#Sustainability Spotlight: Redwood Interior

Mr Michael Soh, Managing Director

To the Redwood leadership, sustainability is an important pursuit that gives the company a competitive advantage. They have been keeping an eye on evolving sustainability-related demands from clients and increasingly stringent environmental regulations, which have increasingly made corporate sustainability a necessity for industry players to stand out of the crowd.

 

Redwood’s Sustainability Journey

How did Redwood begin their sustainability journey? The team started with the use of PVD (physical vapour deposition) machines in 2014, to coat metals with no chemicals or water wastage. Initially driven by the cost savings for the business, the team came to understand more about how such innovation and technology helped to advance environmental sustainability in their business operations as well.

Machinery used in Redwood like PVD, which eliminates chemical usage and water wastage during the metal coating process

In 2017, the Redwood leadership began more consciously looking into how they might incorporate sustainability into their business. They switched to low-formaldehyde, water-based adhesives and CARB-certified and/or FSC-certified (low formaldehyde and more responsibly produced) wood and composite wood materials as some of their first steps.

Last year, despite being in the midst of the pandemic in 2021, the Redwood team started working on carbon management. This helped the company to prepare for the EU’s evolving regulations on both carbon management and sustainability reporting as a whole.

 

Future Plans for Environmental and Social Sustainability

Moving forward, Redwood plans to further reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact in the next 5 years by looking into four main areas.

Firstly, Redwood will advance their Carbon & Energy Management strategy, which will involve deploying solar panels in the near future. The team started looking into renewable energy in early 2022, and plans to deploy solar panels that will power 12-15% of the company’s energy consumption.

Additionally, to better optimise their energy consumption in the manufacturing process, the Redwood team is keeping a lookout for more energy efficient machines. They will continue to gradually trade older, less efficient machines with newer, more efficient counterparts. Furthermore, the procurement team will work on optimising the geographical proximity of materials sourced to reduce traveling distance and carbon emissions during the transportation process.

In terms of Employee & Consumer Health & Safety, Redwood aims to leverage 100% water-based chemical products (paint coatings and adhesives) in their manufacturing process, up from the current 75%.

For Employees’ Well-Being, Redwood will continue sponsoring 100% of their migrant workers’ recruitment fees, which are payable to the recruitment agent. To ensure their safety at work, Redwood will keep their workplace safety training programmes up-to-date, building on existing ones.

With COVID-19 restrictions eased, Redwood plans to resume their ad-hoc Community Investment contributions to orphanages and organisations that support underprivileged elderly, especially in Malaysia. These will be in the form of either donations in cash or in-kind, along with volunteer time by Redwood staff to support children and elderly in need.

Stay tuned as Redwood continues making strides in holistic environmental and social sustainability -- building on their sustainability governance structure and guided by the latest developments in sustainability-related client demand and regulations!

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Redwood Interior Building

 

Introduction to Redwood Interior:

Redwood is a renowned manufacturer of high quality interior fittings for the world's top luxury brands. As a preferred interior-fittings manufacturer, it specialises in creating beautifully-build store interiors through industry-best practices, equipped with the state-of-the-art CNC machines, turning its clients' stunning design concepts into reality.

 

Website: http://www.redwood.com.sg/

 

Type of Furniture Company: Contract Manufacturing

 

Sustainability Themes:

• Water management, health and safety, recycling, waste reduction, circular economy

 

Sustainability Certifications:

• Redwood procures some FSC-certified materials and complies with various national environmental regulations.
• They only procure CARB-aligned wood.
• Both of Redwood’s factories are ISO14001 certified.
• Redwood is also audited regularly by clients’ appointed external auditor for social accountability.

 

Products:

• Interior Fittings

 

Environmental Initiatives:

• Water Management + Health & Safety:
• Leverage of PVD (physical vapour deposition): No harsh chemicals are used and zero waste water discharge is generated during metal coating.
• Chemical residue is separated for spray room water to be reused.
• Health & Safety:
• Uses low-VOC water-based paints and adhesives and only procures CARB-aligned wood.
• Recycling:
• Metal waste is separated for recycling.
• Packaging:
• Switched from Styrofoam to air-filled columns to reduce packaging.
• Sourcing:
• Has a Supplier’s Code of Conduct that is reviewed annually and includes:
• Encouraging suppliers to practice the 5Rs: rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle and repair.
• Procures some FSC-certified materials and complies with various national environmental regulations.

 

Social Initiatives:

• Sourcing:
• Has a Supplier’s Code of Conduct that is reviewed annually and includes:
• Prohibiting child labour
• Protecting workers’ rights and health and well-being
• Redwood is also audited regularly by clients’ appointed external auditor for SA8000 (Social Accountability).

 

Governance Initiatives:

• Redwood has a Sustainability Committee that regularly discusses how to improve the company’s sustainability performance.
• ESG Report is available on the group website in both English & Chinese here.

 

Future Sustainability Initiatives:

• Redwood plans to further reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impacts in the next 5 years by looking into:
• Deploying solar panels
• Optimising the geographical proximity of materials sourced to reduce traveling distance
• Leveraging 100% water-based chemical products (paint coatings and adhesives)
• Further initiatives/policies for labour and workplace safety & health 

 

All photos are courtesy of Redwood Interior unless otherwise stated.

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