Sapphire earns a standards hat-trick
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Quality management, ISO 9001, Environment, ISO 14001, Health & safety, OHSAS 18001
Sapphire Energy Recovery, the waste processing and resource recovery business owned by Lafarge Cement, has achieved certification to three management systems standards (ISO 9001 Quality management, ISO 14001 Environmental management and BS OHSAS 18001 Health and safety management) from BSI. Sapphire is the UK's leading processor of used tyres, and sources and manages the logistics of a range of waste-derived fuels and raw materials for the cement industry.
"Previously, we would have come under the umbrella of our parent company when looking to achieve such standards, but as our profile grows in the waste processing and resource recovery sector we felt it was important for our customers to see that we had independent certification," says Andy Jones, who co-ordinates health, safety, environmental and quality compliance for Sapphire.
Certification for the three standards was awarded following independent reviews from BSI. Audits are done on a two-year rolling cycle, during which a series of Sapphire sites underwent spot checks.
"Our last visit showed no non-conformities at all in any of the audit procedures we carried out. This was an excellent performance for a company operating in a high risk area such as waste processing," points out Janet Walden, assessor for BSI. "It's good to see a company not only taking the standards seriously, but incorporating them into their day to day business. They made doing the right thing in the right way at the right time the natural thing to do."
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