Polar awarded Environmental and Health & Safety Standards

Middlesbrough commercial architectural glazing manufacturer Polar has secured recognition for its environmental policies and health and safety management standards, gaining two prestigious international accreditations.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is responsible for international management standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 – some of the world’s most challenging standards for environmental and health and safety policies – to which Polar is now accredited.

ISO 9001 is an internationally-recognised standard for quality management, ensuring that organisations have proven processes in place to meet customer requirements. Polar already held ISO 9001: 2000 and has now been upgraded to ISO 9001: 2008. ISO 14001 is commonly known as the ‘environmental’ standard and exists to help organisations minimise any negative impact on the environment. The Occupational Health & Safety Standards (OHSAS) 18001 accreditation was developed to be compatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and to facilitate the integration of quality, environmental and occupational health & safety management systems within organisations.

John Wilson is managing director at Polar, and he commented: “Ensuring we are at the forefront of our industry is very important to us, as it reassures our customers that they have made the right choice for their project and the environment when they commission work from us. We’re delighted to have achieved these international accreditations as recognition of the policies we have put into action. We’re now running a fully integrated system throughout the organisation, which will benefit not just us but also our customers.”

The construction industry used to be notoriously poor at managing its waste, but has dramatically improved in recent years. Polar as a commercial architectural glazing manufacturer and installation contractor brings back everything from its operating sites and puts it in designated bins for recycling, including plastics, aluminium, timber, glass and paper. This minimisation of waste continues throughout the organisation in other areas too, from the shop floor right through to the offices. Even the company’s plastic cups are recycled.

As John concluded: “One of our major long-term goals was to significantly reduce what goes to landfill and we’ve certainly done this, changing the culture of the organisation in the process. The construction industry continues to progress this culture change, too. Where previously we might send two loads a week to landfill, now it’s down to one per fortnight or less and we’re continuing to reduce waste every day, in line with many of our key customers.”
ENDS
For further media information please contact Bridget Summers, Footprint, PO Box 4, Thorpe Park, Leeds LS15 8WX. Tel: 0113 251 5697. Fax: 0113 251 5351. E-mail: bridget@fim.org.uk