Towards the end of last year, Altro hosted an energy awareness week and participation was invited from one of our local schools. One of the things that struck the organizing team was how much more environmentally aware children are than the children of previous generations, and how much we can learn from them.
We can all do our bit and whilst individually we may feel our efforts to be insignificant, collectively we really can start to make a difference on our journey to become carbon neutral. We can all switch to low energy light bulbs and turn lights off when the room is not in use. We can all turn equipment off rather than leaving it in standby mode and turn the thermostat down by a couple of degrees. Recycling our rubbish is becoming ever easier. We can all consider our use of transportation – do we really need to use the car for that short journey, or can we walk or cycle? Not only do we reduce damaging emissions and fuel usage, we will all become healthier and save money. It is sad that in our modern society the lack of time is often the driving force – it is quicker to take the car and it’s not just down to laziness. I do think the “walking bus” is a wonderful invention.
As a manufacturing organization Altro is constantly looking at ways to reduce its environmental impact in both its production processes and the way we do things as an organisation, never forgetting that the only way we can protect tomorrow is by changing the way we do things today. We are extremely proud to have the only safety flooring on the market to have achieved a BREEAM A rating – which means that it has been independently assessed by the BRE and achieved the highest award for it’s environmental credentials. The use of products achieving an A rating is becoming an increasingly important consideration in building design, and public funding is becoming more dependant on the finished building achieving an “Excellent” rating. Our material wrapping is now fully recyclable, and we have just commissioned our new recycling machine, which will enable us to recycle production and site waste and even used flooring in the not too distant future, thus avoiding landfill.
Sustainabilty: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (1987 Bruntland Report). Let us all embark on the journey to a sustainable future!
Another quotation, taken from the Teacher Net web site if of use
"Sustainable development will enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations.
Securing the Future, the UK Government’s 2005 sustainable development strategy
