SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING
In June 2019, parliament passed legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100%, relative to 1990 levels, by 2050. Doing so would make the UK a ‘net zero’ emitter. Net zero refers to achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. CO₂ is seen as the largest contributor to climate change.
Dextra Group has been fully committed to UK manufacturing for over 40 years, never shifting its emphasis from the importance of producing high quality lighting products on home soil whilst delivering an industry leading service to its clients.
A rapidly changing world highlights the need to change our consumption patterns and minimise waste. The concept of the circular economy, legislation and an ethos focused on maximising product longevity bring obvious benefits in lessoning the collective environmental impact.
Dextra has made great steps towards improving the sustainability of its product ranges. Measures taken to ensure luminaires minimise their environmental impact:
- Luminaires are designed for simplified field maintenance**.
- Common head types are chosen for component fasteners.
- Only components from European brands such as Philips, Osram and Tridonic are used, ensuring replacement parts are widely available.
Simplified field maintenance is only one part of the lifecycle story, longevity is equally important in reducing the waste and environmental impact of our product ranges.
Premium components
Only premium components offering market leading lifetime ratings are used, such as lithium emergency batteries with substantially longer life expectancies. LEDs are selected to offer maximum efficiency and service life with good thermal management and low operating currents.
**Many imported products are permanently sealed using bespoke bare circuits instead of replaceable drivers, ensuring single item component failure leads to entire product replacement.
Continuous improvements
Dextra constantly reviews its luminaire designs to ensure ever improving efficiency and longevity maximising benefits to customers and reducing the impact on the environment.
Bespoke wooden crates that require minimal cardboard protection further reduce waste and a requirement for processing packaging material on site, as all crates are returned to Dextra for resizing and reuse.
For decades Dextra has offered custom-made products including retrofit solutions permitting reuse of existing housings and diffusers, allowing installations to be upgraded to reliable LEDs with minimal waste.
“We have removed all single use plastics and polystyrene from all of our packaging. Luminaire packaging is now in wooden crates with minimal cardboard usage, simplifying waste disposal on site with a single material type that can be fully recycled”
Rethinking recycling
Dextra operate a full Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling service through its delivery fleet which are back filled with waste luminaires, reducing unnecessary journeys. Over 95% of all equipment and products collected by Dextra Group are either recycled or reused.
Green machine
Dextra Group has embraced green energy in its manufacturing process, further reducing the company’s environmental impact and carbon footprint. Having installed solar panels on a selection of Units 3 years ago, the company started installation of photovoltaics (PV) solar panels across the whole site at the start of 2023, including the replacement of the existing panels as technology and panel efficiency has improved dramatically. The solar arrays generate power to support operational functions and manufacturing equipment with further benefit realised through charging the company’s fleet of hybrid and electric vehicles. The site wide installation of solar will enable the company to be cost neutral on energy during the summer months.
Dextra Group are continually striving to source the most innovative, energy efficient and sustainable equipment for its manufacturing processes.
Wherever possible we encourage our employees to adopt the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme, walk to work or car share where viable.
Carbon offsets
Despite all of the adopted sustainable innovations some CO₂ will unavoidably be released as the result of its manufacturing and business operations. In 2018 Dextra Group initiated a number of carbon offsetting measures on an estate in Exmoor.
They included changes to existing habitat management and a comprehensive carbon sequestration scheme. Across its 900 acres the estate working with DEFRA, Natural England and other stakeholders, is planting additional trees which absorb CO₂ and create a ‘carbon bank’ at an equivalent rate of 1 tonne of CO₂ per tree over its lifetime.
All calculations are monitored, assessed and verified via an independent specialist consultant. Implementing changes to the management of the land benefits existing habitats whilst creating new ones, results in a thriving, sustainable and diverse estate.
Following substantial tree planting and the inclusion into a Countryside Stewardship scheme, carbon storage has increased across the estate to just under 70,000 tonnes which equates to an annual CO₂ sequestration of over 1010 tonnes.
Commitment to the environment
Dextra will continue to operate the business in an ever increasing ecologically responsible manner that minimises risk to our; environment, employees, customers and the wider community.
To design and manufacture luminaires that are as energy efficient as possible through continuous internal research and development. Producing sensors and control systems that further reduce energy consumption via enhanced presence and natural daylight detection.
Dextra Group is proud to operate an ISO Integrated Management System. The accreditation confirms that Dextra Group meets the highest of international environmental standards.
