Stepan achieves ISO 14001 accreditation

Stepan has achieved ISO 14001 accreditation for its Wesseling, Germany, manufacturing plant. ISO 14001 is the international standard that specifies a process for controlling and improving an organisation's environmental performance via a certified Environmental Management Programme.

Stepanpol manufacturing plant located in Wesseling, Germany

Gino Rombey, Plant Manager for the Wesseling site commented “Environmental impact is becoming an increasingly important issue across the globe, with pressure to minimise that impact coming from a number of sources: local and national governments, regulators, trade associations, customers, employees and shareholders. Social pressures are also building up from the growing array of interested parties, such as consumer, environmental and minority non-governmental organisations and academia.

For us the ISO 14001 accreditation serves to demonstrate our commitment to social responsibility and to the polyurethane industry. This award is especially timely as we break ground on our major expansion project to increase our production capacity for Stepanpol aromatic polyester polyols from 50,000 to 120,000 tonnes per annum.”

Mark Perry, Market Development Manager for Stepan Europe’s Polyols business added “The award of ISO 14001 accreditation is especially pleasing as it was achieved without recourse to changes in our well established Environmental Management Programme and is essential to developing our increased manufacturing capacity to better serve the polyurethane industry. This award will especially benefit those of our customers involved in the manufacture of rigid foam insulation board and panels who are seeking to build their eco-profile for instance by earning BREEAM credits under the BRE Green Guide Rating system. As an ISO 14001 accredited supplier we establish our commitment to the environment and continue to enhance the reputation of our industry. The importance of these materials in building sustainable environmental solutions to the challenges brought about by global warming cannot be understated. This point was well made by the participation of ISOPA and PU Europe during the recent Bright Green Expo in Copenhagen and serves to underline the potential growth we see for the PUR and especially PIR foam insulation market.”