Ibstock, the UK’s largest brickmaker, has achieved ISO 14001 accreditation for its environmental management system at its Ibstock-Kevington factory in Sharpthrone- meaning all Ibstock’s UK production sites now hold this important Standard.
ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is an independent, non-governmental membership organisation, and the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. ISO 14001 is the internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system, ensuring businesses improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.
The accreditation at the Ibstock-Kevington factory means it joins all Ibstock’s UK companies in having ISO 14001 in place, with Ibstock Brick being the first to achieve certification to ISO 14001 in 2001.
Darren Bowkett, Ibstock Technical Director, comments: “Achieving this internationally recognised standard across all our sites is testimony to the hard work of our entire workforce, and the importance Ibstock places upon minimising our impact on the environment and focussing on sustainability. Our culture of continuous improvement is designed to ensure we effectively and efficiently deliver our sustainability commitments, and this accreditation provides recognition for that.
“While we have achieved this certification, our focus still remains on driving sustainability further throughout our operations, and the opening of our new £54m state-of-the-art brickworks at Ibstock, Leicestershire will further strengthen this, setting new standards for energy efficiency, water and waste recovery.”
Ibstock was also the first UK brick manufacturer to be awarded a very good rating for the responsible sourcing standard, BES 6001 and the internationally recognised standard ISO 50001 for energy management at all its brickworks.
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