Carbon neutral sustainable washrooms

With our dedicated Compliance and Environmental Management Team, we strive to transform our role in impacting the environment by compensating for the emissions we make and continuing the journey beyond reaching our sustainability goal.

It takes small steps to make big changes, and our commitment to sustainability stands strong with a determination to make a positive difference for the longevity of our planet and future generations.

What are we doing to reduce our carbon footprint?

Building insulation

With 100mm insulated Kingspan walling and roofing, Dolphin’s head office, manufacturing plant, and warehouse insulation is of the highest standards and air pressure tested to ensure energy efficiency is at its prime. The insulation solution cuts down heat loss and heat gain within the building, thus reducing the need to rely on other heating or cooling sources.

LED automatic lighting

LED lighting requires a fraction of the energy to power up lights compared to fluorescent bulbs, so it made sense to replace all fluorescent lighting with energy-saving LED on our premises.

With sensor activation, the LED lighting automatically turns off once no movement has been detected in all spaces to help reduce energy usage.

The positive benefits we have seen are that LED lighting lasts more hours than fluorescent, which means replacing bulbs is less frequent, and of course, the energy usage is significantly less.

Innovative washroom products

We are actively innovating to ensure our products are more sustainable, using BREEAM, LEED, SKA, WELL, NABERS UK and USGBC standards as a guide to implement and improve our carbon emissions. Energy and water consumption, construction efficiency, materials, and waste disposal are just a few of the product innovation elements we are focusing on improving.

Most of our products go through a manual assembly process which means the core energy consumption amounts to the usage in the administration block.

Dolphin works towards a circular economy by producing recyclable washroom products, and because we manufacture washroom products in the UK, this retains our carbon emissions and reduces our global impact.

Sensor tap timeout feature

With integrated timeout features controlling the water running time in our sensor taps, employees and visitors have limited time and access to how much water they use to wash their hands.

Through Dolphin’s water and energy management portal, we monitor water usage and adjust the settings to reduce water wastage, thus saving water wherever we can.

ISO accreditation

Dolphin embraces the international standards of ISO 9001 – Quality Management and the ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System. We are constantly improving our environmental performance through more efficient use of our resources, reducing waste, and reducing Co2 emissions. Shortening our assembly process to use less light and heat is one of the activities we are currently working on.

Following the ISO accreditation standards and going through the accredited certification processes assures us that our practices are in line with international standards. It also demonstrates to our clients that we are continually improving our systems and approach to environmental concerns.

Quality is at the forefront of our business by streamlining our internal processes and focusing on the impact we make on both our employees and our clients. We are proud to say there has not been one occasion where we have received a non-conforming report (NCR), and we intend to work harder to keep it that way.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)

Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) licenced software, our Compliance and Environmental Management Team is running EPD data collection on Dolphin’s DS Inform Sensor Taps and ALAVO Behind Mirror System. We will also have the cradle-to-gate EPDs covering our range of high speed hand dryers by the end of 2022.

Next on our EPD data collection list for 2023 will be our soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers, and hand soap.

What is our environmental management plan?

Every year we set targets in our environmental action plan that are realistic and manageable to reduce operational emissions.

In June 2022, we finalised a carbon footprint analysis with Wanderlands (a natural solutions consultancy) to assist us in reducing and offsetting our climate impact.

The report focused on the greenhouse gases emitted from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2021, and the findings concluded an action plan of comprehensive monitoring and measurement of emissions be made a primary goal to improve particular areas of operations.

Monitor, Implement, Improve

The following areas were identified for monitoring and improvement:

• Refrigerant – reduce refrigerant emissions from sources such as air conditioners in the office space.
• Company vehicles – monitor fuel usage by issuing fuel cards for work-related car travel to attain more accurate information regarding fuel emissions.
• Waste management – track type of waste and disposal methods.
• Lifecycle emissions of Dolphin Solutions’ sold products – capture data relating to distribution, processing, use, and end-of-life treatment.
• Shorten logistics trail – reduce transportation and distribution.
• Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) – using automated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software, release EPDs for each washroom product.
• Planting – Plant and grow trees and vegetation in the woodland surrounding Dolphin’s premises to introduce more oxygen into the air.
• Cradle-to-Grave – Track product operation till the time of disposal, and method of disposal.
• Cradle-to-Cradle – Upcycle or recycle products for usage in replacement products.

How do we exercise social responsibility and good governance?

Dolphin Solutions practices the principles in line with Environmental and Social Governance and always acts in the best interest of our employees, clients, society, and environment, such as:

• • Community relations
    Although some employees are internationally based, we make a concerted effort to benefit the local economy by recruiting and employing staff from our surrounding community.

• • Customer satisfaction
    This is reflected in our success as a business because we measure our customer’s experience and expectations through a Net Promoter Score (NPS) process where we actively engage with our customers to provide feedback on our products and services.

• • Data protection and privacy policies
    We subscribe to the UK Government General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and our data protection and privacy policies are firmly in place. All staff also attend cyber security training regularly to ensure our data and client data are protected.

• • Efforts to fund projects or institutions that help impoverished communities
    Dolphin Solutions is proudly affiliated with the local Rapid Response Team, a non-profit organisation which assists the community with specialist care in dire situations and emergencies.

• • Employee diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
    Diversity, equity, and inclusion shape our company culture. Members of the Dolphin pod are from a variety of social and ethnic backgrounds, all earning above the living wage. We can confidently say there is no discrimination in our business, and our company values, Care, Quality, Integrity, and Enthusiasm, hold strong amongst the team.

• • Employee engagement and relations
    We focus on providing open and honest communication opportunities across all levels and ensuring each individual feels they have a voice and their thoughts matter. To demonstrate our transparency within the team, we hold a daily ‘Huddle’ about company operations and what each department is working on to ensure everyone knows how the business is running.Every week, all staff are sent a Good Feel Indicator (GFI) survey to which they can submit feedback and are encouraged to offer suggestions. Managers also hold 1-2-1 conversations with each team member every month, all to ensure we provide as many opportunities and platforms as possible for the team to reach out.

• Health and safety
  By applying the full extent of the Healthy and Safety at Work Act, we ensure all new starters go through the health and safety procedures and protocols during their induction. All departments at Dolphin Solutions are represented in monthly internal health and safety walkabouts, and employees have access to our workplace safety provision statement that sets out our commitment to managing health and safety, ensuring protective plans and controls are in place to reduce the risk and severity of accidents as much as possible.

Good governance is essential to Dolphin’s success which is evident by operating with transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsibility. We ensure effective communication channels that promote open dialogue, collaboration, and feedback from every Dolphin pod member, fostering a culture of trust and mutual respect which is critical for our long term success.

As Dolphin Solutions prioritises sustainability, ethical values, and corporate social responsibility, we will always be committed to the best interests of our employees, clients, community, and environment and continuously improve our operations in line with Environmental and Social Governance.