Home » Our Environment » Iso 14001 Certification
In April 2010 we became ISO 14001 Certified. It was something we worked very hard towards and we were incredibly proud to be awarded the certificate.
ISO stands for the 'International Organisation for Standardisation' and is a body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations. From its headquarters in Switzerland, this non-governmental organisation sets the benchmark for industrial and commercial standards.
The 14001 certification comprises of a series of standards used by organisations for designing and implementing effective environmental management systems. At lot of these standards and procedures were long established and practised within our factory, but completing the paperwork required to apply allowed us to formalise these into a series of procedures and policies.
The first main topic covered was dealing with our waste. We already recycle every scrap of paper and card produced in the factory and offices, even our ink cartridges and batteries are recycled. We are aiming to cut down on our existing landfill waste by finding new ways to reuse the rubber sole offcuts and sheepskin scraps. We are investigating having the rubber pieces ground down for use in other manufacturing processes and we give away large amounts of sheepskin scraps to local schools and scrap stores. We also sell bags of sorted offcuts in our Craft Store.
The second objective was to ensure we use our raw materials efficiently. Our craftspeople in the factory are highly skilled in getting the maximum amount possible from our materials. The cutters know exactly how to make the most of every piece while maintaining the high quality we insist upon.
The final point was to ensure our energy use is as low as possible. Because of the machinery needed to make our products, it is inevitable that we use large amounts of electricity. We keep its usage down to a minimum by only turning on equipment when it is needed and everything is off overnight. We also source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources, so no fossil fuels or nuclear energy is used. You can view more details of our green tariff here.
We intend to keep building on our environmental credentials and are currently experimenting with using a water-based glue to attach our boot and slipper soles. It is a long research process and takes time as we insist that any final product is of the utmost quality and therefore goes through extensive testing.
If you have any questions about our policies or procedures, or would like to make any suggestions, please contact us.
You can check out our ISO 14001 Certification on the IECUK website.
