Sustainability is the philosophy that allows a business to evolve and grow over time. At Norwood we�re committed to creating and implementing sustainable solutions by placing the environment at the forefront of our systems and practice. Norwood has a long-standing and solid commitment to sustainable and environmentally conscious large scale printing processes, with a comprehensive Environmental Policy in place. A mind towards sustainability doesn�t end at our products. Instead, we try to consider it in every aspect of our business approach.
This is accomplished while still maintaining a high quality and price competitive product. Waste is minimised at each step of the printing process from practising the use of digital proofing to minimising substrate waste and ensuring that laydowns are done in a way that utilises the maximum amount of the printed substrate.
This has the added benefit of minimising costs across the process allowing a lower unit cost. Any plastic waste that is generated is 100 per cent recycled in partnership with Martogg LCM. This sustainability is possible due to high levels of staff training and the culture of environmental impact awareness that has been created at Norwood.
� Compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and industry best practice guidelines
� A strong culture of environmental concern and responsibility and focus on production managers being at the cutting edge of environmental waste practices
� Continual research into new, high quality and more sustainable substrates
� Waste minimisation along the entire production procedure such as digital workflow from design to plating
� Full recycling of all possible material associated with the printing process
� The running of diesel cars to reduce emissions
� The collection of up to 120,000 litres of rainwater for irrigation of our extensive garden
� Changing approximately 2000 fluorescent tubes over to LED light fittings
This includes factory initiatives such as:
� A verifiable chain of custody towards hazardous waste as it progresses through the disposal process
� All non-recyclables such as liquid wastes are sourced as the least toxic and non-flammable and all disposal of this waste is sourced through an EPA approved waste management company.
� Norwood�s UV printing processes generate no VOC�s (volatile organic compounds) as all inks used have zero volatile organic compounds
� Our washing solvent is the lowest volatile organic liquid
� Recycling of all toner cartridges and metal printing plates
As the technology develops so do we. The plastic we produce is recyclable, the plant pots we�ve created are biodegradable and specialist machinery helps us keep waste during production to an absolute minimum. We envisage a future with zero waste in relation to our products and to help us get there we�ve got our PP5.
Norwood�s PP5 is a polypropylene compound that is non-toxic and 100% recyclable. Poly materials have great potential for reuse, so we offer customers the option to return unused tags and other poly materials to us for recycling. By re-using this material, which would otherwise go to landfill, we�re able to reduce our energy output to 70% less than if we used fossil fuels for the same process. Combined with our own production off-cuts we shred, pellet and reform the waste plastic into new products, which includes car parts and building materials.