Hunter Douglas production plant at Leek acquires ISO 14001

Hunter Douglas Façade Systems in the Dutch town of Leek has acquired the ISO 14001 certificate. ISO 14001 is the world’s leading environmental management system. The certification means that the production plant for aluminium façade systems has firmly embedded environmental awareness in all operations. The certificate is based on three aspects: compliance with legislation and regulations; management of environmental risks; and ongoing improvement of the holder’s environmental performance, for instance in the areas of emissions, waste flows and the use of raw materials and energy.

According to operations manager Peter Selles, the two-year run-up to the final certification audit was quite a journey. ‘Beside the fact that we are now required to record all our environmental efforts, implementing an environmental management system has a lot of practical implications. We reviewed every operational and production process in the company, investing mainly in technical measures aimed at preventing leakages or pollution. This is due to the fact that aluminium is the main raw material for our façade elements and in processing aluminium, we work with a lot of chemical raw and auxiliary materials.’
To give some examples: the company replaced polyurethane pumps and hydraulic clamp seals, overhauled hydraulic installations and had its bulk tanks for raw materials reapproved.

Measures were taken in other areas, too. Waste flows – from paper and wood to varnished and non-varnished aluminium and plastic – were separated. Targets were formulated for reducing energy consumption. Staff members were drilled on the fact that they must all contribute to environmentally aware operations. ‘The process was an eye opener for everyone’, says Peter Selles. ‘It was good to take a close look at the whole philosophy underlying the things we do. Not only will we benefit as a company – it’s also a way of taking responsibility for the world around us.’