Lowestoft Sustainability Update

This announcement explains the different sustainable initiatives and activations that have been taken in Lowestoft not only in 2018 – 2019 but also how that has been developed and where are now.

Governance, ethics and compliance

In 2018 Colart Lowestoft recorded a non-disclosure agreement with top suppliers and put in place an up to date contract for key commodities that promotes ethical sourcing according to legislation.

In 2020 Colart Lowestoft continues its non-disclosure agreement with suppliers that promote ethical sourcing.  Examples of this are FSC handles across key brush ranges including 2020/2021 NPD or material changes to comply with phthalates regulations that took place in 2020.

People and Society

In 2018 the canteen at Lowestoft was redesigned to accommodate a wellbeing space for staff to relax during break times. As well as other global initiatives the Mental Health Awareness Month was promoted by sharing initiatives with colleagues on a global scale.

In 2020, Lowestoft recycled unused tables and filing cabinets from Head Office.

To create a more sustainable site Lowestoft improved ventilation in the office by replacing previously sealed windows with openers.

There is also an updated ‘Experience room’ to include a digital timeline history and brush/paint ‘play’ area for a more-hands on experience.

Exterior lighting is now 100% LED, with PIR activation to ensure optimal electrical efficiency. Lighting inside the building is now approximately 60% LED, this coverage increases as worn units are replaced with an environmentally friendly alternative.

Services and Products

Colart Lowestoft began working on a water-based solution for dipped Brush handles, as part of Colart’s sustainability journey and development. A migration from 100% solvent-based Nitrocellulose based coatings to a reduction of 75% on key Colart brush ranges, including 2020/2021 Brush NPD.

In 2019-2020 Colart Lowestoft moved over to using an “Odourless” solvent-free cleaning material used for the automated print plate cleaning machine. The local area is now far more pleasant to work in with minimal loss in cleaning performance.

Packaging

In 2018 we started a review of our packaging supply chain, leading to a resourcing of materials from overseas to the UK. The move is win-win, offering a reduction in our carbon footprint, improved product quality, a reduction in associated waste by the rationalisation of packaging, all at a reduced cost to the business. We look to continue this migration over a wider variety of packaging types.

As well, we are currently investigating recycled/recyclable/biodegradable material for flow-wrapped brush products.

Another important step taken this year was to reduce waste with the remanufacturing of existing, worn, print plates rather than using new ‘virgin’ material.

In 2020 Lowestoft saw a significant paper reduction across the site. Whilst this was set as a target for many on-site, new habits encouraged by the increase in remote working have certainly also played a part.