Spec Finish

18 www.thefis.org Reuse BW is a partner of Community Wood Recycling, an initiative that aims to save resources that would otherwise go to landfill, creating sustainable jobs, and training and volunteering opportunities for locals. The scheme collects waste timber from BW’s sites and reuses it in the community. Rehome BW: Workplace Experts finds new uses for fixtures and fittings in its projects, reducing waste going to landfill. On a recent project in Kings Cross, BWworked with PemPeople, which runs community projects in Peckham, PemPeople collected new CAT A lighting from the development that was no longer of use and repurposed it. Recycle BWhas joined Carpet Recycling UK, a non- for-profit organisation that aims to reduce the amount of carpet waste going to landfill through Circular Economy principles, by which old carpet tiles are directly recycled into new ones. Refuse BW is supporting the movement to protect 30% of our ocean by 2030, having removed single use plastic from its projects two years ago to reduce plastics pollution. www.wearebw.com Sustainability ethics SAS International is a British manufacturer of metal ceilings and bespoke architectural metalwork. Their CEO, Gert van Doormalen, Chair, Siobhan McElhinney and Matt Branigan, SAS Technical Compliance Manager, recorded an interview recently where they concluded that manufacturers should look to their employees for guidance on sustainable practices and not wait for governments. Gert said: “Bringing sustainability into our brand and culture is a priority. How can we reuse our ceiling systems to reduce our reliance on raw or recycled content materials? It’s not just about saying ‘we want to be carbon net zero by 2030’ we need to ask what can we do today and what questions can we already answer and address when it comes to sustainability. “This new ethos is reflected in the SAS programme to achieve C2C silver accreditation and in the ‘Reduce and Reuse’ investigations we have started. Where we have the opportunity to change, we will do.” Siobhan explained that sustainability has to be at the core of the business for the company to thrive in the future. She said: “We have a lot of young people with great ideas at SAS and we want to encourage staff to suggest improvements to operations and products. It will take small leaps, as well as large ones, to make a difference but every staff member can participate.” Matt said that the big question is whether we want to be proactive or reactive. “Our clients understand that measuring our impact correctly is essential. Although the questions we are asking ourselves are difficult, we are all here to make British manufacturing better for our staff, our customers and the planet.” www.sasintgroup.com If you are interested in improving the sustainability of your business or working on projects where there is the opportunity to introduce or the need to comply with key environmental or health requirements, please contact the FIS team at www.thefis.org/ knowledge-hub/sustainability Week two of the FIS Conference this year will focus on the net zero plan for the finishes and interiors sector. Register your place at www.thefis.org/net-zero-plan BWsite supplies are now delivered in corrugated paper packaging instead of plastic wrap Sustainability