Avocet gains both quality & environmental standards ISO 9001 & 14001
Friday 04 August 2017
Reproduced with kind permission of Ecotextile News (www.ecotextile.com).
Published on Monday, 31 July 2017
Avocet gains quality and environmental standards
Written by Tom Hinchcliffe
BRIGHOUSE – Avocet, the UK based textile dye and flame-retardant manufacturer, has successfully achieved the ISO 9001:2015 quality management and the ISO 14001:2015 environmental standards certifications from the International Organisation for Standardisation. Avocet gained its first ISO standard in 1990, with the BS 5750.
The company says it has a long-standing commitment to environmental safety and that sustainability was the determining factor in acquiring the ISO 14001 standard, as it gives Avocet further international credibility.
ISO says the 14001:2015 standard specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an organisation can use to enhance its environmental performance. It is intended for use by companies seeking to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to overall sustainability.
Avocet managing director Michael Lever said: “When BSi announced the changes to both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 we were a little daunted by all the new requirements and changes within each standard. However, we sat down and worked our way through each section to develop a strategy to fulfil the new requirements. We had to re-write and re-order the entire system to address the changes and hopefully bring us into line.”
Avocet says it passed initial environmental tests, in order to move to the next stages of the audit, which was carried out by the BSi. Despite some discrepancies, which the company says were addressed immediately, Avocet was awarded approval on both standards.
Mr Lever said: “The whole team from office, through production to laboratory, have all pulled together and we are very proud to again be in a leading position on what we believe to be extremely important management tools for quality control and environmental safeguards”.
Both certificates are available to view online at: www.avocet-dyes.co.uk