Our commitment to sustainability
We're focused on minimising our own environmental impact, and at the same time supporting our customers’ sustainability goals.
We have achieved the ISO14001:2015 accreditation for our environmental management system. This is an ongoing commitment, and we are constantly improving our processes and product systems. By investing in this focus on reducing materials waste and increasing energy efficiency, we play our vital part in supporting creating a more sustainable building supply chain.
Achieving environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) standards is now an increasing focus for customers, and sustainability is playing a role in security specification, particularly for building refurbishment projects. It’s also the case that it has a knock-on benefit in controlling costs, so it remains true that doing the right thing for the planet is also right for business.
A comprehensive and measured approach
Limiting our environmental impact starts with the factors we can control within our own business, and we have set ambitious measurable targets to ensure continued progress.
Our zero-landfill goal: In 2020 we set this target and, since 2021, 100% of our waste is either recycled or used for energy
Reduction in utilities consumption: We are undertaking a programme of progressive reduction in utilities consumption, driven by objective measurement
Our green packaging drive: We are committed to reducing the amount of plastic we use as part of our product packaging
Sustainable products, built to last
From delivery to end of use, at every phase of the product life cycle, we work with customers to ensure our products meet and exceed your sustainability goals.
Our products offer a predictable and very low ‘total cost of ownership’ as a result of the low power consumption, low numbers of consumable parts, reliability of over 5 million cycles without failure, and our fast and efficient global distribution network for support and spares.
We also work closely with partners to look beyond entrance control alone, uncovering additional environmental benefits for building owners through the smart use of integrated technology.
Designed to be repaired and updated
We are committed to long-term availability of parts and sub-assemblies, for maximum product life. We also offer remote firmware upgrades to enable ongoing compatibility with changing systems without the need for replacing the turnstiles themselves.
We have supported our customers with access to replacement parts for our entrance control systems for over 20 years, ensuring we limit the volume of waste going to landfill while reducing the total cost-of-ownership through sustained high-level performance.
For product support, contact us.
Low energy usage
Reducing energy usage is a growing concern for all building owners and facilities mangers. But particularly for very large facilities such as sports venues, fitness centres, transport hubs or hospitals which may have large numbers of entrance control units.
Our products consume little energy themselves, only 337kW hours per annum on average, minimising the impact on your energy bills. Each pedestal consumes only 50 Watts of power during throughput and just 12 Watts in standby.
Read about our role in the refurbishment of Ascent 1 building within the Farnborough Aerospace Centre which achieved a BREEAM rating of Excellent and an EPC rating of B.
Smart and integrated
‘Smart building’ is a term you hear more and more these days, and accurate people-counting is at the heart of all of the efficiency gains that are to be had from that. We regularly integrate IDL entrance control systems with client’s wider environmental management systems. Connecting in this way generates data that can be used to optimise usage across the building, realising further energy (and cost) savings.
If you know exactly who is where, your building management system can automatically adjust temperature and lighting throughout the day, driving sustainability-related outcomes, as well as supporting building managers, and improving user experience for occupants.
Learn more about smart integrations here.
Return your product for recycling
Eventually, any product will need to be replaced however, and landfill is obviously one of the possibilities for what happens next. This is what we’re trying to minimise.
For many years, our terms and conditions have included a take-back scheme under which we pledged to accept anything we sell at end-of-life and take responsibility for environmentally sound disposal – meaning recycling or conversion to energy.
Find our takeback policy here.
Minimising the impact of production
We have chosen to embed sustainability in our business and work to influence others through our collaborative supply chains. As a manufacturer, we are able to review materials and production at every stage, allowing us to design products that are inherently sustainable, and continually improve our manufacturing to minimise environmental impact.
Company values, including sustainability, only tend to flourish if everyone feels a genuine sense of connection to what they are producing. Our inhouse manufacturing approach has also created a sense of personal investment in the process for our team members.
Utilities Consumption
Our impact on the environment is important to us, and our ISO14001:2015 environmental management system enables us to take a systematic approach to improving environmental performance through decreased utility consumption and optimal use of resources.
Given that you can’t manage what you can’t measure, we measure and evaluate our utility consumption, and set targets. Outcomes from this include the implementation of constant monitoring and reporting for water, electricity and gas usage to keep it on track with a 5% reduction each year.
Learn more about our standards here.
UK Manufacture
We design and build all of our Fastlane turnstiles, as well as our Door Detective optical anti-tailgating detection units, at our UK headquarters in Feltham, West London. It is our belief that only this full control of the product enables us to maintain the reputation we have achieved.
All units are taken from design to completion using fully formalised procedures that always adhere to our ISO 9001 and ISO14001 accreditations.
We discuss why we build in the UK here.
Waste Management
As a company, we do try to go beyond the legal minimum. Of course we adhere to regulations, as well as making ambitious voluntary commitments focused on reducing, reusing and recycling. IDL has achieved its zero-landfill target, and removed almost 80% of the harmful chemicals we used. In 2021, 75% of our total waste (that’s not just returned units) was recycled, and 25% converted into energy – that’s zero landfill.
We are now focused on maximising recycling opportunities. This includes increasing our use of recyclable materials and developing components that are also partially-recyclable themselves. We are also reducing materials usage wherever possible both in products and manufacturing processes, for example our paper consumption within the manufacturing processes has been reduced to almost zero
Find further information on waste management here.
Engaging Suppliers
Environmental considerations however cannot be tackled in isolation, there is a collective responsibility that runs through the entire supply chain. We work proactively with our supply chain to ensure that sustainability is improved throughout.
We encourage all our suppliers to reduce, reuse and recycle, limiting waste and targeting zero landfill. We choose to use local material suppliers wherever possible for both quality control and to limit the carbon footprint of our products.
Commitment to continual improvement
As a company whose environmental management system has been accredited to ISO 14001:2015, we continually look to improve how our entrance control products interact with the environment, with a view to making them as environmentally benign as possible at the point they leave us and as recyclable as possible when they reach the end of their life.
Many of our goals are ongoing, including our focus on improving the recyclability of our waste and increasing our use of recycled materials, with the aim of contributing to a more circular economy.
We are also committed to supporting our team to develop their skills, helping them access courses related to the topic of sustainability and the environment.
Learn more about our approach to sustainability
Reuse. Recycle – how we can all limit our environmental impact
Meet the person ‘Keeping’ IDL standards high to ensure continued quality and innovation
