence and Awareness
People whose work may create environmental risk should understand relevant controls for their role. Awareness may include waste handling, spill response, chemical storage, energy use, water use, pest control, packaging, green claims, supplier escalation, food or feed disposal, live insect containment, and reporting environmental concerns.
14. Certification and Public Claims
This policy supports alignment with ISO 14001:2026 but does not state or imply that Murzo Group is certified to ISO 14001. No person may claim Murzo Group is certified, accredited, audited, approved, compliant, or formally conforming to ISO 14001 unless a valid certification or written authorisation confirms the exact scope, issuing body, date, status, and permitted wording.
Any reference to ISO 14001 must be accurate, not misleading, and must not use ISO logos, certification marks, or accreditation marks without permission from the relevant rights holder or certification body.
15. Evidence and Review
Where environmental risks, legal obligations, incidents, supplier concerns, customer questions, certification discussions, green claims, authority contact, or operational decisions arise, Murzo Group may use proportionate evidence to assess the issue, support decisions, improve controls, respond to authorities, protect the environment, or take legal steps where appropriate.
This policy should be reviewed periodically and when Murzo Group changes premises, farms, products, suppliers, transport routes, materials, packaging, waste streams, chemicals, environmental obligations, ISO 14001 requirements, certification plans, or environmental operating arrangements.
