Bringing the 'eco' back into Bereco
At Heronhurst Window and Door Studio Abergavenny, we are proud to partner with Bereco who have sustainability at the heart of their business
Bereco
At Bereco they stand at the forefront of this campaign, setting ambitious ecological goals and working towards declaring carbon emissions for both our business and our products
Sustainability at the heart.
At Bereco we have always held sustainability at the heart of our business and have remained focused on our environmental responsibilities from our first day of trading. We continue to stand at the forefront of this campaign, setting ambitious ecological goals, working towards declaring carbon emissions for both our business and our products. We believe passionately in protecting our planet
Our Responsibility
At Bereco we have always held sustainability at the heart of our business and have remained focused on our environmental responsibilities from our first day of trading. We continue to stand at the forefront of this campaign, setting ambitious ecological goals, working towards declaring carbon emissions for both our business and our products. We believe passionately in protecting our planet.
Bioregional state that approximately one-quarter of our CO2 emissions in the UK come from housing; and so in making timber windows and doors for housing and construction our responsibility to ensure our products are sustainable and energy efficient is greater than most.
As public awareness on issues such as plastic waste, chemicals used in uPVC production, energy usage and the carbon footprint of the products we buy becomes more mainstream, those companies that can supply supporting product information will be well placed.
Our Commitment
At Bereco we are continually pushing both our business and the products we make to the leading edge in being more sustainable. We have identified 6 core areas key to our business based around the guiding principles of sustainability that we aim to deliver improvement in by 2020.
Energy Consumption
We aim to use only 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutral gas to power our offices in the UK by 2020.
Currently with Scottish Power for our business energy who produce around 30% of their power from renewable resources vs the current average of other suppliers producing just 11%. We are working towards using only 100% renewable energy to power our UK offices.
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.
Double glazing has been key to improving the thermal efficiency of windows and doors in our homes in the UK over the last 30 years. Bereco wood windows and doors offer soft coat low ‘e’ argon filled double glazed units as standard. Compared to standard double glazing with air filling just 20m² (the amount in an average 3 bedroom semi home) of Bereco’s soft coat low ‘e’ argon filled double glazing with warm edge spacers can save the equivalent of 1522kW/h or £212 per year on your electricity bills.
Carbon Emissions
We commit to providing transparency on the carbon footprint of both our business operations and of our product.
In 2013 Heriot Watt University undertook a lifecycle assessment (LCA) of a timber window vs a comparative UPVC window on behalf of the Wood Window Alliance. As part of the study a 1230mm x 1480mm timber window was found to have a negative carbon footprint of -60kgCO2e whilst a comparative uPVC window was found to have a footprint of 100kgCO2e. Therefore By choosing a Bereco wooden window over a uPVC window you are saving 160kgCO2e.
We are currently in the process of undergoing a complete Cradle to Gate analysis of our timber sliding sash window in order to produce our first Environmental Product Declaration or EPD. Presenting quantified environmental information on the 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
Healthier Homes & Personal Wellbeing
We commit to providing a safe and healthy working environment for all our staff with improvements realised by 2020 in all our UK offices.
Our offices are to undergo a programmed makeover with the introduction of new dedicated breakout areas including an outdoor break area for the summer months. Keep a look out for our new look showroom coming early 2018.
We endeavour to use only natural materials in the manufacture of our windows and doors; and that they seek to reduce the risk of health issues associated with noise and sleep deprivation.
We are currently looking to reduce the amount of ‘other materials’ that make up our windows and doors such as vents, weather strips; hinges and ironmongery the objective that we use only materials that can be recycled or reused. In a recent study published by the WWA 49% of home-owners stated that having natural materials in their homes made them feel discernibly happier than when surrounded by artificial materials. Made from 100% au natural redwood with full FSC chain of custody our wood windows and doors are the quintessential beautiful raw material but one which can be customised to individual taste.
It is estimated that 54% of the UK population is exposed to day time noise pollution greater than 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 throughout its product range can already accommodate the latest in acoustically efficient technologies. Already tested, we are soon to announce a programme of activity and a product range to counteract these issues faced by now many homeowners in the UK.
Packaging & Waste
We aim to reduce our non-recyclable waste by 50% through both business and product development by the year 2020.
We are currently plastic purging! Through simple initiatives in our offices such as replacing plastic supermarket bottles for our milk with glass bottles that can be reused and in moving to mains fed water for our staff in place of plastic bottles for water coolers.
Our products are delivered on fully recyclable timber pallets made by our very own sawmill from offcuts of our FSC timber. We will endeavour to collect our pallets on which we deliver where possible in an effort to reuse them for future customer deliveries extending their service life before recycling is necessary.
We aim to put the choice in your hands on how much plastic comes on your windows by giving all our customers the option to select a plastic free wrapping upon delivery by the end of 2017.
Transport & Vehicles
We aim to have our company cars operating at under 100 CO2/km and company vans operating at under 175CO2/km by the end of 2017.
Our current fleet of vehicles has an average CO2 emission of 135CO2/km. We made our first steps towards achieving this goal with our first hybrid vehicle being acquired in 2016. Our newly acquired technical services vans at 170CO2/km are under the CO2 targets for vans as set out in the EU directive for a fleet average of 175CO2/km to be achieved by 2017.
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 monitor 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 are 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 deliver our windows and doors are to be used as part of this challenge!
Supply Chain Ethics
We commit to only supply FSC 100% 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 we chose to remove Oak from our timber offering.