The Group Managing Director retains overall board responsibility for Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) issues. EHS risks are reviewed by the EHS Committee, which meets every two months and reports to the board. The EHS Committee is chaired by the Group Managing Director and consists of divisional directors and the EHS Director. The EHS Committee has approved the group EHS policies.The policies, and accompanying guidance notes, reflect relevant legislation and best practice, and are issued to all site managers and EHS personnel. A full review of the policies is made triennially, with interim amendments made when needed.The overall aim is to ensure consistent standards at all JM sites around the world and to promote continuous improvement, based on careful risk assessment and comprehensive EHS management systems. The high level summary policies are set out below.

Each of our locations around the world is required to formulate its own particular arrangements, including performance targets, to meet the objectives set out in the corporate policies and to ensure that all employees have received adequate training on the policies and their individual responsibilities. A number of current environmental projects are discussed on page 21.

The group EHS department audits all operating sites against the policies on a regular basis, with the frequency dependant on the nature of operations at the individual sites. During 1999/2000, 24 EHS audits were carried out with exit interviews held with site management on key points. Audit reports are distributed to site and divisional management, and important issues arising from audits are discussed by the EHS Committee. A further 20 occupational health visits were made by the Group Occupational Physician. A monthly report on site, divisional and group health and safety performance is prepared for discussion at the EHS Committee, and circulated to all site management. Environmental data is collected and analysed internally on an annual basis.

Environment Policy

• Ensure that site operations meet legal and company requirements.
• Design and manufacture products to optimise their environmental performance.
• Eliminate all polluting releases from operations. Where elimination is not presently achievable, the intermediate goal is reduction.
• Promote high standards of energy management.
  
• Undertake comprehensive waste management programmes based on the following hierarchy of options – prevent, minimise, re-use, recycle and safely dispose.
  
• Minimise the impacts of past, present and future operations through effective planning and adequate provision of resources.
  
• Ensure that operations cause minimal visual impact or nuisance to the public.

Health and Safety Policy

• Ensure that all locations meet all legal and company health and safety requirements.
  
• Manufacture current products in a manner which ensures a safe working environment through each phase of the production process.
  
• Strive toward an end goal of eliminating unsafe practices at all locations.
  
• Promote high standards of safety awareness through employee involvement and management commitment at each location.
  
• Operate processes at all times to minimise danger to the surrounding community.
  
• Provide immediate and effective response in event of accidents and emergencies.

During 1999, the Chemicals business unit at Royston, UK, initiated a four year £2 million project with the dual aims of reducing gaseous emissions, and minimising waste. The project to reduce gaseous emissions has involved, in the first instance, installation of additional abatement and monitoring plant.Ten-fold reductions in emissions of acid gases have already been achieved, with further planned improvements over the next phases.The waste minimisation aspect will focus on the recovery and recycling of waste streams throughout the processes.To date, a significant reduction in reagent consumption has been achieved in the platinum group metals refinery, together with a decrease in the numbers of effluent tankers transporting waste away from the site. Additional waste minimisation opportunities are actively being planned for the next phases of this project.

Once again, a pair of swans has returned to Mossops Creek alongside Johnson Matthey’s Brimsdown refinery to rear their young

Johnson Matthey’s Environmental Products business provides unique catalytic solutions to air quality problems caused by emissions from industrial processes and power generation plants. The opportunity to utilise this internal expertise was taken in a recent project to fit a selective catalytic reduction system at Johnson Matthey’s autocatalyst plant at Devon, USA. The system has delivered not only a 92% reduction in NOx emissions, but also resulted in significant operational benefits.

This year, Noble Metals UK, part of the Precious Metals Division, became the second Johnson Matthey business unit to achieve ISO14001, joining the Chemicals business unit (Royston and Brimsdown sites, UK). As part of ISO14001, all employees receive training to ensure they are aware of environmental issues affecting the business, and progress is being made towards a number of targets for environmental improvements at the facility. Some projects, such as a review of the degreasing process, will result in a number of benefits including reductions in emissions, cost savings and a better workplace environment for employees.

Colours & Coatings have completed a project this year to reduce gaseous emissions during production of base colours.This multidisciplinary project brought together production management, sales, environmental management and research in a comprehensive review of the existing product range, looking at raw material selection, process optimisation and abatement systems. Where possible, products have been reformulated to avoid use of problematic ingredients, or improvements to process management have been made to reduce emissions. For the products where this has not been possible, abatement systems have been upgraded, and in a few cases products removed entirely from the product range.