Social responsibility »
Environment
A high percentage of our sawn timber is purchased from the UK and is provided from forestry commission plantations. These plantations are responsibly managed forests.F.S.C timber products form a proportion of our timber stock range and as an FSC COC member no. FSC SA-COC-001670, AVS can supply FSC timber to its clients upon request.
Recycling - a project is underway to examine the feasibility of assisting our clients with recycling treated timber fencing and other waste generated from fencing. The aim is to reduce by 75% the volume going to landfill or being burnt inappropriately.
Workplace
Health & Safety - AVS take very seriously the Health & Safety not just of our own staff but also that of our clients and members of the public. Our current special areas of focus is reducing injury through manual handling.
A recent measure has seen the setting up of a staff Health & Safety representative at each branch. Our aim is to halve these types of injuries within 24 months.
Skills Development - All staff are encouraged to participate in personal development plans which are supported by our in-house H.R. Manager and In-house Training and Development Manager.
Recruitment - AVS are an equal opportunities employer with a fair and just recruitment process. A wide group of age ranges are to be found amongst our workplace.
Working Conditions - AVS strive to maintain clean and safe working environments at all of our locations. This is supported by regular checks by our Health and Safety director, our branch mangers and the operations manger.
AVS are also aware that foreign suppliers have a reputation for poor working conditions and poor Health & Safety records. As such we take an active interest in where our products are sourced.
A recent trip to China demonstrates this. During the trip we were able to access and view the conditions in factories which are producing wire mesh products for us. This gave us a clearer understanding of how in the future we can work with these companies to improve conditions for their staff.
Community
Recent examples of community support and sponsorship are:-
AVS provided paliside fencing and fencepanels for rebuild of St James's Montefiore cricket club.
AVS Fencing recently sponsored a member of staff from Charlton gates to raise money towards supporting cancer sufferers.
Assisting Charities
AVS Fencing have recently sponsored the successful ‘Tudor Rose’ garden at this years RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower show. West Sussex garden designer Chris Burns, an MS sufferer, has created a “senses” garden for the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show with less-abled people in mind.
Three charities have been promoted on the stand – the MS Society, the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and the NBCS (National Blind Children’s Society).
Chris (45) turned to local companies for support, including AVS Fencing Supplies Ltd - for all the timber on the stand including decking for walkways. Decking boards and timber joists together with specially treated timber UC4 fence posts having a 15 year guarantee were provided by AVS Fencing.
The 1,500 garden plants on the stand are chosen for fragrance, feel and sound (rustling in the breeze).
"Having suffered from multiple sclerosis myself for 23 years I have an instinct for what people with a disability want from a garden," says Chris, who has been helped on the project by his garden design colleague Marianne Luckham – who was on the same Brinsbury College course which awarded them the City and Guilds Advanced National Certificate in Horticulture.
AVS will follow Chris’s progress on other exciting projects that he has planned for the future and will report details here as soon as plans are finalised.
