UK manufacturer Crystal Doors has been presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development for its commitment to achieving net zero manufacturing.
The company is one of just 17 organisations to receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development ahead of the UN’s COP26 climate summit in November. Crystal Doors is a small company with 34 employees who all live within three miles of its HQ in Rochdale.
Managing director Richard Hagan said: “The science says we only have a few years of inaction left before achieving our global agreements on greenhouse gas emissions become impossible. This is our collective responsibility as businesses, and we want to show that even smaller organisations with tight purse strings can play their part.
“We’re proud of our industrial heritage here in Rochdale and the wider North. It’s even more important we kick-start the transition to a green economy in economically deprived areas like ours, where we can create high-quality, green jobs for local communities.”
The sustainability features within the factory include smart autonomous machinery, energy-efficient technologies, solar panels, electric vehicles, carbon literacy training and biomass heating fuelled by the factory’s own waste. These efforts have reduced Crystal Doors’ direct carbon footprint by nearly 80% in just less than five years.
The efforts have also saved the company £200,000 a year through innovative green technology and employee engagement.
By the time of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November, Crystal Doors plans to reach full carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain. The company has also taken a stand against customers or suppliers who refuse to commit to net zero by the end of 2021 and have ended their professional relationships with them.
Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd said: “Rochdale has set an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2038, far ahead of the UK’s 2050 target. If the Government puts the right policies in place, the North of England has enormous potential to use its industrial expertise to drive a green industrial revolution and green recovery in the UK. Congratulations to Richard and Crystal Doors for their well-deserved Queen’s Award win and for showing us all what’s possible.”
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise was established in 1965 and the Sustainable Development category since it was first introduced in 2000.
- Richard Hagen writes a monthly sustainability column in kbbreview.
Listen to the latest episode of The kbbreview Podcast now.