Health and safety: having Kitemark certification for protective equipment and protection products is always beneficial
and duty of care under Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008 as well as the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 Act. Whether it is protective headgear, or breathing apparatus, a smoke alarm or a fire alarm system and emergency lighting, choos- ing Kitemark certified products will benefit you, your organisation and your community.
Minimise legislative breaches and pros- ecutions: Because every Kitemark scheme is based on a standard or a PAS (Publicly Available Standard) you can be sure that these documents will include actions and processes to ensure compliance with current legislation. And, as they are ‘living’ documents, they are reviewed and updated to ensure they remain up to date, relevant and effective.
Brand and reputation: Being associated with the UK’s premier symbol of quality and safety can only enhance your own organisation’s reputation by showing that you take quality and safety seriously. Kitemark demonstrates a company’s commitment to delivering safe,
A Kitemark helps products and services to stand out from the competition
quality products and the infrastructure behind this ensures that quality is driven through every level of the business. Kitemark licence holders are permitted to use the Kitemark symbol in their corporate and promotional materials so they can benefit from the trans- ferable benefits of the Kitemark brand.
Retain staff: Kitemark licence holders state frequently that the change in staff attitudes once they have achieved Kitemark certifica- tion is staggering. Most quote greater com- mitment and motivation leading to a happier, more settled and more valued staff.
Increase productivity and profitability: Once all the elements of a Kitemark scheme have been adopted – covering reduction of waste, operational streamlining and increased business – Kitemark licence holders have no difficulty in seeing the tangible results in their productivity and profitability.
Increased competitive advantage: Not eve- ryone can gain a Kitemark – some products just are not good enough. This is what makes Kitemark so special and so valued by those that have achieved its certification. It helps products and services stand out from the com- petition no matter whether your customer is another business, a purchasing professional or a member of the general public.
Economic aspects of sustainability: There is a clear case for third-party certification as
an economic necessity because without this level of independent, ongoing proof how will customers know which products and services are up to the job and which will help them deliver their sustainability targets? In the UK, Kitemark is the premier symbol of quality and safety and one that has been helping business, specifiers and the public to choose quality, safe and reliable products for over 100 years.
By choosing to manufacture or buy third- party certified products we can be sure that they will operate for longer, be more reliable and so not need frequent replacement. This all helps to stop the built in obsolescence trend and increasing demands on landfill. But sustainability goes beyond the products a company produces. It needs to address the ongoing stability of that business so that jobs, costs and administration costs are reduced. Kitemark is being used by procurement pro- fessionals to identify quality products. As they more frequently specify the use of Kitemark or equivalent products, businesses that want to be eligible to tender for such work will need to have third-party certification. In this way they can secure not only their future turnover, but jobs as well – so positively contributing to the economy and taking responsibility for sustainable business operations.
Claire Lynam is head of communications and alliances at BSI Group
claire.lynam@
bsigroup.com bsigroup.com
Sustainable Business | Microgeneration | October 2010 | 13
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