“Sustainability is a business imperative” states WGSN, world trend forecast authority, in one of its last reports. Sustainability, purpose, consciousness, these are all watchwords as long as brand strategy and the future of business are concerned. Worldwide, consumers of today (and even more of tomorrow) are aware of the impact mass consumption has in our planet and want to change the cycle. They demand a real conscious attitude by choosing products and brands that assume their environmental and social responsibility.
Sustainable parameters are taken into account before a product is bought and consumers are actually willing to open their wallets when products fit sustainable and social standards, NIELSEN says. With a ‘buying less but better’ tendency emerging, individuals want to know where products come from, how and under which conditions they are made.
For many brands worldwide, this is where the role of the manufacturer/supplier becomes key. Being at the beginning of a product’s value chain, the supplier is fundamental in the life cycle of a product. It is crucial to define these parameters. At Arfai, our social performance, and lately our environmental one, are a big concern in our conduct as a company. If this is the time for your business to be transparent, know why having us as your supplier there is nothing to hide.
GREEN INDUSTRY: A COMMITMENT TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENT
In any industry, and more in a traditional one, improvements are necessary to minimize the impact on the environment. The path to follow is long, but at Arfai significant steps are being taken:
INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
Arfai installed a Self-Consumption Production Unit using Photovoltaic Solar Technology. With 239 photovoltaic panels, the company will produce around 74.09 kWp a year, almost half of the company’s average annual consumption. All this, having simple solar energy on the basis.
RECLYCLING AND REUSING WATER AT INTERNAL WWTP
The factory has a Waste Water Treatment Plant that collects the water used on-production, recycling and reusing it in the process. In average, around 87% of the water used on-production results from this recycling process. With water scarcity being a real challenge, to be conscious about water use is a basic move.
WASTE HANDLING PROCEDURE TO REDUCE WASTE
Arfai contracts accredited companies to manage industrial waste. Plastic, Paper, Cardboard, and Iron are taken by an external company responsible for its final proper handling. Materials as ceramics, clay, and plaster that cannot be reintroduced in the production process, are collected by a specialized company that takes care of its treatment allowing its reuse in other industries.
WORKING WITH LOCAL RAW MATERIALS
Arfai is located in Alcobaça, a region connected to the art of ceramics since XIX century. First with small and artisanal workshops, later with bigger factories producing ceramics at an industrial level and exporting them worldwide. Either because of this historical background, either for the abundance of raw material in the region, the truth is that there is a ceramics cluster in the region. With it, we are well served with supplies, being able to source our raw materials locally. This is good for our business, minimizing potential supplying risks and logistic costs, but it is also good for the planet once it eliminates a series of processes with costs for the environment.
FSC CERTIFIED CARDBOARD
Whenever our customer requires us to manage packaging, we favor suppliers that assure paper/card is FSC Certified.
PRIMARY RAW MATERIAL: IT’S CLAY!
Last but not least, our primary raw material. Coming from the earth, clay is an abundant natural resource. Its extraction process is simple and as a product can last for centuries. It is true that our industry is not green. For example, fossil fuels as gas are used for firing. But we do depart from a natural and durable resource.
SOCIAL ETHICS: A COMMITMENT TOWARDS PEOPLE
Side by side with sustainability there is ethics and social awareness, a flag in our business over the last decade. With manual work representing around 60% of a piece’s cost, at ARFAI, our people are our main value. As a craftsman-based industry, we couldn’t act differently.
INCLUSION AND EQUALITY
In 2005 Arfai was awarded a MERIT AWARD, assigned by the Employment and Vocational Training Institute, on the occasion of the integration of disabling workers. The promotion of inclusion and equality in the workplace is a commitment assumed by ARFAI since then. Not only two of the three young disabled workers admitted at that time are still at the company, as we have assigned new workers in the following years. This dynamic is a result of the cooperation established with CEERIA, a local institution that works on the support of people with disabilities and inabilities.
AUDIT ON ETHICAL TRADE
In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Arfai successfully received a Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit, registering in the last assessment 0 non-conformities. This audit attests the company’s ethical value and good practices, documented at Arfai Social Policies. Now, would you like to know more about who are the faces behind our ceramics?
GET TRANSPARENT!
Sustainable, ethic, conscious. To engage on this, means that it is time for your business to be transparent. If you accept on doing so, count with Arfai. As a trusted supplier, we understand our role and the requirements that fall on us. There is nothing to hide. Follow our social activity, on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIN and keep up with the news.
