Gompels & The Environment

This page is to provide you with information on the steps we are taking to reduce our impact on the environment.

Carbon Offset With Gompels & Become CO2 Neutral!

Carbon offsetting is the process of compensating for CO2 usage by funding projects that reduce CO2 elsewhere in the world. ​ We have teamed up with a company who provides carbon credits at a very reasonable rate and added the facility to offset the products that you are buying at the web checkout. Certificates will then be available for you to download and print on an annual basis. Learn more about our carbon offsetting projects here

Gompels Environmental Dashboard

A two-month rigorous exercise conducted by an environmental researcher has enabled us to classify the environmental impact of all stocked products.

We now have the ability to calculate and score each product with an emissions rating. A brand-new environmental dashboard allows you to see your carbon emissions based on your purchasing decisions.

Olivia who conducted the research said “Making sustainability a priority is something that is not going away, it will only become more important over the coming years. We are making massive improvements to our worst offending products and will be sourcing eco-friendly alternatives for customers who want to reduce their environmental impact.”

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Animal Testing Policy Statement

No product, or ingredient of any product has been tested on animals by Gompels Healthcare Ltd or companies within the supply chain. If Gompels Healthcare Ltd are made aware of their supply chain not adhering to this policy they will remove the supplier with immediate effect and source the product through a suitable alternative. To ensure this policy is upheld, Gompels conduct regular factory audits and request a written declaration to confirm this.

Solar Gains Make Gompels Carbon Neutral

Back in 2015 we pressed ahead with plans to use solar panel technology across our site with the aim to become "Carbon Neutral" as soon as possible. Putting solar panels on our warehouse roofs has provided enough electricity to make us a net contributor to the national grid and reduced our carbon footprint to below zero, generating up to 10 times the amount of electricity we need during the summer months.

Recycling Forklifts

Normal business practice suggests that forklifts are replaced every 5 years, placing additional pressure on many resources, especially steel. Gompels have adopted a novel, and potentially industry changing, approach of re-using the entire chassis of our forklifts. This eliminates 80% of the smelting and remoulding process, vastly reducing the amount of valuable resources used in this energy intensive procedure. If more industries move towards this, we may soon see the day when our new family car is wholly fabricated from the recycled shell of our old one!

Savings Trees & Helping Charities

Ever get your delivery in a recycled box? Ever wondered why? It’s simple really, we hate waste at Gompels. So, to help save trees, waste and the environment, we recycle as many boxes as we can, but that isn’t all. We also donate 10p from every recycled box we use to charity. Now 10p per box doesn’t sound much you might say, but when you think we send out approximately 800 boxes a day, those little 10p’s soon mount up. The charities we currently support are Facing Africa, Smallpeice, Snowcamp, Building Schools for Africa, Young Melksham and Melksham Council.

Encouraging Our Manufacturers To Do The Right Thing

Our supply base spans the globe and whilst we would love to source locally, the reality is that products like gloves are just not made in the UK.  We make a point of visiting all suppliers on a regular basis to make sure that there is a solid long term relationship and a chance to encourage them to look after the environment that we all share.  From helping them to reduce waste in the manufacturing process, to using less packaging, we look at the products’ lifecycle from start to finish.  Little things can make a huge difference and we have had big gains from:

• Adjusting wipe sizes so that the whole width of the machine is used and wastage is minimised
• Changing the packaging so that it does not have to be reboxed in the UK before shipping
• Introducing “double packs” that use less packaging and less transport space
• Favouring factories that are gas powered rather than coal powered (oh yes they still exist!)
• Making it quite clear that environmental progress is a major criteria for us and our customers