Success for E. Wood Ltd. as they gain their ISO 14001

E. Wood Ltd, based in Northallerton is a specialist paints and pipe coatings manufacturer that has recently been awarded their ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 14001 Standard. The Standard that is international, and recognises a company's environmental performance, was implemented and is maintained by Andrew Dobson, Health, Safety and Environment Manager.

Already a Forum member, the company's first involvement with the Standard followed customers asking if the company had an Environmental Management System (EMS) in place. In order to remain competitive and reduce their environmental impact, Andrew went on a training course to learn how to adopt an EMS. This then developed into the ISO 14001 procedure with an initial audit from the British Standards Institute (BSI) who observed and listed improvements that the firm could make in each area of the business. This was complemented with an action plan that set out targets to meet within a certain time frame. Additional support came from the Business Environmental Forum and further improvements were tackled which led to two further BSI assessments. The company began work for the Standard in 2001 and gained ISO 14001 in October 2003.

The firm made progress in many areas including: emissions; waste solvent recovery; spillage risk and waste management. Refilling ink cartridges as opposed to purchasing new cartridges has saved the company an estimated £10,000 a year. Recycling has also had substantial benefits, including a £500-£700 per annum saving through recycling cardboard (even though the company pay for their cardboard to be recycled it is a cheaper option that landfilling) and £20,000 per year savings from metal drum recycling.

Andrew emphasised that achieving the ISO 14001 standard is easier than people think. He said that E. Wood Ltd. used their original procedures, they did not have to make anything over complicated and BSI approved of this.

ISO 14001 requires continual progress and looks for improvements every year and having the Standard has far reaching benefits, not only for the environment but also for the bottom line of the businesses.

If you would like to talk to Andrew about achieving the standard please contact Katie Harvey for Andrew's details.