Pinetum and the environment » Company » Pinetum

Pinetum and the environment

Pinetum is committed to making the most of raw materials and energy sources to minimise our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment. While the following is not an exhaustive list of what we do, it does show just a few of the initiatives we use to drive down our emissions and carbon footprint.

"Sustainable sources"

All Pinetum´s Pine used in manufacturing comes from PEFC approved sources in Northern Europe. Pinetum is also working towards gaining full PEFC approval for its own operations via certification and full inspections.

In terms of Oak then due to the complexity of the supply chain for Oak, PEFC and FSC approval is currently difficult to obtain get although as with Pine raw materials, Pinetum are working towards gaining certification at all levels of the supply chain, but this is a long and complex process.

Recycling - a Pinetum priority

At all levels of its production process Pinetum strives to reduce emissions and waste products.

This begins before Pinetum even handles a piece of wood in ensuring that any materials supplied are pre-cut and shaped so that our own machine waste is minimised at source.

But waste material recycling is still an important part of the processes which occur at Pinetum.

Any waste wood dust or chippings are automatically extracted at the point of production by a series of complex extractor fan systems.

These then feed this waste dust into a holding silo which then feeds the dust into a highly efficient furnace which in turn then heats the factory. This effectively means that our heating costs are practically zero and Pinetum are self-sufficient in terms of maintaining the factory at a constant temperature which is vitally important when handling wood products.

Any solid offcuts of wood are also chipped and fed to the silos ensuring that any waste is used efficiently offsetting any resulting emissions via careful waste management.

But it doesn´t stop there - all aspects of Pinetum production are carefully monitored and where possible used to maintain our efficiency and reduce our carbon foorprint by careful recycling and minimising waste production.

Every scrap of cardboard used for packaging or transport is baled and then sent for recycling.

This is also true of any metal produced - from packaging ties to paint pots to drinks cans - all these are separated, collected and sent for recycling via carefully selected contractors.

In fact Pinetum employs a dedicated member of staff who maintains our recycling bins and system to ensure that all recycleable materials are sorted and handled accordingly.

Even our colouring and spraying systems are designed and built to make maximum efficiency of all materials.

Any "spent" solvent-based materials such as lacquers and colours which are used during production are also recycled and run through a chemical "still" which separates out the solvent from any solid waste product. The solvent is then re-used as brush and gun wash maximising its use in the factory.

But what of solvents that are released into the atmosphere? Even these are handled by Pinetum carefully to make the most of any material which passes through the factory and reduce environmental impact. All solvent sprays are used in carefully sealed bays. Any vapours from these are then drawn via high tech extractor systems to be used in our specially designed curing cabinets where we "dry and cure" the final product.

Once in the curing cabinets , we make the most of these vapours by passing them across a series of special catalytic converters These use the vapours as an energy source to generate power for the drying cabinets which cure the furniture.

This results in practically zero emissions of solvents from the Pinetum factory which are tested and checked by approved environmental bodies each year. The final link in Pinetum´s efficiency chain relates to our own delivery fleet of vehicles.

Each new vehicle added to the fleet is as fuel efficient as possible all now accepting the fuel efficiency additive "Add Blue".

All of our fleet also has fuel efficient engines of a high enough standard to fall within the new "emissions" regulations of Central London with every driver having attended a "Safe and Fuel Efficient driving" course.

So from Pinetum receiving raw materials be they wood or other necessities, every aspect of production is carefully monitored to maximise efficiency, recycle and reduce our carbon footprint to ensure that Pinetum´s impact on the environment, both local and global, is minimised.

Pinetum are committed to ensuring that, at all stages of its operation, the impact on the environment is minimised by maximising the efficient use of, and recycling of, all materials to minimise its overall carbon footprint.