Sustainability


We are now proudly Carbon Neutral!

2023

Our Scope 1 and 2 calculations for 2023 were completed by a third party, and the results showed that we could reduce our carbon emissions by switching to hybrid or electric vehicles which is a target we are working towards. We now have 12 hybrid or electric vehicles as part of our fleet which has already reduced our carbon output by 31 tonnes in the last three years.

We gained Carbon Neutral status through making positive decisions across our business. Some of the changes which we made as a company include moving energy suppliers (we now work with suppliers who use energy which is harvested solely from renewable sources), and introducing lighting and heating controls across our National Distribution Centre.

Alongside these changes we also worked on a carbon offsetting project in Brazil through the Salto Pilao Hydropower Plant. Projects like this take carbon out of the atmosphere and the amount that a business needs to offset correlates with the amount of money which needs to be invested.

 

Our long-term aim is to work towards becoming Net Zero, with all of our activities being continuously assessed alongside this goal. Becoming Net Zero is a momentous task; our short-term goals are all designed to move our business in the right direction, reducing our carbon emissions by switching to hybrid or electric vehicles, and assessing our everyday tasks to ensure that we are behaving in the most sustainable ways that we possibly can.

This short-term work has resulted in BELL Lighting being awarded Carbon Neutral status once again in September 2024!

Our Carbon Neutral achievement is thanks to a reduction in carbon emissions in several areas, but it is also thanks to our involvement in three offsetting activities in China! These projects related to generating reliable wind energy, preventing commercial logging, and reforesting barren lands.

2024

Our Sustainability Goals

We are proud to be rated in the top 7% of companies within our industry by EcoVadis! We are currently in the process of completing our most recent submission, and we hope to improve this ranking further, achieving Gold status and finding ourselves in the top 5% of our industry. As part of this endeavour, our Compliance and Health & Safety Officer, Shannon Hepworth, recently completed the EcoVadis Solutions Practitioner Program.

Our future ambition is to achieve Net Zero status and we hope to become an inspiration for local businesses in their efforts to operate in an eco-friendly manner, by inviting them to our offices in Normanton and showcasing our sustainable initiatives.

We aim to have our Scope 3 emissions calculated shortly, and we have set ourselves a target of becoming Net Zero by 2030.

The next 5 years are set to be an important period, with the company targeting ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification and a move to all electric company cars, amongst other directives.

Packaging Update

We have made strides towards reducing the environmental impact of our packaging.

We have done this by ensuring that all of our cardboard boxes are FSC certified, recyclable, and made from mostly recycled materials (63%), implementing a new recycling process to ensure that we do not send waste to landfill, and introducing circular economy focussed products into the market.

We have further improved a host of processes in 2024, digitising our pick notes process, our new starter contracts, our invoice storage system, and our Exports processes. We are actively working towards digitising work within remaining departments, and we have made further strides in our packaging activities. All of the packing materials which leave our warehouse are now recyclable or paper based, with our polystyrene and plastic bags moving over to a paper or vegetable starch alternative. Further to this, we have upgraded the quality of our void fill, increasing the recycled content of our sealed air. Lastly, we have moved over to a recyclable bubble wrap, and our pallet wrapping is now 100% recyclable.

The Firestay Geo® and Circular Economy

Our Firestay Geo® Sustainable Modular Downlight is the next step towards sustainability and circular economy for BELL Lighting, and we are ahead of the curve in the race towards our eco goals. The downlight housing is designed to remain in the ceiling for life, resulting in zero waste to landfill.

Designed to be used alongside our Firestay Geo® housing, our Geo-Mod® is a sustainable light engine which enables the user to replace the CCT LED unit at the end of product life, with the module being returned to your local BELL Lighting collection hub, resulting in full circular economy.

Upon return to your local wholesaler, another Geo-Mod® product must be purchased and installed within the remaining Geo housing. No disposal is required throughout the process.

The Firestay Geo® patented technology has been developed to be energy saving while incorporating a fully circular economy design.
  • Zero land fill, 90% of all material used on this product will be re-used and re-manufactured
  • TM66 Certified (Excellent Circularity)
  • 2700/3000/4000/6000K Colour selectable
  • White, Satin, Chrome, Brass, Antique Brass & Matt Black bezels available
  • Patents GB2514685/GB2303902
  • The Geo-Mod® enables the end user to quick fix and replace the CCT LED unit at the end of product life. Simply return the Geo-Mod® as per instructions on the unit.

Find out more by keeping an eye on the ‘News’ section of our website!