Reducing Our Impact

We are committed to making Wilks products in a responsible and sustainable way.

We are ISO 14001 Accredited and have gained a coveted Ecovadis Bronze rating to demonstrate our commitment to producing sustainable and safe Wilks products that limit their impact on the environment.

Environmental objectives

We are always trying to find new ways to protect the world around us.

We take the responsibility for protecting and safeguarding very seriously not only the environment we operate in but globally.

Through the manufacturing and distribution of Wilks products, positive steps are taken to reduce the impact our product creates on the environment.

There is a growing threat of climate change and scarcity of raw materials. We are continually looking at ways to minimise our effect on the world by focusing on materials efficiency, energy and climate, water usage and also having as little impact as possible on the land and air around us.

Becoming a Sustainable business

We’re committed to reducing our impact on the planet by delivering more sustainable products to our customers. But we can only do this if sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’ve integrated sustainability into every area of our business – for the benefit of our clients, employees and the world around us.

We aim to improve energy efficiency and ensure we uphold our commitment to being more environmentally conscious. We want to play a positive role in reducing global environmental issues by doing our part in combating them.

In 2023 we achieved accreditations that help to demonstrate how are are adapting our products for a more sustainable future. Our Ecovadis Bronze award helps identify Flexiteek International Ltd (Formally Wilks) as a business that is able to demonstrate a level of achievement to help potential suppliers and customers understand how sustainable we actually are. Find out more about Ecovadis here. Our coveted ISO 14001 accreditation provides a high level of reassurance to customers and suppliers alike about our management processes to help them make informed purchasing and partnership decisions.

Here is some useful further reading about our sustainability commitments:

• The Wilks brand is ISO 14001 Accredited
• We are Ecovadis Bronze Award Certified.
• We are reviewing how we protect quality control from production to delivery to minimise impact.

HERE IS WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON IN 2024

Sustainable products

We are constantly finding and developing new methods of making Wilks products more environmentally-friendly. We have designed our own eco-efficiency strategy which we have implemented across all our products and all future ranges and designs. So, please refer to our news section for our latest developments.

PHTHALATE FREE PVC

We only use phthalate free PVC during our manufacturing process. This removes the threat of harmful toxins potentially seeping from our products.

We ensure all materials used within our PVC and aluminium boat fendering are manufactured within the UK. This dramatically lowers the carbon footprint for our domestic customers compared to using a supply chain that sources profiles and materials from overseas locations. 

energy efficiency

We have a strong track record in making the most of our energy and we continually aim to improve this. We implement this through improving our energy efficiency whilst also reducing the carbon-intensity of our production processes.

Here is how we are doing:

• Invested in Voltage Optimisation to reduce our electricity demand by 20%
• Replaced D/C motors within our older extrusion machines with energy efficient A/C drives
• Replaced inefficient fluorescent tube lighting with LED equivalent throughout our factory and offices
• Added PIR sensors to lighting in areas of low traffic to prevent needless use of energy
• Working to ensure at least 95 percent of all water used in the cooling process is recycled
• Assessed the eco-efficiency/carbon footprint of key products
• Developed several carbon-efficient solutions for our customers
• Included energy efficiency and carbon footprint criteria in our investment decisions

recycling our waste materials

We are able to to granulate the majority of Wilks’ waste material back into chip form enabling us to reintegrate it into the production process. This then vastly reduces the level of material handled by our external recycling collector.

RECYCLING WATER

We have been recycling the water that runs through our production reservoirs for some time now. This process has reduced our water usage in the production process by some 80%. Each of our UK based manufacturing lines has a large water reservoir to help cool the Wilks or Flexiteek products. Our tanks recycle the water and when its time to change it the filter has helped to reduce plastic waste.

Looking to the future

As environmental considerations develop at a fast pace, we are taking an active interest in our carbon commitment and look to revise our strategy as an ongoing process as new opportunities present themselves, like identifying sustainable suppliers so that the product cycle is as sustainable as possible.

We have a strong commitment to make this strategy work, because we’re committed to supplying our customers with the most innovative and sustainable products.