CCTV lighting product company Raytec has recently been awarded ISO 14001 certification for their environmental company practices, including the prevention of pollution and a reduction in general impact on the environment.
ISO 14001 is an international environmental standard which specifies a process for control-ling and improving an organisation’s environmental performance. To achieve certification, the lighting company evaluated all aspects of the company that impacted on the environment, produced objectives for improvement and implemented a management programme to achieve them,
Raytec’s objectives are:
•Reduce electricity consumption by 10 per cent
•Reduce non-recyclable packaging by 10pc
•Reduce non-recyclable waste by 10pc; and
•Become carbon neutral by the end of 2012
As a key part of a ‘Green’ strategy the firm has implemented a full internal and external retro-fit lighting upgrade at their factory to reduce electrical consumption. Raytec’s Urban car park lighting and Urban Bay factory lighting replaces old, en-ergy hungry lighting technology, to save half of the energy previously used and 8 tonnes of CO2 annually. In addition, Raytec has implemented a ‘switch off when not in use’ pro-gramme, for all office lighting, PC monitors and other equipment in and around the building – not to mention environmentally friendly toilet flushes which save 26,000 litres of water annually.
Other ‘green’ practises include recyclable packaging. Raytec’s new VARIO lighting is the first range to be part of the ‘green touch programme’. Besides VARIO’s advanced energy saving technology features, the product comes with fully recyclable packaging which the company is looking to bring in across their entire product range.
Many of Raytec’s key suppliers are employed locally. To avoid generating surplus waste with the use of non-recyclable packaging, the company has devised a rotate and re-use packaging system with these local suppliers. Heavy duty plastic containers are used to deliver and store product components and are then returned to the supplier on the next delivery – with no additional travel. Raytec have also improved their waste management, with more thorough segregation of recyclable and general waste. Raytec also pledge to offset the carbon they do generate, so that they become entirely carbon neutral by the end of 2012.
“ISO 14001 allows us to maintain profitability whilst reducing our environmental impact”, says Production Supervisor and Environmental Officer, John Pattison – director of Raytec’s ISO14001 management programme, “With regular reviews and criteria for re-certification every 3 years, we strive for the continuous improvement of our environmental systems in all areas of the business.”
