Environmental impact Medium
Employer/employee ranking 2/10
Staff numbers 70
Energy reduction 8%
Recycling n/a

On display in the entrance to the J C Atkinson and Son factory in Washington, Tyne and Wear, is a brown polished coffin with shiny gold handles. It is made from paulownia, a lightweight, fast-growing wood which is farmed on plantations in the Far East. Ready to harvest in just seven years (compared with up to 40 years for the likes of oak, elm and mahogany), its giant leaves act as huge lungs to scrub the air of C02 and other greenhouse gases. New trees grow back from the stumps. It tells you a lot about how this coffin maker approaches its business.

“I have always wanted to do what I do well and consider the environment,” says managing director Julian Atkinson, who has tried to make his company as green as possible by introducing new processes and procedures that mitigate its effect on the environment.

His efforts have largely gone unnoticed by people who are understandably often too grief-stricken to think about the eco credentials of a coffin.

Atkinson, grandson of the firm’s founder, says: “As far back as 1998 we looked at our waste as a result of the landfill tax and we started heating the factory with the waste wood.”

In 2000, the firm, which supplies 10% of the UK market, was accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council for sourcing wood from sustainable forests which are well managed.

Established in 1936, the firm, which employs 70 people, has moved with the times. When it relocated in 2005, the new factory was built with the environment in mind. The building was constructed on a brownfield site and the roof has extra skylights to help cut down on the need for lighting. Rainwater is collected from the roof, stored in an underground tank and used for flushing toilets and cleaning vans, saving 50,000 litres of drinking quality water.

A huge biomass generator has recently been installed which will use sawdust and wood offcuts to produce heat and the firm’s own electricity as well as surplus for the national grid.

Drying lines have been introduced to quick dry water-based varnish and special pumps have been purchased to cut down on waste from lacquer sprays.

Our survey reveals that staff believe the firm goes for the most environmentally friendly solution rather than the cheapest, giving an 87% green score, and being eco aware doesn’t stop them from getting on with their job (89%).

Entering the competition was a chance to get the company’s green achievements recognised.

“It vindicates a lot of the things we are doing and is good for the staff,” says Atkinson. “They have come with me through thick and thin. The workforce have been part of the process and it is good for morale.”

Ian Handley, operations director, briefs new starters on the firm’s environmental policies from recycling to switching lights on only when absolutely necessary. Handley is particularly proud that the business produces its own electricity. “We are not pulling resources from elsewhere. It is very satisfying,” he says.

Employees think J C Atkinson is doing everything it can to minimise its environmental impact (84%) and believe the significant financial investment has been worthwhile (88%).

The business makes 60,000 coffins a year and Julian Atkinson says people are increasingly thinking about the environment when planning funerals, although their idea of what is green can be different to the reality.

“If you take a cardboard coffin, it has gone through a process of being pulped and bleached,” he says.

Those worried that coffins made from solid wood or otherwise will be adding to global warming need not worry. They are biodegradable and carbon neutral.

“It’s nice to know we are doing our bit to protect the environment,” says Gary Bowman, who is in charge of quality control and has worked for the firm for 17 years. “Julian is very green,” he says. The company wins an impressive green score of 96% for the boss being committed to the environment and staff say he leads by example (93%).

All the firm’s cars use liquid petroleum gas, which produces lower CO2 emissions than other fuels. And for every solid coffin it manufactures, the firm donates money to the Woodland Trust to fund the planting of a sapling tree.

The company also carries out an environmental assessment of suppliers, who are generally from the local area (earning a 90% green score).

Staff say the environmental commitments of the firm are at the heart of how it operates (86%) and think the business is getting greener (87%).

The environment is an everyday consideration at work (92%) and J C Atkinson is the first coffin maker to be carbon neutral.

Staff say they are aware of the company’s environmental policy (79%), are happy with their training (78%) and say the way they do their job reduces the firm’s environmental impact (83%).