Is UK Manufacturing More Environmentally Friendly?

Is UK Manufacturing More Environmentally Friendly?

By Ruth MacEachern

Product Manager

EnviroVent’s range of ventilation systems has been manufactured in the UK for over 30 years. Since the company began manufacturing our award-winning range in 1987, our factory has grown to employ more than 250 people.  We are proud of both the quality of our products and the steps we have taken to make our operations as sustainable as possible.  Making our products in the UK gives EnviroVent oversight into all process steps and helps minimise our environmental impact steps.

UK regulations are designed to protect the environment

The UK boasts some of the most stringent environmental protections in the world.  Manufacturers are required to take steps to minimise their impact on their local areas.  Emissions, both into the air and water system are tightly controlled to prevent the release of any toxins that could cause damage to nature, and regular testing is in place to ensure compliance.

We take our responsibilities under the law seriously, which is a key part of our sustainability approach. When you choose UK-manufactured products from a manufacturer such as EnviroVent, you can be confident that the factories where they are produced have amongst the lowest environmental impacts in the world.

Manufacturing products in other countries where regulations are looser will often result in worse environmental practices such as uncontrolled releases of chemicals, including CO₂ into the atmosphere and rivers which will cause damage to the local ecosystems.

Modern manufacturing plants such as EnviroVent’s headquarters, are designed with a commitment to Net Zero.  Our headquarters in Harrogate feature:

• Solar panels to provide electricity
• Use of renewable energy sources
• Self-sustainable heat & electricity
• Air source heat pumps
• Heat recovery systems
• Optimum building design for insulation
• Electric charge points for vehicles to promote green travel
• LED lighting units and responsive lighting
• No gas input to the building. All hot water and heating systems electric

Together this means that emissions are minimised.

UK manufacturing means less transportation

The global shipping industry is one of the most significant contributors to rising CO₂ levels.

While modern container ships have been designed to be more efficient and have fewer emissions, on average they still cause 3.5g of CO₂ per kilometre to be released into the atmosphere for each tonne of cargo they carry. A container ship carrying 200,000 tonnes from China to the UK (7,700KM) will release more than 5 tonnes of CO2 on a single trip.

When manufacturing is carried out in the UK, the emissions from transportation are much smaller. In some cases, with the increase in the adoption of renewably powered electric vehicles, emissions can be close to zero.

UK manufacturing is More Environmentally Sensible.

The combination of higher environmental standards, more efficient transportation and greater control over waste means that UK manufacturing has a much lower overall impact on climate change than the use of overseas factories and also has the benefit of creating employment opportunities in the UK.

Please visit our Sustainability pages for more information about our commitment to achieving Net Zero and other initiatives such as tree planting programmes.