Committed to a Sustainable Future

Sustainability Statement

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd commits to the adoption and implementation of fully sustainable practices and to constantly evolve its approach as new technology and practises become available. We will always operate in an ethical and sustainable manner. We will implement new sustainable practises into our traditional business of fine crystal product production and commit to align our policies and processes to nurture the planet by reducing our environmental impact.

The owners of the business are totally committed to this strategy for several reasons: for the environment, for our staff and their families, for our customers & our supply chain. We care about the social impact of our business on the communities in which we operate. It is imperative to us that we work with our key stakeholders to ensure that our principles and business ethos is replicated along the entire length of our supply chain.

The Environment

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd is dedicated to operating in a responsible manner. The business strives for operational excellence, which in turn reduces waste and wasteful practice. This includes a policy to increase local sourcing wherever we can to reduce our carbon footprint. Most of the materials we use to manufacture our products are sourced and produced locally.

We are committed to working closely with our suppliers to limit environmental impact by complying with all applicable legal and environmental regulations and we are continually looking to reduce and optimise and recycle our packaging materials and waste glass.

Our policies and practices are structured around minimising any potential damage to the environment caused by the activities of the business. These include but are not limited to:

• recycling of, and the safe disposal, of manufacturing waste including reuse of glass cullet back into our production line.
• the eradication of all plastic in our business as far as practicable.
• the utilisation of fully recyclable packaging materials.
• reducing our carbon footprint by migrating from fossil fuels to electric production processes – e.g., Electric Kilns as opposed to gas.
• training across the business to encourage recycling within the offices and warehousing and reduce energy consumption, for example; changing to LED lighting and upgrading our old electrical equipment.

Our Products 

We are proud to produce products which can last a lifetime across all our product areas; glass, crystal, and bottles. The quality and safety of our products during their useful lifetime is of key importance to us. We aim to minimise waste by selling imperfect product though our factory outlet rather than the product being discarded.

Social Impact

We appreciate our employees and recognise that without our dedicated workforce we have no business. We have an excellent health and safety record, fair and balanced equality policies and no barriers to entry or development.

We take a real interest in our employees and help where we can.

We have an open culture in the business in which people are encouraged to engage and be part of the success of the organisation. We like to retain our employees at all levels and offer a good working environment. Our staff attrition rates are very low, and we have team members who have been with us for over 50 years. We recognise loyalty with long service awards. We make sure that those members with issues – either inside or outside the workplace – are listened to and given assistance where possible. Our priority was, and remains, the health and safety of our employees, customers, and suppliers.

We are an ambitious business and we want to grow profitably. Growth and profitability allow our business to generate opportunities for our people, which in turn benefits both them and their families, and by extension, brings growth to the local rural economies in which we operate. We have an apprentice program and most of our employees live within 10 miles of the Torrington site.

Our performance and its success within the glass sector and geographical markets in which we operate, are a testament to our teams who assist us to design, develop and deliver our exceptional products.  

Diversity

We recognise and value all forms of diversity in our employees and endeavour to promote a culture of inclusiveness in our workplace to enhance the success of our business.

Gender Gap

We are proud to report that we have no gender bias in our pay and employment policies or practices. We have a robust recruitment policy which stipulates that we will recruit, train and reward based on merit alone. We provide opportunities for our employees to fulfil their ambitions regardless of gender or any other protected characteristic, and actively encourage our staff to try and develop their skills.

Training & Wellbeing

We are a business which is motivated by developing talent across all areas to ensure that we have the best teams motivated to deliver our goals. As a business, our priority is to support people to acquire new skills in order for them to perform better in their role, or to acquire new skills which will help development. We offer development opportunities for professional development such as first aid and fire marshal training, together with opportunities for people to have new experiences through job sharing and shadowing.

Within our manufacturing and distribution centres, we multi-skill employees so they can perform in a variety of roles to aid operational flexibility. We use a training needs analysis and appraisals to highlight any skills gaps within our processes and to drive succession planning.

We are proud of our ambitions with relation to our succession planning, and we have several relatively young managers who have been trained in-house over the past 5/6 years, who now take on more important roles within the business. We do not recruit externally unless we must.   

Key to the retention of our employees is recognising and rewarding their hard work. Our reward strategy aims to provide a package that offers competitive pay and distinctive benefits. We are committed to paying the National Living Wage to all our staff.

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd is committed to compliance with all relevant Health & Safety legislation. We promote a positive health and safety culture throughout the business through safety programmes and learning opportunities to ensure that all our people consider health, safety, and welfare issues while at work and make an effective contribution towards maintaining and improving health and safety standards.

All new employees receive a full induction including in-house health and safety training with further training undertaken as the employee role or needs evolves.

The business holds routine health and safety meetings which are attended by representatives from across the business. Health and safety performance, accidents, training, and legislation are among the topics discussed.

Local Community Support

The communities where our operations are based are important to us and we play an active part in our local area as we strive to make a long lasting contribution to the socio-economic well-being of our local communities.

Most of our financial contributions to charities come from the efforts and personal involvement of our employees, with support from the Board.

We are proud to have provided donations of money and product to local charities.

Relationships with Suppliers

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd expects its suppliers to adhere to business principles consistent with our own. Suppliers are expected to adopt and implement acceptable health and safety, environmental, product quality, labour, human rights, social and legal standards in line with our own Code of Conduct. In the selection of new suppliers, we will continue to hold them to meeting high international standards of compliance. All suppliers are requested to complete pre-prepared compliance declarations. Conformance to standards is normally assessed by site visits to the supplier’s premises.

We commit to paying our suppliers to mutually agree terms of payment and ensure that our suppliers and contractors are aware of the Group’s payment terms. Payment is made in accordance with our contractual obligations.

Sustainability Policy

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd is committed to continuing to produce British-made products responsibly and in line with its ambitions to reduce its impact on the planet by enforcing and abiding by moral and ethical values in the management of the company and supply chain.

We will incorporate our sustainability aspirations into any future practises to add further value to our products but also to make a positive difference to our team members and surrounding communities. Our employees are encouraged to find new ways of reducing waste, negative environmental impact, removing unsustainable methods of packaging and production and promoting team members and stakeholders to incorporate a more sustainable approach to fulfil our aims. 

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd works closely with local companies to transfer waste from our business in the most sustainable manner, being conscious of our impact on our immediate and far reaching environment and reducing landfill. Our aim is to reduce our carbon footprint further over the coming months whilst working closely with local government bodies to improve our practices and impacts.

Social Impact Value

Our business is wholly committed to continuing to nurture and protect the exceptional level of skills our craftsmen and women have developed in making our products - this entails a concerted effort from various areas of the business, resulting into positive social, economic, and environmental impact in local communities.

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd intends to retain and build upon the skills our current craftsmen and women employ by engaging with local colleges, universities, councils and communities, encouraging apprenticeships with a view to not only teach individuals artisanal/craft skills, but with an intention to offer long-term recruitment. The skills developed are cherished by not only the Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd team, but our customers too.

Carbon emissions are lowered as we source our energy and raw materials sustainably and as a result can demonstrate very little air pollution.

We are committed to local employment and to local sourcing. It is important to us as a business that we support local businesses and livelihoods through this.  

Dartington Crystal (Torrington) Ltd recognises the responsibility to cater for a more sustainable path to our future and will develop internal reports to ensure progression and will report our performance to our Board annually.