Scottish tanner wins green award

Scottish tannery WJ & W Lang Ltd have scooped a national green award for their commitment to energy management and the environment. Langs, who supply leather to companies such as Volvo, Saab and British Airways, are the overall winners of the prestigious ScottishPower Envirenergy Award. The company impressed the Envirenergy judges by their commitment to environmental management standard ISO 14001 and success in reducing overall energy site consumption by more than 20% since 1995 -equating to a saving of more than £80,000 (US$114,000). Lang say they were the first tannery in the world to obtain ISO 14001 and the first wet-blue tannery to achieve ISO 9002. Works director at Langs, Hugh Gilmour, said: 'While many tanneries are unfortunately closing across the UK due to ever increasing environmental cost implications, we have actually managed to significantly reduce our production costs. Our continuing commitment to environmental policy is one of the core reasons that we are still in business and remain profitable.'