Sustainability

In 2018, we committed to use only 100% renewable electricity and carbon-neutral gas to power our offices in the UK and we still follow this today.

We continue to use only 100% renewable energy to power our offices. This commitment means we are lowering our carbon impact by around 3,500 tonnes of CO² which is equivalent to the work of around 1,770 trees capturing and storing the carbon from our atmosphere annually.

We are constantly seeking to improve the energy-saving potential of our timber windows and doors over and above the requirements of the building regulations in the UK.

In 2022, significant changes were introduced to the minimum energy efficiency requirements of both new and existing homes in response to the findings that our housing stock accounted for over 16% of the UK’s total carbon emissions – overtaking that of the transport sector. The most significant contributor to these emissions is space heating, suggesting our housing stock (all 23 million of them) is entirely energy inefficient at retaining heat.

Windows and doors play their part in the need for space heating as heat can be lost through the glass, frames, seals and where the window is fitted into the fabric of the building. We are pleased to say that our timber windows and doors now offer U-values that not only comply with the limits of the regulations and are up to 43% better with U-values starting from 0.8W/m²K triple glazed and 1.2W/m²K double glazed.

We commit to providing transparency on the carbon footprint of both our business operations and of our product.

We are pleased to say that we have completed our first Cradle to Gate analysis of our timber sliding sash window. We have also completed our first Environmental Product declaration giving us an insight into the environmental impact and life cycle of our sash window product in the following areas:

• Global warming potential (CO2e)
• Non-renewable resource consumption
• Energy consumption
• Water consumption
• Waste reduction

We continue to develop our plans in this area and aim to declare the Carbon Footprint of our products and our business by 2023.

We endeavour to use only natural materials in the manufacture of our windows and doors and we make sure to reduce the risk of health issues associated with noise and sleep deprivation.

We are continuing to reduce the amount of ‘other materials’ used in our windows and doors such as vents, weather strips, hinges and ironmongery, and replacing them with materials that can be recycled or reused. In 2018 we set up an environmental working group focused on eliminating plastic from our products and our supply chain, and joined the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) and The Good Homes Alliance (GHA) in an effort to find solutions to this problem.

We continue to be committed to this cause and will review our supply chain annually for any innovation from our supply chain. It is estimated that 54% of the UK population is exposed to daytime noise pollution greater than the recommended levels, which given the potential health impacts, is concerning. Research is available linking traffic noise to health issues such as cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke and dementia, with people living near airports having an ever-greater increased risk of such conditions.

Bereco’s Ambient Range of Timber Windows and Doors, which launched in October 2018, offers the solution to reducing the health risks associated with noise pollution offering windows and doors with third-party certified overall dB ratings of 33dB, 38dB, 41dB and 42dB.

We aim to reduce our non-recyclable waste by 50% through both business and product development by the year 2023.

Our products are delivered on fully recyclable timber pallets made by our very own sawmill using offcuts of our FSC® timber. We will collect the pallets we deliver, where possible, in an effort to reuse them for future customer deliveries, helping to extend their service life before recycling is necessary.

We continue to seek alternative solutions to our packaging and are pleased to be part of the ASBP’s Plastics Working Group which is looking to identify sustainable, cost-effective alternatives to this problem. This year we have eliminated the single-use plastic pots that our touch-up paint is stored in, preventing around 2,500 plastic pots from going to landfill each year.

We commit to ensuring our chosen haulage company, Truswell Haulage complies with all current legislation and seeks to reduce carbon emissions through everyday practices.

The average truck travelling at a motorway speed of 50 m.p.h. burns 50% of its fuel just pushing air out of the way. It is believed that by further improving vehicle “streamlining” or “air management” a reduction in fuel burn and therefore carbon emissions is achievable.

Truswell Haulage operate a Truswell “Traffic Planning and Routing Policy” and a Truswell “Fuel and Tyre Management Policy” and continually monitors driver performance and driver training in an effort to reduce fuel burn. The government office for Low Emissions Vehicles and Innovate U.K. has sponsored a major research project which sets the challenge to further improve fuel efficiency by various engineering solutions.

A working group of the best and most knowledgeable companies in this field has been formed, Truswell Haulage is extremely proud to have been chosen to provide the critical driving and vehicle specification data that will be used to explore ways to further reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The rigid vehicles we use to deliver our windows and doors will be part of this challenge.

We commit to only supply FSC® 100% certified timber in our timber windows and doors and to maintain our ongoing FSC® chain of custody certification of both our softwood and hardwood, reviewing our supply chain annually.

FSC® accredited since 2004 our wooden windows and doors are made from FSC® 100% timber. In 2014 we discontinued the supply of European Oak after a review of the supply chain left a question mark over the chain of custody that could not be immediately verified without confidence. As a result we chose to remove Oak from our timber offering. Today, we continue to pioneer and champion the use of only 100% FSC® certified timber in the manufacture of our wooden windows and doors.