Following an assessment from the BSI Group; Albion Stone, leading Portland stone supplier, have officially been certified as having met the Environmental Management standards of ISO 14001. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) established the Environmental Management standard to encourage companies to evaluate all areas where its activities and operations have an environmental impact.
Albion Stone developed a system of compliance under the new ISO certification and has initiated new procedures such as a more structured recycling program and a commitment to reduction of energy consumption and waste in order to improve and monitor our environmental impacts. This certification is in addition to the ISO 9001, Quality Management accreditation which Albion Stone already hold.
Michael Poultney, Managing Director of Albion Stone said, ‘We have been striving to improve our environmental performance for some time, and of course we understand that quarrying has an inevitable impact on its surroundings.
We started with replacing the blasting as the main extraction method, with cutting operations, and then moved onto taking our entire operations underground. Whilst these operations involved a massive capital injection; the improvements in the yields and the dramatic reduction of impact on the environment, justified the expenditure. More recently, with the assistance of the Crown Estate, we have installed solar panels to our factory roof, with 20% of our electricity now being generated from solar power.
We wanted to be able to present our ever-improving environmental performance to our stakeholders, and certification through the ISO 14001 seemed like the perfect vehicle. We have also embarked on the BES 6001, Responsible Sourcing code which covers a wider remit relating to the entire supply change management. We hope to receive one of the highest scores for a stone company through this coding.’
For more information, please contact: Michael Poultney, Managing Director Albion Stone plc, Robert Denholm House, Bletchingly Road, Nutfield, Surrey, RH1 4HW
