A Statement about this Environmental Policy from our Managing Director.
All at Rackline accept the fragile nature of the global environment and will consequently strive to minimise all harmful aspects of their industrial processes upon it. We will comply with the spirit, as well as the letter, of all environmental legislation and codes of practice.
The Company will assess the Environmental effects of all its products, projects, policies and operations with the aim of minimising and controlling any past, present or future impact. It will at all times seek to prevent pollution and limit its environmental impact. It will address its use of energy, waste, transport etc by introducing and maintaining an Environmental Management System which satisfies the demands of ISO 14001:2015
Targets and objectives, periodically reviewed, will be set to minimise impacts and achieve the goal of continuous environmental improvement. The Company will foster an understanding of this policy and all environmental issues ensuing from its business activities amongst its employees, suppliers, contractors and customers.
This policy applies to all operations of the company, whether they are carried out at its factory or on customers’ premises.
Fergus Doherty, Managing Director
1st Dec 2020
Environmental Policy
Rackline Limited have met the objectives of achieving BS EN ISO 14001:2015. They are committed to supporting Agenda 21 in partnership with Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.
Agenda 21 is an agreement that was signed by over 150 heads of state at the “Earth Summit” at Rio in 1992. It is a plan of action that needs to be taken up throughout the world to set the framework for a more sustainable approach to development for the next century.
Environmental issues are now at the forefront of world attention, there is now a wider realization that the manufacturing industry in general has an important environmental impact.
This document sets out how Rackline have fulfilled its commitment to the local Agenda 21 process, developing procedures which help to identify environmental effects at all stages of product development; design, production, distribution, disposal and recycling.
Newcastle Borough Council are themselves members of an Environmental Forum and part of our Agenda has been to respond to their Action Plan.
Rackline are also full members of FISP , the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme
The FISP accreditation which is sponsored by the UK government through the DTI and DEFRA recognises companies which are actively developing policy in relation to sustainable development. The award to Rackline, the first to a high density steel storage manufacturer in the UK, demonstrates to Rackline’s customers that they are buying product from a sustainable base, an environmental criterion that is becoming ever more important to our domestic customers. The OGC (Office of Government Commerce) recognise FISP as a significant accreditation.
FISP members have a competitive advantage over their peers and product sourced from overseas. Fellow members include Herman Miller, Senator International, Eurotek office Furniture and The Bernstein Group.
Waste Recycling and Resources
An issue that is at the heart of the local community. Rackline already have a re-cycling plan in the following areas:-
- All scrap metals are saved in a skip and sold for re-cycling at the end of each month.
- 99.99% of waste paint (i.e. paint that does not adhere to a shelf during the painting process) is re-cycled through a special filtering facility and re-used.
- All the cartridge toners used on our printers are returned for re-cycling.
- 50% of delivery pallets are returned for re-cycling.
- 100% of heavy duty packaging is re-cycled initially, this reduces with wear and tear.
- Any paper received or printed which has only one side used is kept to be reused as scrap paper around the offices.
- Steel waste is recorded and statistics posted on the notice board on a monthly basis.
We are also seeking alternative forms of packaging for the lighter components. Our recycling figures are already well above sustainable operations targets introduced in 2006 by the government.
Pollution
Rackline recognises that air and water pollution and land contamination are serious issues with possible long term implications in terms of health, bio-diversity and climate changes.
The effluent/waste from the production process potentially enters the atmosphere through two channels, Air and Drains.
Air: The paint line emits colourless and odourless water vapour which is the excess moisture generated whilst drying off panels. A preliminary investigation carried out by Rackline indicated that emissions from the process to air equate to less than 0.35% (by weight) of all coating materials used. Of this 0.35 %, 0.3% is believed to be water vapour and the remaining .05% is merely flow aids.
Drains: There is a discharge of rinse water into the mains drainage system. The discharge is non toxic and analysed by the Severn Trent Water Authority at regular intervals.
Rackline are proud of their environmentally friendly paintline which uses a powder paint as opposed to oil based paints with their associated solvent emissions, which discharges significantly more pollutants into the atmosphere. The system is designed so that all powder which fails to adhere to panels during the curing process is recycled. During a typical years operation less than 70 kilograms of powder is lost from the system and most of this remains within the plant where it is recovered and disposed of safely.
Nature Conservation
An important part of Agenda 21 is an understanding and appreciation of ones own environment.
Rackline are proud of their achievements with the small area of waste land that they purchased with the property. They have actively planted shrubs and trees in an effort to make the area more attractive, the nesting boxes and bird feeders encourage many birds to the site. They intend to continue planting shrubs and wildflowers this will also reduce the amount of mowing, no herbicides or chemical are used. A public footpath runs alongside this area so the local community will also benefit from their actions.
Energy Efficiency
All windows are double glazed, and film covered to reflect heat. Heat from the paint line heats the factory during winter. Water saving by individual care and automatic taps.
The central heating system has energy saving controls on both the boiler and radiators.
Rackline’s building has roof insulation.
The paint line currently re-cycles the heat from the oven and re-circulates it within the baking process. We have researched the feasibility of re-cycling some of the residual waste heat to warm the factory in winter. In the interim, roof mounted fans were fitted to capture and distribute this heat.
All lighting, heating and electrical appliances are switched off by the last person to leave the building on evenings and on weekends.
Travel
It is company policy to encourage all employees to travel by train or public transport where possible for any business trips.
The sales managers who do the most traveling by car have their appointments planned by a staff based appointment team who optimise visits in areas to help minimise the carbon emissions generated.
The company has a staff car purchase policy which specifies where possible the purchase of second hand cars below a certain cubic capacity to minimise both the use of raw materials and the ongoing emissions from the vehicles.
Commitment of our Employees
Rackline are a united team, and as a large proportion of the workforce live locally the benefits of caring for the local environment become personal. Each of us is responsible for turning off any light left on or tap left to drip. We are individually expected to collect any litter we see lying around.
The factory has a cleanliness award that one department has to receive each month. This is an initiative to keep the factory clean, tidy, hazard free and healthy and to re-enforce a pride in the workplace attitude.
It is a company policy to advertise all jobs locally thus supporting the community and reducing unnecessary travel to a minimum 25% of office/factory based personnel share lifts.
We are all working towards the same goal of contributing to an increasingly successful company, whilst recognizing the wider needs of the local community and the environment in which we live.
A study has been undertaken to measure and identify for customers the carbon footprint of individual products that are bought from the business. In this way customers will be able to assess levels of environment impact they are having by purchasing Rackline goods.
Commitment of our Suppliers
All suppliers used by Rackline, where relevant, are asked to be accredited to minimum Environmental standards as specified by ISO 14001 or an equivalent. Specifically all transport provision to Rackline will have to have Environmental Standards ISO 14001.
Timber supply to Rackline must be either FSC or PEFC certified so as shown to be from legal and sustainable source.
All suppliers are sent a CSR form questionnaire including sections on Environment, Quality, Waste and Resource compliance.
Commitment to our Customers
A concern for recyclability and re-use is driving Rackline’s environmental commitment to our customers. The primary area we impact on are our raw materials. As a steel fabricator nearly 100% of our raw material is already recyclable. Non-steel elements such as tambour doors, handles and non-steel end panels have been targeted for recyclable content by the end of 2009, ensuring that customers have a minimal concern when buying our products.
In 2015 Rackline is introducing an end of ownership scheme for our customers, whereby customers will be introduced to a provider of the most socially and environmentally appropriate way to dispose of corporate assets. This will give comfort to customers that their CSR (Corporate Social responsibility) is being met at the end of life disposal of assets.
Commitment to our Shareholders
Whilst Rackline is a privately owned company, we do have a number of shareholders. As individuals, with personal social responsibility and a company with corporate social responsibility, Rackline has committed to keeping them aware as to how the company they own is minimizing the negative impact of our operations on the environment.
To keep them informed the Annual Accounts which are sent to all shareholders contains a section on current initiatives and standards the business is adhering to and in addition refer them to the Environmental Policy details on the website. At the monthly Board Meetings, a section of the board reports is dedicated to environmental initiatives, so any shareholders attending the Board Meeting are also kept up to date at this point.