CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY - Wolseley UK and ISO 14001

ISO 14001 is an international standard covering environmental management and is intended to provide organisations with the elements of an effective Environmental Management System (EMS).

An EMS provides a framework for managing environmental impacts so they become more efficient and more integrated into overall business operations. In addition an EMS can reduce costs, improve efficiency and secure a competitive advantage.

“Wolseley UK seeks to be a responsible member of both the local and business communities. I am extremely pleased that the hard work of staff at Colne and Oswestry has paid off in such a short time, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring that our operations are environmentally sensitive.

Going forward, we're keen to drive these standards across our business and will develop a proactive approach to controlling the impacts of our activities, products and services on the environment. This will benefit our customers, our employees and the local communities in which we work.”

Sara Johnson,
Wolseley UK Environmental Manager

Build Center & Brandon Hire

Staff at the Build Center in Oswestry and Colne, and at Brandon Hire in Oswestry have worked to achieve this prestigious accreditation within an ambitious six month period. This success comes as a result of Wolseley UK implementing a new Environmental Management system, developed in-house, which structures the company's approach to environmental matters. The Colne and Oswestry branches have piloted Wolseley UK's new Environmental Management System, which will now be trialled across eight Wolseley UK brands. This offers Wolseley UK the potential for improving environmental performance throughout the organisation.

Plumb Center, Pipe Center and Bathstore

Plumb Center Paisley, Pipe Center Govan and Bathstore Glasgow City Centre all gained ISO accreditation for environmental management after improving electricity and gas efficiency, waste management performance and recycling and controlling pollution. Staff also took part in environmental awareness training.

Environmental co-ordinator, Connor Dalton praised everyone involved in gaining the challenging award. “ISO is an internationally recognised standard that sets out the requirements for environmental management,” he said. “This is a tremendous achievement by all staff at these locations and is a result of many months of dedication, commitment and hard work. In particular, I would like to thank the managers of the three sites, without whom our success would not have been possible.”

“Everyone pitched in at branch level. It was very much a team effort - and well worth it as it benefits Wolseley in the long term.”

George Henderson,
Branch Manager at Plumb Center Paisley

The Future

To continue the expansion of ISO 14001 and environmental management across the company, Wolseley UK intends to have a representative branch from each of its brands accredited to ISO 14001 as well as its main operational centres. In addition, there are plans to launch a generic environmental management system across the company, which will ensure that environmental responsibilities and improvement programmes are integrated across all Wolseley UK locations.

Wolseley UK
Wolseley Center
Leamington Spa
CV31 3HH
01926 705000