Caulfield Country Boards strive to follow and encourage good sustainable practice for a better planet.  We are committed to promoting sustainability and reducing the environmental impacts of all our activities.
 

Principles

Our Sustainability Policy is guided by commitments to the following principles:

• Compliance with all applicable legislation, regulations and codes of practice.
• Public understanding - Increase awareness among clients and suppliers regarding our Sustainability Policy and encourage them to adopt sound sustainable practices.
• Integration of sustainability matters into all business decisions.
• Leadership.
• Transparency.
• Frequent reviews, annual reporting and continuous improvement.
   

Important issues

We have prioritised the following issues based on their integral connection to our business:

• Deforestation.
• Climate change.
• Waste Disposal.
• Energy consumption.
• Water conservation.
   

Objectives

We commit to:

1. Minimise environmental impacts on areas of waste, water, energy and air quality.
2. Ensure our supply chain has responsible social and environmental practices.

Operational policies & practical steps

In order to put the above principles into practice, address the important issues and achieve our objectives we will:

Purchase of raw materials

• Ensure that all timber is sourced from well managed and sustainable sources.
• Preferably purchase, wherever possible and viable, from suppliers capable of offering timber covered through the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) or Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification schemes.

Although maximum effort is being made by our timber suppliers to source the largest percentage possible of certified products, it is inevitable due to the varied supply of hardwood that there are products not certified by the aforementioned schemes.  When this appears to be the case, suppliers are asked to provide information relating to the suitability of the forest resource and any documentation that may help demonstrate good forest management and legal harvesting rights.

Air quality

• Use the seven currently installed extraction units to significantly decrease air borne dust to acceptable levels within and surrounding the joinery workshop.
• Increase the quantity and intensity of extraction units to correspond with any future expansion.

Consumption of resources

• Use a wood gasification boiler for an inexpensive and efficient heating system within the workshop, offices and stock rooms.  This system operates on environmentally friendly fuel whilst at the same time executing the equivalent convenience associated with non-renewable oil and gas heating, but at a lower running cost.
• Bag all sawdust from extraction units and gather all waste timber for burning in the wood gasification boiler.
• Minimise our use of paper and other office consumables, for example by double-siding all paper used and identifying opportunities to reduce waste.
• Minimise water consumption by good housekeeping.
• Seek to purchase electricity from a supplier committed to renewable energy and aim to maximise the proportion from renewable energy sources.

Recycling and Up-cycling

• Shred all waste paper and utilise for packing boxes as a replacement for polystyrene loose fill and bubble wrap.
• Reuse cardboard boxes for packaging where doable.
• As far as possible arrange for the reuse or recycling of redundant equipment and waste materials.
• Source boxes from environmentally aware suppliers that use recycled card in their manufacturing.
• Promote minimal packaging for all products.
   

Sustainable product design

• Engage in lifecycle design concepts.
• Endorse recycling and upcycling design:  Continue with our current lines and expand upon new product ranges specifically designed and created to upcycle and transform timber offcuts into beautiful products. 
• Maintain, where feasible, handmade manufacturing.
   

Travel and meetings

• Walk or use public transport to attend meetings etc., except when the alternatives are not economically viable and/or unrealistic.
• Avoid physically travelling to meetings etc. where alternatives are available and practical, such as teleconferencing.
• Working practices and advice to clients
• Undertake voluntary information sessions within retail outlets that stock our product to communicate our Sustainability Policy and the matter of sustainability and environmental awareness to the sales staff and the consumer.
• Make certain that any representatives that we employ recognise, understand and value sustainability issues and that they communicate this topic in their advice to clients.
• Include a copy of our Sustainability Policy in all proposals to clients.

Reporting

We will conduct annual reviews and report on our progress against our sustainability aims and objectives.

Louise & Pearse Caulfield - Owners