The AF journey so far...
AF International’s eco journey has to qualify as our best kept secret yet. In line with the majority of responsible manufacturers and indeed consumers, we are on a mission to help towards reducing the impact of climate change. You may not be aware of the eco-orientated work we have been implementing for many years, but we encourage you to read on to find out how we, as a business operate with eco in mind ensuring that you can use AF with a clear conscience and ‘clean green’.
Did you know?
AF are proud to have been acquired by Element Solutions Inc, a recipient of a Gold Medal from EcoVadis.
We are a zero waste to landfill accredited company and are a proud member of Valpak – active members of the Plastics Pact committed to reducing plastics.
We are ISO 14001 accredited proving that we do not just talk about our commitment to the environment but are also accredited.
Waste Hierarchy
We actively apply the waste hierarchy and are currently at stage 3 – recycling. Our aim is to move higher up the hierarchy of course, to the pinnacle – i.e. prevention. Our current activities include removing products from our range that include single-use plastics or replacing the plastic with a different packaging method.
LESS PLASTIC PROMISE
All our plastic tubs and pump sprays are made of HDPE2 plastic; this means that they can be recycled up to 10 times!
Did you know? Our refill pouch wipes contain 70% less plastic when compared to the original tub plastic weight.
Did you know that 100% of our cloths can be washed and reused many times? Simply wash on an 30°C eco-friendly cycle to use again and again.
In 2020 alone, we saved over 40,000 dispensing pumps as customers opted for the refills of our hand sanitisers.
Our cardboard box suppliers purchase from FSC certificated (Forest Stewardship Council) suppliers.
The air pouches used in our boxes to protect product are part of the Geo-TechTM range. These pouches are made from 95% recycled content and are 100% recyclable.
Are you aware?
AF are actively working to reduce, and where possible, eliminate the plastic packaging used for our products. This forms just a small part of our pledge and long-term campaign to make a difference.
Our drive to change consumer behaviour aims to encourage a more sustainable future.
REFILL
Simply pop a refill pack into your empty tub or top-up your pump spray from a bulk-size product.
REUSE
When empty, why not wash your tub or pump spray with water for further alternative use?
RECYCLE
Over 80% of AF cleaning wipes are made from fully recyclable paper.
Supporting Nature
AF cares about the environment; did you know about the changes to our external site area?
We have planted a range of bee and butterfly friendly plants to encourage wildlife. (pictured)
We have introduced bird feeders, nesting boxes, bat hibernation boxes and even hedgehog homes to our external site environment.
AF has taken the initiative to introduce a litter collection scheme and actively works to clean up the area surrounding our site.
Our wider environment
Our parent company Element Solutions are committed to protecting our planet by combating climate change, including contributing to a lower-carbon future, both in our operations and value chains. At both a corporate and local level, there are a multitude of initiatives to support our wider environment, actively encouraging our staff to get involved in volunteering work including; litter picking, tree planting, foodbank donations, animal hospitals and much more.
For example our AF site in Ashby alone has contributed to the planting of new tree saplings over 3.8 hectares as well as offering staff free trees to plant at home.
How we are reducing our carbon footprint
At our Ashby site we installed LED lighting and motion sensors as well as other production efficiency planning to make us more energy efficient. As a business Element solutions globally have increased supplies from renewable sources by over 20% as well as supporting investment in renewable energy sources via our business tariffs.
Our commitment to reducing our environmental impact includes being a responsible water and waste steward. As water availability and scarcity vary considerably from region to region, we evaluate opportunities to minimize the amount of water we consume on a local basis. Since 2021 global sites have achieved a reduction of 5% water withdrawal.
We are actively pursuing opportunities to assess and reduce our energy consumption and emissions along our value chains while addressing risks climate change may pose for our business. In 2022, we announced a Sustainability Goal in support of this approach:
We switched over our weekly milk delivery to a local supplier who delivers in glass bottles. Not only does this mean that our milk doesn't travel far to get to us, but the bottles are collected, washed and used again on other deliveries.