Sustainability

Sustainable solutions are at the heart of who we are.

For us, sustainability is a fundamental requirement rather than a choice. As one of the UK’s leading office furniture manufacturers we are committed to protecting the environment. From the careful selection of materials to maximise their recycled content and to minimise their energy and CO2 footprints, to the ‘end of life’ recyclability of the component parts, we pride ourselves on our ethical consideration of their environmental impact at every stage of their development.

We also encourage the use of modular and reconfigurable furniture that can be reused and reassembled on demand, aligning with the broader goal of creating environmentally conscious and sustainable, responsible workspaces.

Identify and comply.
We’ve established systems to identify all relevant environmental legislation so we can meet all resulting requirements.

Design decisions.
We specifically select materials that will reduce the environmental impact of our products throughout their life cycle.

Cut the waste.
We’ve minimised our use of energy by increasing efficiency and reducing all forms of waste, air and water pollution.

Volatile organic compounds.
We are working with our suppliers to reduce their use of VOCs and their impact on the environment.

Continually vigilant.
We conduct environmental audits at regular intervals and provide training for all our employees.

Carbon reduction plan

The measures we have taken to achieve the carbon reductions to date include:

• We have gained and maintained our ISO14001 Certification
• We hold FSC certification
• Verco is an active member of FISP which promotes best practices to drive social, economic and environmental change.
• Where possible we purchase locally and partner services that are local to their point of use to reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions
• Our policy is to reduce waste, wherever possible, across the breadth of the Company and our trading partners.
• We have reduced our carbon footprint through ‘smart’ transportation and logistical plans and have targeted logistics operations to become Carbon neutral by 2040
• We have introduced PIR controlled LED lighting through the product complex and are now in the process of Phase 3 of this programme
• We have replaced 80% of stand-alone PCs with low energy ‘chip’ computers
• Introduction of Electrical charging points for pool and employee vehicles
• Our existing Commercial delivery fleet is equipped with Euro 6 engines, thereby minimising their harmful emissions

ISO certification:

ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Assurance
ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management System
ISO 45001: 2018 – Occupational Health and Safety Management
These Quality Assurance, Environmental Management, and occupational Health and Safety Management certifications demonstrate our commitment to our environment, our suppliers, our employees and to our customers and, as a business which has been in business for over 100 years, are something that we take seriously.

FSC® certification
The Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC®) purpose is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests to meet the needs of the present generation, without compromising those of future generations. It does this by developing standards, certification and through trademark recognition.
The process of tracking a product back to the source forest is called’ Chain of Custody’ (C.O.C.) Certification. Through C.O.C. a Company can demonstrate their commitment to the environment and responsible forest management.

F.I.S.P. Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme

FISP is an independently certified sustainability programme, created to tailor to the needs of the Furniture Industry, aimed at driving sustainability in the furniture supply chain.

FISP promotes best practices to drive social, economic, and environmental change by continually improving members’ business operations. FISP is the
recognised benchmark for sustainable practices in the UK furniture industry. and has rapidly become the furniture industry forum on all environmental and sustainability issues. These issues relate to all aspects of the industry’s business, from purchasing and procurement to the end of product life, including social, ethical and employment concerns and waste, energy, and emissions.