INDUSTRY UPDATE
UWLA urges industry to respond to mandatory water efficiency labelling consultation
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Making a masterpiece; the story of Keller
The history of Keller begins, as so many things often do, with the dream of one person. The year is 1935. Parquet flooring isn’t necessarily something one thinks of straight away when kitchen design comes to mind. But, back then, kitchens required wood and lots of it. And nobody knew their way around wood like Gerard Keller.
Now, Keller thrives as one of Europe’s premier kitchen manufacturers. In their state-of-the-art facility in the city of Bergen op Zoom, 2,500 kitchens are produced every week. Shipping to satisfied customers worldwide, Keller continues to uphold their passion for making beautiful kitchens attainable. Keller is now well known for offering the widest range of colours (1950 NCS) and finishes in the kitchen furniture market and is proud to have been a carbon neutral kitchen manufacturer since 2017 and has taken the next step to becoming carbon negative.
he Unified Water Label Association has urged the industry to respond to a government consultation on introducing compulsory water labelling for fittings and water- using appliances sold across the UK, by reinforcing their commitment to the Unified Water Label.
UWLA MD Yvonne Orgill says, “Whilst we welcome the government’s commitment to reducing water waste, we do not believe that a mandatory label imposed by
Government is the best solution. “We do not
consider it necessary or cost effective to develop a new
labelling system when one is already in place. The Unified Water Label that has been identified within the ISO Standard
31600:2022 as best practice. The International Organization for Standardization, (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental international
organisation with a membership of
167 national standards bodies, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (DEFRA), has stated in the consultation document that their approach is based on this standard.
Kudos move to an Eco packaging solution
British showering products manufacturer, Kudos, has invested in a new product packaging machine that will reduce the business’s plastic packaging use by 95%.
As part of an on-going initiative to reduce the amount of single use plastic in the business, they have invested in a new Panatec product packaging machine which has moved the business to a cardboard-based solution. The new machine has enabled them to design new cardboard packaging that retains the structural integrity required to ensure it meets the demands of the supply chain, without the requirement for single use shrink wrapping.
Investing in this direction demonstrates the company’s intent in moving towards a more environmentally friendly way of working. The change has already been implemented on their range of over bath screens and enclosures and will be rolled out to include shower trays.
“The Unified Water Label demonstrates that industry can lead and can achieve government goals. Industry understands their products and how they fit within the system, understands the diverse end user, and geographical differences that can influence behaviour change and purchase. “The Unified Water Label is robust, already established and growing. It is supported by the industry and has gained significant traction over the last twelve months, with retailers and merchants giving it greater visibility. It is the only label worldwide that covers 14 differing product categories, and the database includes 14,000 individual products, which is regularly accessed by 10,000 architects and specifiers. The label has also been used on 150,000 building or refurbishment projects internationally. “Significant progress has been made to introduce the label across the supply chain, working with bodies that represent manufacturers, installers and retailers. We have several international retailers supporting the Label, who will launch visible consumer campaigns this year, adding to our programme of driving forward changes in opinion and habits of consumers. “We are asking members and supporters to work with us for the benefit of the industry, and respond before the consultation closes on 25 November 2022.”
The consultation policy document can be found by following this link:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water-efficiency-labelling/water-efficiency-
labelling/
www.uwla.eu BKU OCTOBER 2022 51
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