Sustainability at our Heart
At Wisla, sustainability means more than just managing our waste effectively and sourcing the most environmentally efficient materials to manufacture our webbings - It is part of our ethos and our culture as a business and it’s instilled into our employees and management team every day. It also takes in a range of social activities that enables our business to grow in the right way, by acknowledging the 3 pillars or ‘environmental’, ‘social’ and ‘economic’ - enabling us to thrive.
From an input perspective, we have recently begun the manufacture of webbings using recycled polyester yarn made from consumer products, such as plastic bottles. Although still in its infancy and testing phase, it is hoped that this product will form part of our future customer offering for specific projects, as the demand for products made from recycled materials continues to grow. Our sustainable webbing production can be found in the following examples:
Waste yarn recovered back into reusable fibre
Operationally we are continuing to generate less waste and segregate it effectively so that it can potentially reduce landfill further. We use expert suppliers to ensure as much of the waste materials we generate can be recycled and given a second life. Cardboard, yarn, webbing off-cuts, plastics and chemical containers are collected and segregated to be recycled, cleaned or reused in other industrial or consumer products and processes wherever possible.
Every part of our process is regularly reviewed and newer and more innovative solutions to enable us to reduce costs and become increasingly environmentally efficient are considered. Recent examples included our imminent investment in new LED lighting systems and overhead radiant heaters to replace the current inefficient systems. These will be in place this calendar year enabling us to reduce energy usage and the associated fixed costs. We have also started to use significantly less water in the dyeing process via the use of chiller units that ‘chill’ and recycle warm water, that would otherwise find its way into the drainage system.
Our sustainable credentials are also enhanced by the support we offer to deserving national and international charities. From supporting community programmes in our home city of Manchester such as Manchester City Community to the donation of our products to enable the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) to rescue elephants in Africa.
Watch a video of an elephant being moved, lifted and relocated using our webbings here and read more here.
Wisla continues to strive to become a better, socially aware business to ensure the longevity of our organisation and to benefit our employees, customers, society and the wider environment.