OUR SUSTAINABILITY

We are passionate about our sustainability journey through social, ethical, and moral responsibilities. The world is changing and we  want to be leading the way. 
 
As a company we:
  • Consistently reduce our environmental footprint
  • Offer sustainable alternatives to our customers
  • And ensure our services build a sustainable future

Accreditations

ISO 9001:2015 - Certificate Number: 12336-QMS-001

ISO 14001:2015 - Certificate Number: 12336-EMS-001

ISO 45001:2018 - Certificate Number: 12336-HSMS-001

Clean energy: Solar Panels

The majority of our electricity is supplied via the solar panels we’ve installed on our warehouse roof. This has meant that since we've made the move towards free and effective power, we've been running our main warehouse and offices on green energy we have generated ourselves.  In fact, we sometimes actually generate an excess of clean energy which is passed back to the grid.

  • Clean electricity all year round 
  • Reducing our carbon footprint 
  • Providing renewable energy 

562 South west facing Polycrystalline panels:

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Sustainable Procurement Policy: EcoVadis

We are fully committed to expanding our  Sustainable Procurement Policy, starting with our EcoVadis rating. We are proud to announce that we have been awarded a silver medal for sustainability from EcoVadis. The Bronze Award was the first step in our process and route to improve our Environment and Social Governance, but since improving from 2021, we have now been awarded the Gold rating. The EcoVadis overall score (0-100) reflects the quality of the company's sustainability management system.


Find out more about EcoVadis

Carbon Emissions Initiative: Transport

To extend our sustainability beyond our warehouse, we have started to review our transport emissions with many of our customers. This looks at how often we deliver and how we can work together to reduce the amount of orders and deliveries going forward. Our goal is to reduce greenhouse gases from the cutback of road mileage, whilst also maintaining the necessary product requirements for customers. With one customer we reduced the number of deliveries by 50% by introducing set order and delivery days.

Of our own fleet of delivery vans, over 83% comply with the Euro 6 standard - an eco-friendly standard to reduce levels of harmful car and van exhaust emissions.

Goal: To go FEV (Fully Electric Vehicles)

We are planning to go fully electric by 2030 - extending our reduction of carbon emissions and improving the air quality in towns and cities around the UK. We have recently started using three fully electric vans to deliver to Customers. This will massively contribute to our net-zero emission goal, but going further and expanding out of our warehouse, and into our vast field of product distribution to customers.

We've also started to look at weight capacity and what that can mean for the environment. As Fully Electric Vehicles are on the rise, the government decided to bring in a derogation to permit drivers to drive more than 3.5t to allow for the weight increase in electrical batteries. This means that in the near future, we could benefit from our entire fleet of vehicles having more capacity in weight. This would also help to reduce the number of orders and deliveries that we make as a sustainable conscious company - benefitting from the overall reduction of our carbon emissions. We are also reviewing the use of hydrogen as diesel is phased out of use.

100% of our delivery vans comply with the Euro 6 standard:

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Zero to Landfill

We audit all of our waste streams and are now an accredited Zero waste to landfill organisation.  

We recycle our waste

As part of our zero waste to landfill scheme, we monitor all our waste streams very carefully. Below are our recycling stats for 2022.

Glass & Metals

Weights in Tonnes

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Paper

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Plastic

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Wood

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ISO 14001 Certification: Environmental Management

Our ISO 14001 certification (9677) helps us to protect the environment, meet our legal obligations, and strengthens our brand. It sets out the criteria for our environmental management system and maps out a framework we can follow to set up effective initiatives with our customers. This provides assurance to company management and employees as well as external stakeholders that obligations are being provided, measured, and improved.

Certificate number: 9677

"Wouldn't change anything, good quality in the products staff are polite and friendly including the drivers".

Stonecot Homes

Our Environmental Impact

To improve our environmental impact as a business, our sustainable, social, ethical, and moral responsibility starts to look at the reduction of waste from our customer orders. From looking at both the materials being used and the quality of application, you can be confident that we can provide products of your choice that will align with your own environmental social responsibility program. Our sustainability policies include ongoing recommendations for areas such as packaging, concentrates, and plastics - which all fall within our Intelligent Approach.


Explore our Intelligent Approach

Packaging

We hold packaging data for all of our products, so are able to advise which products offer a lower impact. Most packaging is recyclable but for many businesses the waste is just treated as commercial waste and not recycled. For some of our products we are able to take back the packaging and return it to the manufacturer where its can be recycled and reused.

Our latest range of innovative PVA cleaning products provide a sustainable method of cleaning. Every element has been developed to help reduce single-use plastic waste and encourage movement towards a more sustainable cleaning solution.


Find out more here

Concentrates

Many chemicals we sell come in a super concentrate form and are then diluted on site. This reduces the packaging waste and the amount of water shipped around the country. One bottle of super concentrate can save nearly 10kg of plastic waste.

TRIGGER SPRAY USAGE VS AUTO DOSE CONCENTRATE

SmartDose uses super concentrated product, delivering more litres of cleaning solution, reducing plastic use, transport costs and is 100% recyclable. For every one bottle of SmartDose concentrate, the number of ready to use Trigger Sprays needed are...

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Plastics

A number of our customers are already looking at reducing the amount of plastic they buy. This can be in the product and also the packaging of that product. A number of our paper products come in a cardboard outer, rather than shrink wrapping. We also offer a range of reduced plastic products, such as our PVA Hygiene range. Most plastic packaging can be recycled, but needs sorting and placing in the right waste stream. Some schools we supply have managed to reduce the amount of plastic sacks by having clearly labelled bins, which are then rinsed out and used without plastic sacks.

 

For customers who don’t have the time, we offer a collection of plastics to ensure the materials make it back to the relevant recycling units and are working with manufacturers to get containers bigger than 5lt returned and refilled so we achieve a closed loop. 

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Intelligent Approach to Sustainability

For a number of years, we've been talking to our customers about the choices of products they use. For us, it's about looking at their whole lifecycle of the cleaning process and then offering them the opportunity to look at something a little bit different.

We ask questions such as:

  • What products are you using?
  • How often are you using them?
  • Where are you applying them?

Helping our customers to:

  • Save energy 
  • Save water
  • Save time

Some of our Environmentally Friendly Products

  • SmartDose – delivers an accurate dose of concentrated product into a reusable bottle or buckets removing the need for ready to use products

  • Sure Range – Environmentally friendly range using sustainable products and which are EU Ecolabel certified

  • Scott Essential Everyday Foaming Cleanser – 2500 shots of foam, uses less water to wash hands and reduced plastic waste from the cartridge

  • Vileda PVA Cloth – requires no need for chemical usage and application

  • Duplex Steam Machine – use of steam negates the use of chemicals

  • Ultraspeed Mopping System – the Microfibre head requires less water in use and the mop heads are washable up to 400 times, saving the equivalent of 60 mops heads in landfill

  • Vacuum Cleaner – which is made from 75% recycled plastic

  • PVA Hygiene Sachets – results in no single use plastic and 100% compostable boxes resulting in reduced weight for transportation. Thus reducing carbon footprint

Environmental Accreditations for products

We are always looking to improve the environmental credentials of our products. Below are a few of the schemes our products are accredited to

EU ECO LABEL

NORDIC SWAN ECOLABEL

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL CERTIFICATION

EN 13432 STANDARD FOR COMPOSTABILITY

EN 13432 STANDARD FOR COMPOSTABILITY

"Your customer service is always fantastic and incredibly friendly. Your online ordering is trouble free".

Upper Beeding Primary School

Reviewing Your Current Infrastructure

It may mean introducing greener, more sustainable alternatives. It may be looking at the processes and the trading that’s needed to support that on-going. People quite often make choices on sustainability without looking at their supply chain. We offer that consultancy service as a supplier, which is about getting to understand your business in the first instance, rather than later once some damage has already been done.

RIGHT PRODUCT, RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Palm Oil and Palm Derivatives

During 2021, the company will begin establishing with our suppliers if any palm oil or palm derivatives ingredients are used in the manufacture of any products which Wightman & Parrish sell. We will also commit to sourcing alternatives where possible. 

Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold

Did you know that 80% of companies don’t know if their products contain conflict minerals?

During 2021, the company will begin determining with our suppliers if any tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold remain in the products which we sell and where the source comes from i.e. recycled or scrap. 

"You are absolutely brilliant always there to help me out and replace the item with something else top marks".

Eastbrook Primary Academy 

We are Water Wise Accredited

Waterwise is an independent,  not-for-profit organisation focused on reducing
water wastage in the UK and building an evidence base for water efficiency.  We are always working on reducing our water usage and waste. We now have a rain water harvesting and filtration system for washing our fleet of vehicles. 

 

The Treebourne Team

Treebourne has committed to planting 10,000 trees a year to help Eastbourne become carbon neutral by 2030. The Eastbourne ECO Action Network is a voluntary collective of local citizens and environmental groups, set up to work with the council towards achieving this goal. They want to do this both by finding ways to reduce emissions across the town, and by planting thousands of trees.Within the ECO Action Network, the Treebourne team (previously known as Carbon Capture) are focussed on getting trees planted, on both public and private land.  We are proud to support the Treebourne project and we have really enjoyed helping with the local tree planting.

Tree Planting

We've been doing this a long time! 

20 years ago, we donated money to plant trees at the local pond close to our offices. It's a lovely area enjoyed year round by wildlife and local people. Today those trees look a little different, and we think since we planted them they have absorbed over 7,140kg of carbon.   

Park Cleans

We have taken part in four Park Cleans now, with more planned for later this year, in conjuction with Plastic Free Eastbourne. Plastic Free Eastbourne promote initiatives to improve the way we care for our planet. They believe in taking action with urgency in order to raise public awareness about some of the most pressing issues facing our environment. Their main aim is to make Eastbourne carbon-neutral by 2030.

Toilet Twinning

We've also taken part in The UK charity 'Toilet Twinning' which raises funds by inviting people to donate and "twin" their toilet with one in Afghanistan, DRC, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania or Uganda. The aim is to provide clean water, proper toilets and hygiene education. So far, Toilet Twinning has twinned more than 100,000 toilets.

Reduce, Reuse, Repair

Our highly trained engineers are helping our customers by maintaining their equipment and constructing a safe and healthy workplace environment as a result. Our onsite equipment  evaluations take place when one of our engineers visits a customer's premises as part of a preventative maintenance schedule.  We asset tag all equipment with a unique bar-code and record all work carried out on each item.  Saving our customers both money and time, and having a positive environmental impact in the long run.


Read more about our Engineering