Coronavirus (COVID-19) - News Update

Since the announcement of the 13th March, we’d like to update you on Enva’s position regarding the rapidly developing situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The health and safety of our employees, and the communities in which we operate, continues to be the company’s primary concern. Following updated guidance, we have now taken steps to enable our employees to work remotely wherever possible. All employees continuing to work on site or in an operational capacity are complying with government advice on social distancing and have the correct PPE as appropriate.

Our robust business continuity plans are enabling us to mitigate the commercial impact of the virus as far as is possible. We are, however, starting to see demand impacts on our business as the pandemic continues to escalate. This varies by service type and geography, but the general themes of reduced volumes of commercial waste and weakened commodity markets both at home and internationally are being seen throughout. We have taken the decision to ‘furlough’ a number of employees in those service lines that are most impacted as part of the UK Government’s employee support scheme. This provides a degree of security and income protection for these employees in difficult times. It temporarily adjusts our available skills and resource to the new lower demand conditions, but we will retain these colleagues going forward.

Whilst governmental definitions of ‘key workers’ vary across the UK and Ireland, most of the activities in which our staff are engaged benefit from this classification.  By continuing to operate, we are able to support other key sectors such as healthcare, utilities and food and drink manufacturing in the fight to beat Covid-19 and help keep people safe and keep the economy moving as much as is possible. We are actively prioritising these key sectors to make sure they receive the service they need to focus on their core activity. More broadly, we also minimise any health, hygiene or environmental risk issues associated with unmanaged or poorly managed waste. To date, though some of our facilities are operating at reduced levels, all remain open to deal with problem wastes and we will do our utmost to make sure that continues to be the case.

At local level, our management teams are convening daily to assess what is a rapidly evolving situation. We also maintain and prioritise regular communication with employees and our customers. 

Enva continue to monitor and implement guidance from the relevant authorities including the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), Public Health England (PHE) and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in Ireland. Local procedures are in place to support employees who have either been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone who has. We are also providing flexibility for those team members who are vulnerable or who have obligations to care for loved ones at home.

In difficult circumstances, Enva is staying focussed on its mission whilst doing all the practical things it can to keep its people safe and to protect the communities in which we serve.