The Environment
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Approximately 80% of the raw material used in manufacturing is wood or wood fibre, and wherever possible it is sourced in a way that is good for the business and for the environment.
The preferred option is to buy wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes. These respected independent schemes enable the sourcing of wood and paper products from suppliers that use responsibly managed forests.
Howdens Joinery has FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certificates on a number of products, which means that there is an unbroken and documented chain of ownership all the way from the forest, via the mill, the importer, the manufacturer and supplier to the end user.
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Howdens Joinery - Depot Supply and Support Division has achieved IS0 14001 certification at the Runcorn manufacturing and Howden warehouse sites. This underlines the company's commitment to not only fulfil environmental policy and legislation, but also to seek continuous improvement in raw material usage, energy usage, emissions to air and water, packaging waste, wood waste and alternatives to landfill.
In 2008, 100% of the wood and cardboard packaging used within the manufacturing processes came from accredited sources.
In 2008, the manufacturing sites maintained the Institute of Energy's prestigious Energy Efficiency Accreditation.
In 2008, more than 90% of the 67,000 tonnes of waste produced in manufacturing operations was recycled.
One element of 'waste' from the manufacturing process is sawdust. In 2008, over 27,000 tonnes of sawdust was converted into energy, with the sawdust fuelling eight biomass boilers that burn this waste to heat the factories.
