Guardian UK Earns ‘Responsible Sourcing’ Certification

After independent assessment by the British Standards Institution, the awarding body, Guardian UK received a “Very Good” score, highlighting the company’s long-term focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility.

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) Ltd.’s BES 6001 certification assesses how well companies operate within strict standards of supply chain management and environmental and social responsibility when managing relationships with suppliers.Specifically, it acknowledges the “Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products.”

Part of Guardian Industries Corp. – a leading global manufacturer of high-quality commercial, residential, interior and automotive glass products – Guardian secured accreditation in late December.

Having the BES 6001 certification not only shows Guardian to be a responsible company that cares for the environment, noted Steven Scrivens, Marketing Manager for Guardian Glass UK & Ireland, but it also helps it to stand out amongst its competitors.

“We’ve been following the development of this standard for many years,” said Scrivens, who was actively involved in the process. “We worked with both British Glass and with BRE – the authors of the standard – to help them to better understand the glass and glazing industry and how the standard could be applied to address this construction product in the supply chain.” Chris Duguid, Guardian’s - Float Production Manager, led the implementation.

Various sustainability assessment methodologies, including the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) recognise responsible sourcing, which counts toward the credits required to assess the code level of a building. BREEAM is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings and communities.

It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de facto measure used to describe a building's environmental performance.

Architects and specifiers ask for this accreditation as they apply for the buildings they develop to be assessed by BREEAM. Having BES 6001-accredited building products provides additional credits that are necessary to achieve the higher levels of performance. A higher BREEAM score also can make their building more marketable.

The BES standard requires an organisation to demonstrate good management of transport impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, and the impact on employment and the local community. And the holder also must show that it engages with its own supply-chain partners to deliver sustainable policies of their own.

“This process took time and it was a challenging task to achieve the ‘Very Good’ rating that we were awarded,” said Chris Duguid. “We’re delighted that our efforts in the area of environmental responsibility have now been recognized by a respected and independent party.”

For more information, visit www.guardianglass.co.uk.

About Guardian Industries Corp.:

Guardian is a diversified global manufacturing company headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, with leading positions in float glass and fabricated glass products for commercial, residential and transportation applications; automotive trim; and the distribution of building products. Through its research and development centers (Science & Technology Center for glass and Advanced Development Center for automotive), Guardian is at the forefront of innovation. Its automotive trim group, SRG Global, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced, high value coatings on plastics. Guardian, its subsidiaries and affiliates employ 17,000 people and operate facilities throughout North America, Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Visit www.guardian.com.