ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY POLICY
Introduction
Warner House has an obligation to understand, manage and minimise adverse environmental impacts arising from its activities. We are committed to embedding sustainability into our operations and encouraging key partners, stakeholders and suppliers to do the same.
Purpose
The purpose of this Policy is to establish the approach to managing the environmental impacts of Warner House operations so that adverse environmental impacts are reduced. Our aim is that Warner House activities should be cost effective, resource efficient and environmentally resilient and, where practical, result in net positive benefits.
Our Environmental Vision is to champion sustainability within the markets we serve and within the environment as a whole. We are working to meet this objective by minimising waste, promoting sustainable materials and sourcing products which consume the lowest practicable levels of materials, energy and water.
Scope
This Policy applies to all company employees and to all contractors and suppliers to Warner companies.
Key objectives
- Prevent pollution to air, land and water
- Protect the environment in all aspects of our business
- Minimise waste at source through our procurement processes, applying the waste hierarchy (reduce, re-use, recycle) wherever practical
- Minimise the environmental impact for the life cycle of the products we offer
- Ensure our suppliers comply with environmental regulations, encouraging them to go beyond regulatory compliance where this can be done cost-effectively
- Work with designers and suppliers to develop a target and trajectory for net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ahead of the 2050 international target
- Work in close partnership and collaboration with our clients, suppliers and delivery partners to fully implement this policy
1. Procurement
Recognising that the majority of our impacts are within the supply chain, our approach to procurement is an important part of this policy. We will work with existing suppliers to move to more sustainable materials, and require this from new suppliers as part of specification and onboarding. Our preferred standards for sustainability are:
1.1. Fabrics
Use of inherently lower impact virgin fibres and/or fibres certified to a recognised standard; use of recycled fibres from industrial or post-consumer waste sources. Where required, fire retardant should not use environmentally harmful chemical methods.
1.2. Timber, Card & Paper
Use of certified sustainable timber and paper including recycled content where appropriate for the end use.
1.3. Printing and surface coatings
Use of water based inks with verified limited environmental impact; low VOC water based paints and varnish.
1.4. Metals
Recycled content where appropriate for the end use; recyclable at end of life.
1.5. Animal products
No leather or fur materials or components are to be used. Wool/feather/down from verifiable high-welfare sources; recycled sources to be used where appropriate.
1.6. Packaging
Single use packaging to be avoided where a reusable option is appropriate. Plastics to be recycled where this material is required; paper/card high recycled content; metal packaging 100% recycled content; packaging designed for easy recyclability including directions to the end user for disposal.
1.7. Product design
Products should be designed for longevity where they are not inherently single use; products should be recyclable at end of use, including design for disassembly where required
1.8. Product miles
UK sourcing where possible; where UK suppliers source materials elsewhere they should still comply with materials standards as above
2. Future commitments
We have made the following commitments to reduce the impacts of our operations:
2.1. Eliminate single use plastics from our supply chain and packaging by the end of 2024
2.2. Require all cotton to be GOTS or BCI verified fabric by by the end of 2024
2.3. Measure the greenhouse gas footprint (all scopes) of our operations and implement a trajectory to Net Zero by 2050
Policy last reviewed 03.01.2024
