We understand that lots of little things add up to make a big difference, so we know that it’s not just the big changes we make which make an impact either. We’re a family business, not a big faceless organisation and we like to think of ourselves as a company with a conscience – whether it’s the way we treat our staff, our customers or the environment. We know that it’s the little things we do which culminate to make the biggest impact.
We have selected to use a stair parts supplier with over 30 years of staircase craftsmanship experience who are a FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certified, ensuring the timber we use is selected from environmentally responsible sources.
Our favoured, precision mitred oak newel is engineered with 8mm solid oak encasing an oak core. The obvious advantage of this newel for our customers is that they receive a solid oak post with no visible joins in the oak and all 4 sides of the post appear perfect. They are also more environmentally friendly as the manufacturing process produces far less waste as less favourable oak tones and grains which which may otherwise be rejected can form the core of the newel. Newels laminated with 2 or more pieces of oak which are favoured by other leading staircases result in large amounts of waste oak where good oak pieces are not used based on their colour alone.
What’s more, we endeavor to schedule our installations carefully to reduce the amount of fuel our vans burn. Our waste wood is collected by members of the local community to be burned to keep local homes warm. Some is even reclaimed by local businesses like Northern Strongboards to be transformed into bespoke skateboards, furniture or in the renovation of their camper vans while the rest is collected to be recycled locally. We use local suppliers as much as possible to support our local economy and reduce our carbon footprint. Old metal balustrades are recycled by a neighbouring business and our current brochure is even printed on recycled paper. Our office team correspond by email instead of consuming paper and even use a stapless stapler to reduce unnecessary waste.
The reason we care as much as we do about our staff and customers is not to receive accolade; we recycle not to simply tick boxes or receive awards – we do these things because it’s the right thing to do. As a family business, our children may one day inherit the Abbott-Wade name and reputation, but they will definitely inherit the world we live in.
To learn more about what you can do for the environment, visit www.recyclenow.com.
