Developed by energy management experts from more than 60 countries the certification marks another major step in the company’s long-standing commitment to environmental responsibility and its vision of sustainable habitat.The attainment of ISO 50001 also gives the company’s customers further confidence that its products are made with the same commitment and enables them to differentiate themselves by conveying that same message on to their own customers.
Commenting on the rationale behind his company’s certification to the standard, Steve Severs, Managing Director Saint-Gobain Glass Industry UK explained: “To be certified to ISO 50001 underlines our collective desire to be an efficient, responsible and sustainable consumer of resource in our operation. The path of energy reduction and efficient usage is a journey without end as we perpetually seek to improve upon our current standing. The 50001 standard confirms to our employees and our clients that we have the structure, measurement, control and capability required in place in order to maintain our leading position in energy management.”
SGG’s achievement follows over a year of intensive assessment and training involving every process within its Eggborough plant as well as extensive on-site auditing by BSI, the certification body. As part of the training, which involved every one of over 200 employees, the team created a bespoke training module to raise awareness of energy use and introduce the process of continuous improvement to monitor and control usage.
SGGUK Engineering Manager Mick Dickinson said: “We have a very robust energy management system here but the auditors examined every element and KPI of our energy use in detail, including spending four days on site speaking to large numbers of our people before confirming the certification. They not only scrutinised every part of every process but also our approach to continuous improvement so that we can stay ahead.”
Saint-Gobain Glass is believed to be the first company of its kind in the UK to achieve the ISO 50001 accreditation. In recognition of the importance of minimising impact on the environment, Saint-Gobain is in the process of rolling out the ISO 50001 certification programme to other businesses within group.
Mark Gouldstone, Sustainability Management Specialist, BSI said: “Achieving certification to ISO 50001 is a credit to everyone at Saint-Gobain Glass and clearly demonstrates their commitment to being a sustainable organization. They should be proud of this achievement.”