A look at how SCP approach sustainability across the company. From manufacturing to material use in the office.
SCP create products that are functional, beautiful and made to last. We hope by making things of outstanding quality and in-built longevity that our objects will exist for generations to come. We are an environmentally conscious manufacturer and use sustainable materials, non-toxic finishes and reusable packaging wherever possible. Our company culture is to be as sustainable as possible, so all activities from how we light our offices to how we package items in our stores are scrutinised to make sure we are minimising our impact on the environment.
The heart of SCP is at our specialist factory in Norfolk, England, where we have been developing sustainable upholstery pieces that use environmentally sound alternatives to petrochemical based foams for over a decade. Attempting to remove one of the key components of modern upholstery making (foam) and replace it with fully sustainable natural materials has been a lengthy and challenging journey, one which we are still on. This year, as part of a programme of material awareness that aims to further develop discussion and innovation around the subject, all of our new upholstery designs have been audited for sustainability and are presented with a percentage that denotes the natural and petrochemical material usage in each piece.
Our specialist factory in Norfolk, England, is an industry leader in creating fully sustainable upholstery pieces that use environmentally sound alternatives to petrochemical based foams. All of our frames are made from FSC and PEFC timbers, and are upholstered using a mixture of natural fibres, animal hair needled wool and recycled foam. Leather remnants that are left over from the manufacturing process are collected and used in the production of smaller leather goods by a third-party. Plywood and sawdust from our woodwork department is recycled into briquettes by a third-party. Extra wood waste from the production of our frames is used to heat the workshop area or sold locally. The plastic and corrugated cardboard packaging used for the upholstery pieces is reused wherever possible, or recycled.
Our main factory building is mostly run on renewable energy through solar panels, and is fully lit with LED lights, for maximum efficiency. We manufacture a range of other wood and metal products with a select group of suppliers in both the UK and in Europe, all of whom are quality checked for their environmental credentials. Non-toxic finishes are used on all of our timber products, and with the exception of chrome plated items, all of our metal products are non-toxic in the production stage and as finished products.
SCP are working toward using only sustainable materials in our supply chain and wherever possible re-use materials within our own ecosystem.
In our own-brand product packaging for both furniture items and textiles, we use a mixture of corrugated cardboard, paper, Stratocell foam, thin white foam and recyclable plastic bags. Our factory and warehouse facility ensures any surplus materials are recycled correctly. We have a policy of combining shipments of products into SCP Headquarters where possible and tend to have one large delivery per week. Reusable pallets are used and plastic sheeting and shrink wrap are recycled.
In our Ecommerce activities, we only use fully recyclable materials and we re-use packaging that we receive, avoiding unnecessary waste wherever we can. Recyclable and biodegradable materials that we use are Eco Flo biodegradable packing peanuts, shredded cardboard, corrugated cardboard, green Jiffy bags, tissue paper, brown Kraft paper, paper tape.
At our office and showroom we are working towards totally sustainable material use. We ensure all paper, plastic and glass is recycled and we reuse printer paper whenever possible. We use LED light sources in all of our workplaces and stores.
If you have any enquiries about our Environmental Policy, or would like to find our more about how we make our products, don’t hesitate to contact our Curtain Road showroom to start a conversation with us.
Find out more about our Upholstery making process here.
