In October, Kaba in the UK & Ireland are celebrating the milestone of achieving the ISO 14001 accreditation at its office sites in Tiverton and Romford. Our Business Management System has been re-designed this year, with a real focus on minimising waste and maximising efficiencies across our supply chain.
Kaba are constantly striving for improvement, so we very much see the ISO 14001 award as the beginning of our ‘green journey’.
So, how have our practices changed in the lead up to our ISO14001 accreditation ?
Angelo Dalporto, Head of Supply Chain at Kaba Ltd states: “We were fortunate as we had a great foundation to build on at Kaba, but the ISO14001 award has certainly strengthened that. One example is, every single item of packaging that enters the building is now looked at with a view to recycling or re-using it.
We estimate that at the current time, over 60% of all packaging that we receive in is re-used and the remaining 40% is recycled through controlled waste streams.”
Angelo also talks about the importance of staff buy-in, when it comes to establishing a mindset around Kaba’s environmental focus. “The staff have to truly believe in our objectives to drive through those improvements that we want to continually make as part of our ISO 14001 system. It’s all very well getting the ‘tick-in-the-box’, but you’ve got to make it work and make it last, that’s ultimately what 14001 is all about, it’s not about the label, it’s about the sustainability… it’s about how we make our environments and our supply chains sustainable for the long-term.”
Kaba also prides itself on its focus on a range of products that offer environmental benefits, for our partners and end-users.
Paul Spencer, Head of Marketing at Kaba Ltd states: “In some of our business areas, we’re really developing our product technology around our environmental focus. That focus ranges from the actual product being environmentally friendly, to also showing that we can make the product as cost effective for our customers as we possibly can”.
One example of Kaba’s focus on environmentally friendly products is the patented, self-powered ‘powerstar’ technology, which features in the new push button lock, the PowerPlex. The product is electro-mechanical, but needs no wires or batteries, it utilises new capacitor technology to store power longer and more efficiently. There is no handle pumping required to wake up the lock and the built-in super capacitors will hold a full charge for up to 10 weeks with no activity at the lock. The lock is perfect for small to mid-sized facilities, rarely visited remote locations, retail “Employees Only” areas and military facilities, just to name a few…
This technology is also used in Kaba’s Auditcon safe lock, an electronic combination safe lock, which offers 20 codes, no batteries, slide bolt and time delay functionality.
Kaba manufacture a range of energy saver units that are installed in hotels all over the World. These units prevent power use in the hotel guest room, until an authorised key card is inserted into the unit. These energy saving switches reduce energy costs and produce a measurable return on investment for the hotel.
Kaba also manufacture a range of security door systems, ranging from sensor barriers and turnstiles to revolving doors. As well as offering obvious benefits around people flow and access control, many of these revolving door units provide thermal insulation for a building. As well as being environmentally friendly, these products can bring a significant cost saving for our customers.
For further information on all our products, please visit http://www.kaba.co.uk/
