Thinking ESG: Five Things We’ve Learned About Embracing Sustainability

With ESG (environmental, social and governance) goals a key priority for shareholders and consumers alike and scope three emissions an increasing area of concern, business leaders must ensure their behaviours and those of their supply chains stand up to scrutiny.

As a business renowned for the design and manufacture of high quality, British office furniture – we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and strive to help our clients do the same.

We know the old saying ‘we are judged by the company you keep’ is particularly true in this context. A growing number of businesses are seeking suppliers and partners with strong green credentials in order to bolster their own sustainability stories, minimise scope three emissions and provide greater reassurance to customers.

In terms of product design and manufacture, this means clients increasingly want to know which materials are recycled and in what quantities, whether sustainability has informed design, the operational habits of the whole supply chain and how all of this impacts waste production and carbon emissions.

With this in mind, and because sustainability has been hugely important to Staverton for a number of years, we thought we’d share five key facts about our commitment to responsible office furniture design and manufacture and how we can help you achieve your ESG goals:

1. We set goals and hold ourselves to account.

Over the past year, we are proud we have recycled 98.5% of the waste we generate. Our aim is to increase this to 99% by next year. This is one of several goals and benchmarks we’ve shared with our employees and clients (you can see more of them here). Setting goals helps us to keep striving for continuous improvement and to ensure that we maintain our reputation for high quality and British-made office furniture.

2. We audit our supply chain.

Each year we conduct an environmental and social assessment of our suppliers based on the ISO14001 Environmental Management System framework. By doing this we are assured that all of our suppliers and partners not only share our environmental goals, but can document their claims, demonstrate their progress and show accountability. This helps us to offer our interior design and facilities clients the ultimate proof they are making a sustainable choice with Staverton.

3. We think about the whole life.

For a brand like ours that stands for quality, adaptability and durability – it’s crucial that we consider the whole life of our products (from choosing raw materials through to manufacture, distribution and consumption). Our ability to design office furniture that can be reconfigured to meet clients’ changing requirements is one example of thinking about the whole life. Products such as our bold storage and partition system Staverton TT (more here) and our work as a leading sit-stand desk manufacturer (see Staverton SOS here) show how flexibility can deliver longevity, which means less need to buy new furniture. When furniture does come to the end of its life – we make sure that furniture either goes to second-hand furniture dealers, is sent for refurbishment or is broken into its constituent parts for recycling (typically steel, aluminium, cardboard, MFC wood).

4. We know that small changes add up.

Small changes make a big difference, especially when you make enough of them.  We’ve drilled into the detail of our designs to see how we can improve things – either in terms of our behaviours, material sourcing or design. For example, we know that choosing suppliers that are local to our factory and/or our client projects helps us to reduce road-related carbon, as does planning deliveries so that old furniture is collected as new furniture is handed over and assembling furniture on-site to allow van capacity to be used more wisely. We also know that seemingly small decisions – such as choosing to use water-based glues, solvent-free paint for metal and recyclable materials for screens – all make incremental improvements too. Small changes matter.

5. We have sustainability in our brand DNA

As a leading British office furniture manufacturer, we have always been committed to solving challenges with innovative furniture design. In essence, reducing environmental impact is just another one of those challenges. We know that clever design helps organisations to make better furniture choices; choices that will benefit the world at large, as well as individual businesses and their employees. We are more than just a workstation supplier, a manufacturer of benching workstations or a British office furniture manufacturer – we are a socially-conscious business that recognises its environmental responsibilities. We are striving to make a positive change.

Find out more about our sustainability goals, the environmentally-responsible materials we use and our future plans here:

https://www.tahirfurniture.com/sustainable-office-furniture-supplier/