Sustainability

We are committed to being a positive force for the environment, as we work towards our goal of becoming a carbon neutral business by 2030, as well as guiding and supporting our clients on their own journeys.

Ruddocks Sustainability services

Our Journey

The road to sustainability is ongoing and ever-changing. For us, it is a holistic approach that we are passionate about and committed to; supporting a better future for our business, our people, our community and our planet.

Reducing the impact we have on the environment has been an important part of the way we’ve run our business since 2008. We understand and value the importance of taking ownership of the lifecycle of our products and minimising the impact we have.

Some of the key things we are doing to reduce our impact on the environment:

  • Maintaining our certified environmental management system to minimise the impact of our production facilities.
  • Removing non-recyclable materials from our manufacturing process and packaging.
  • Taking a systematic approach to reducing energy, waste, transport and materials.
  • Re-instating our land back to a nature garden, to be enjoyed by us as well as the local community.
  • Supporting our customers through advice and guidance on sustainable materials, carbon balancing and minimising waste.
Ruddocks services sustainability

Don't just take our word for it!

It’s not just our word, we hold two internationally recognised certificates for environmental performance; ISO14001 gained in 2008 and FSC® which followed in 2009.

These are not just certificates; maintaining these accreditations is part of our ongoing commitment to operating sustainably, demonstrated by the significant changes we’ve made to the way we do business; auditing, innovating, implementing and constantly tweaking processes to make sure everything we do contributes to our objectives and we continue to make a real difference to the environment.

Ruddocks director planting trees

Reducing our carbon footprint

We have set ourselves the target of becoming a carbon neutral business by 2030!

What do we mean by this?

Our carbon output will be continually measured and our emissions reduced to the lowest they possibly can be and where we can’t fully eliminate, we’ll offset through certified carbon balancing projects. Offsetting is a very valid way to help protect the environment BUT our priority will always be to minimise our impact first.

How are we going to achieve this? 

We have created some guiding principles which will support our journey. This covers all areas across our business where we can make significant changes, particularly transport, energy, procurement, technology & investment, and waste.

Through making sustainable travel choices, reducing our energy usage, ensuring we only purchase what is necessary (and that products are sustainable as a whole purchase), investing in new production technology and systems, and reducing and sorting our waste for recycling (or turning into energy) we hope to make a dramatic change to our carbon footprint.

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Sustainable futures for all

Sustainability also impacts our people and communities. It is important to us that everything we do has a positive a positive impact on the lives of our colleagues, customers and suppliers as well as the communities we live and work in.

Some of the things we are doing to enhance the communities we live and work in include:

  • Paying above the minimum wage and providing an enhanced holiday entitlement.
  • Being a flexible employer, giving staff paid time off when they need it.
  • Engaging with schools, local groups, charities and local authorities to offer work placements, charitable support, donations and sponsorships.
  • Working with SEND schools.
  • Embracing diversity and equality together with practicing and promoting inclusivity, to ensure all our employees, partners and suppliers are treated fairly and with respect.
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Helping you on your journey

We are passionate about helping our clients on their own paths to sustainability. It’s a step journey and there are some very small changes you can make which can make some really big differences.

It’s all about looking at the lifecycle of the products you consume and/or manufacture, the processes you employ and the activities you engage in as an organisation, working out where you can make changes and setting targets and objectives around those changes.

There is a lot of information out there on how to reduce your impact on the environment and amongst all the useful information are lots of myths which can really muddy the waters!

Whether you are just getting started or already well established on your journey we can provide clear advice on best practices, products and materials to support your aims of becoming more sustainable.

Get in touch to find out more about how we could help you.

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