Badges And Medals prides itself on being a sustainable business. Find out why!
Thinking about teaming up with Badges And Medals, but want to check that we’re sustainable before signing the dotted line? We understand. Just like you check for eco-friendly ingredients at a supermarket or research a store's production methods before buying their clothes, it's normal to be wondering how sustainable your award supplier is. People nowadays prefer working with companies who share their values, especially when it comes to being environmentally responsible.
Our commitment to the environment is not just a statement; it's how we do business. We've been audited as environmentally responsible - not once, but twice! We have embedded sustainability into every facet of our operations, from how our awards are produced to how they're packaged.
This is because we strive to do business in a way that:
In this article, we will unravel the layers of our sustainable practices. We will show how every insignia and token we create is a testament to our dedication to a greener, more responsible future.
The common approach in many industries involves producing items in advance. We follow a more sustainable practice: the 'sell first, then produce' model. By making our products within days of your order being placed, we stop the creation of surplus stock. This removes the environmental impact we would have had manufacturing, transporting, and storing this stock. It also circumvents the need to dispose of unsold items, resulting in a reduction of waste.
Wherever we can, we at Badges And Medals try to use sustainable or recycled materials for our awards.
Materials are sustainable if they can be responsibly sourced in the long run, with little impact on the environment. A truly sustainable material can also be recycled or composted at the end of its life. Meanwhile, a recyclable material can be reused at the end of its life, but its production involves a lot of resources, high energy consumption, or contributes to environmental degradation. Both material types benefit the environment by diverting waste from landfills, conserving resources, and fostering a circular economy.
Our crests, challenge coins, badges, and most of our medals are made of the metal mix zinc alloy, plus a bit of brass or copper for strength. These awards are easily recyclable post-event. Half of the metal medals we make are from a zinc alloy that has already been recycled!
Our wooden medals and trophies are made from three types of wood:
Unfortunately, our ribbons are plastic, and we're still looking at ways to improve on that.
We understand that being environmentally responsible goes beyond material choices. That's why we embrace eco-friendly production practices, ensuring that our impact on the environment is minimised at every stage. Here are some practices we use and how they benefit the world:
We want to give our money to suppliers who share our commitment to doing good. That's why, before signing with a new supplier, we do our homework. We use a strict set of sustainability and ethical criteria to suss out the impact that business has on both its workers and the environment.
At the least, our suppliers must provide their employees with fair wages and safe working conditions. They must also be committed to reducing their carbon footprint and using sustainable or recyclable materials. Our suppliers are reminded of our policies when we submit an order.
We prefer suppliers certified as having responsible labour and sustainability practices.
About 95 per cent of our materials come from two main suppliers. Here's how they're doing:
Packaging our products is unavoidable. Many of our products are ordered in multiples, and made from robust materials like wood and metal. Left unprotected, they could damage each other during transportation. That's not what anyone wants, especially after waiting weeks for the custom award.
That's why we use three layers of protection: outer packaging, inner packaging, and product packaging. Currently about 80 per cent of all our packaging is made of reused, sustainable or recyclable materials. That means for every tonne of packaging we buy, about 800kg is eco-friendly.
Let's peel back each layer:
Carbon emissions are the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. They're primarily caused by human activities, like burning fossil fuels such as oil or gas. These emissions trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change.
We are currently calculating emissions across our business. Yet, we recognise that Badges And Medals' biggest contribution to climate change is likely the transportation of our products. For context, receiving some product materials via cargo ships caused 152.8 kilograms of CO2 to be emitted in November 2023.
We must counterbalance the climate impact of our business.
That's why we've taken decisive action by investing in the following carbon offsetting schemes:
Every large medal order we send out means two fewer plastic bottles hitting the ocean thanks to our partnership with Plastic Bank. It's more than just a drop in the bucket – it's a meaningful move to protect our precious water resources and save marine life. So far, we've helped to remove over 22.7 tonnes of plastic. That's the same weight as four adult African elephants! Once the plastic is collected, it's turned into plastic feedstock, which is used to make new plastic products.
If you want to learn more about how our suppliers are performing business ethics-wise, read our article 'Is Badges And Medals An Ethical Business?’.
These statistics are accurate as of March 2024.
You came here wondering if Badges And Medals is sustainable and can leave here thinking "Absolutely!". We've shed light on our sustainable practices, demonstrating how we can offer you not just world-class products but a partnership grounded in environmental stewardship.
Just look at what you’ve learned! We're certified as environmentally responsible. So are our main suppliers. We offset our carbon emissions, use recyclable or sustainable materials, and support community initiatives that better the planet. We invite you to join us in making a lasting impact. Contact us for a free quote or design consultation. Let's bring your vision to life in a way that reflects your commitment to a greener future!