British bicycle manufacturer Brompton has announced it has achieved B-Corp status, scoring 85.1 in the assessment.
Brompton is one of the UK’s largest bike companies producing almost 100,000 signature folding bikes a year, and over one million have hit the roads since the first bike was made in 1975 by inventor Andrew Ritchie.
The certificate means the company now joins a global community of businesses committed to being a force for good.
Oscar Benjamin, Brompton’s Head of Sustainability, told Zag Daily that it took approximately two years to get certified.
One of the key takeaways from the assessment was how much the company had reduced its waste.
“I’m most proud that Brompton has cut its waste in half over the last 5 years,” said Benjamin.
“This is a huge achievement for our factory teams. When you walk around the factory it’s incredible how organised our recycling programme is.”
The manufacturer now uses 95% renewable energy, with almost 62% of solid waste like bicycle tyres and electronic motors being recycled.
From an emissions standpoint, across all four Brompton Bicycle Hire schemes it estimates a total of 208 tonnes of carbon emissions have been avoided from bike journeys substituting car journeys.
Brompton is also a London Living Wage certified employer, investing heavily in training and up-skilling its workforce. It has various training programmes such as its brazing trainee programme, which teaches new employees the highly skilled practice of brazing over the average course of a year, an integral part of the Brompton production process. All Brompton’s Brazers are trained in-house and come from a wider variety of different backgrounds and previous employment.
However, Benjamin said that while becoming a B Corp is a useful tool that helps deliver on the firm’s purpose by providing checks and balances, he believes “we have a long way to go yet”.
“We scored the fewest points for water management so we’re now working with our factory teams to improve this, and are also testing a new plastic free bike box.”
Brompton bikes are sold in 46 countries around the world and over 70% of its production is exported.
