We’re so proud to share that we’ve been shortlisted for a Make UK Award. We’re shortlisted as a regional finalist for the sustainability category in the Midlands & East region. This result reflects the strength of our sustainability strategy and our recent success in finalising our solar array project.
Our sustainability vision
Our vision is to be a circular, self-sustaining business that reduces the amount of carbon dioxide it produces as much as possible without increasing the cost of our products.
Our current strategy focuses on two main areas:
1. Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels by powering ourselves with green energy
2. Becoming a zero-to-landfill business by improving our waste management.
We completed the first stage of this long-term strategy in 2023. We installed EV charging stations at our facility to support a switch to EV-only cars in our fleet and kicked off the installation of a solar array to produce green electricity.
The second stage of this project involved expanding on this original array, implementing waste management processes and applying for ISO 14001:2015 certification for our environmental management policies.
Our solar array expansion project
We worked with our partner Kembla to expand our 150-kilowatt solar array. They supported us throughout the years to help us plan and implement the installation of this array.
Thanks to this extension, we now generate 184 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, which is more electricity than we need. This means we provide 56MWh of green power per year back into the grid.
Our recycling processes
To help us achieve our recycling goals, we worked with partners J. Watson & Sons Ltd to collect and recycle our materials. We also began to plan and implement additional waste management processes, without overly increasing the burden on production staff. We actually exceeded our initial goal, and now ensure 95% of our waste is recycled by us or our partners. Installing reclamation machines to automatically collect waste generated throughout production is a key goal of ours for our 2025-2027 project.
Our International certification
Thanks to these projects and more, we secured ISO 14001 certification for our environmental management. This helps promote and celebrate our sustainability developments, as well as holding us accountable to maintaining these high standards.
What being shortlisted means to us
Over the last four years, Brucom have saved 47,553 Kg of CO2 and £26,000 a year in energy costs because of our initiatives.
For us, sustainability helps us become more cost-effective, more efficient and reduces our impact on the planet.
Being shortlisted for this award validates our commitment and the hard work of our staff who implement and monitor these projects. We want to take the time to thank everyone who worked on this project, including our partners.
We are now looking forward to the next stage. We want to pave the way for other small manufacturing businesses, demonstrating that you can invest in sustainability and save on costs.
Our manufacturing principles
Find out more about how we embed sustainability into our manufacturing processes.