This international standard acknowledges organisations that take a best practice approach to measuring and managing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve real reductions year-on-year.
In Van Dyck's case, this meant the reduction of GHG emissions by 20.7% over the past two years. The company has followed the Carbon Trust Standard, an international management system for quantifying and reporting carbon emissions. Certification remains in place until December 2016 when the company will undergo another audit, confident of even greater reductions in GHG emissions.
"Having certified the carbon reduction of hundreds of organisations, the Carbon Trust Standard is widely considered as the world's leading independent certifier of organisational carbon footprint reduction," said Dr Mehran Zarrebini, a director of Van Dyck Carpets, which is a member of PFE International, an international group of companies.
"The achievement of this standard will provide even greater international recognition for Van Dyck Carpets. It will drive awareness for our global partners, especially in the UK, and also demonstrate to South Africa that we are at the forefront of environmental stewardship," he said.
"I would like to congratulate everyone at Van Dyck Carpets for achieving the Carbon Trust Standard, becoming the first company based in South Africa to be awarded the certification," Darran Messem, managing director of certification at the Carbon Trust, said.
"The Carbon Trust Standard demonstrates an organisation's sustainability credentials, showing a clear commitment to measuring, managing and reducing carbon emissions year-on-year. This commitment to energy efficiency will help to address South Africa's energy challenge and help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change."
"We are the first South African company to be certified by the Carbon Trust for carbon which specifies principles and requirements at organisational level for quantifying and reporting GHG emissions and removals. These encompass the design, development, management, reporting and verification of the company's GHG inventory and enables us to monitor, report and verify our GHG emissions, or carbon footprint, against an international standard," Zarrebini explained.
This system not only meant that Van Dyck had in place an integrated set of tools to measure carbon and reduce emissions, but allowed it to demonstrate its environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility credentials.
"We have invested in sustainability from the start and want this to be an even more significant element of the Van Dyck brand in future. We are proud to have a framework that will enable us to enhance our operational sustainability and improve energy efficiency with the added bonus of cutting costs," Zarrebini said.
Van Dyck had its sights firmly set on remaining at the forefront of sustainability and good environmental stewardship in South Africa. He said this was not only particularly pertinent in a country where a short supply of electricity posed a major challenge for manufacturers, but also an urgent consideration in a resource-constrained world.
