Sustainability. It’s something that lots of companies pay lip service too.
Here at James Tobias, it’s ingrained in everything we do. From the raw materials we source to delivery and installation, we look carefully – and keep looking carefully – at every part of our process to see where we can be smarter, more efficient and, yes, ultimately greener.
And it’s not a chore. As engineers, we naturally want to improve and refine. So, where others see being sustainable as a box to tick, a cost or just an obligation, we see it as a joyful enterprise!
In the business sense, being more efficient can actually be an investment in our bottom line and a credential many of our customers buy into. So it’s not entirely all about being heroes of the planet but if we can do our bit, that’s no bad thing either.
But sustainability is about more than being green.
People. Process. Products.
From our people, through our processes to our products, we’re greener every step of the way:
People
We know we’re doing something right when our people are engaged and motivated. They’re the ones who are all over our processes and products, so they know best how to make them even better. People here share our values, want to make a positive impact and want to be proud of their work and legacy. By putting sustainability high up on our agenda, we’re also encouraging our people to be more innovative and creative – which is good for everyone.
We ask our people to think about everything from the basics, like minimising waste and maximising recycling, to gauging opinion about sustainability to shape our future strategies.
Process
There are many ways we strive to be sustainable in our everyday operations:
- Scheduling installations and snagging jobs geographically to consolidate deliveries wherever possible, reducing unnecessary miles/emissions.
- Investing in new, more environmentally friendly lorries and vans.
- Enabling Fitters to stay as close as possible to installation sites to reduce unnecessary mileage.
- Packing and delivering materials on reusable stillages, not pallets, wherever possible.
- Introducing a new ERP (Enterprising Resource Planning) system to positively promote environmental awareness by significantly reducing the necessity of printed paper work for installation sign offs, site RAMS (risk assessment method statements), etc.
- We sort waste for recycling, separating cardboard, wood and metal.
- Where possible we group installation by location cutting down on wasted miles.
- Packaging waste goes back into the cardboard recycle chain.
Products
As well as being FSC certified (98% of our products incorporate FSC certified materials), we constantly review every element of our products to see how we can make them better:
- Carcasses are constructed using material such as aluminium, which is infinitely recyclable, and FSC board.
- Our wood based product use a supplier based in the UK to reduce carbon footprint. We also use this supplier as they are FSC rated and plant a tree for every one cut down.
Plus, as a key element of our product development activity, we consistently aim to incorporate and utilise innovative, sustainable products. Right now, that includes looking at how we can develop sleek, high quality storage and office solutions using materials such as cork, bamboo and wool.
Who said sustainability can’t be exciting?
