With the recent COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow bringing the climate crisis into sharper focus, it’s clear that there are many pressing global sustainability issues.
Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed sustainability further down the agenda for some companies, Northwood Hygiene Products continues to be fully committed to a sustainable approach.
As a true UK manufacturer, Northwood is focused on a full circle economy and is helping to drive sustainability by delivering product innovation, eliminating waste and reducing its carbon footprint.
As one of a small number of companies in the UK that is fully vertically integrated, selling as well as converting parent reels, the business collects more than 100,000 tonnes of recovered fibres and produces nearly 70,000 recycled parent reels a year. 80% of Northwood’s products are made from recycled paper and all of Northwood’s paper mills now produce Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified base sheet paper.
The business continues to invest in state-of-the-art machinery and infrastructure to further improve its environmental credentials and it operates a fleet of Euro 6 compliant vehicles, which are mobilised to ensure they never have an empty load. The company has also rolled out an enhanced driver training programme, which has already reduced fuel usage by more than 10%.
Paul Mulready, Marketing Manager at Northwood, said: “The UK uses 1.3m tonnes of tissue and gets through 8.5bn toilet rolls a year, so as a nation we need to focus on how we can all minimise our effect on the environment. At Northwood, we’re committed to reducing the impact of our operations on the environment and our sustainability strategy focuses on a circular economy which aims to tackle global challenges, such as climate change, waste and pollution.
“We understand that protecting our forests is essential for our sustainability and our FSC certification demonstrates our commitment to responsible forestry. As a UK manufacturer, our carbon footprint is incredibly small compared to businesses that import from Asia and we’re proud to be shaping change. We will continue to push hard to achieve our own sustainability goals and tackle the climate crisis.”
Northwood is involved at each point in the supply chain, from raw material supply, tissue and towel manufacturing, end user product converting and transportation. The business operates across 10 sites in the UK and all of its mills are now ISO 14001 accredited, adhering to a zero-waste manufacturing process to look after the local environment.
Northwood’s extensive range of recycled products includes the Essentials collection of toilet tissue, centrefeed, hand towels and hygiene rolls, the Raphael proprietary washroom system and the Whisper Green 2-ply toilet tissue.
