A Suffolk company has been awarded an industry-leading accreditation in recognition of efforts to minimise its impact on the environment.

Bury St Edmunds-based Sunquare, which was the first flat roof window manufacturer in the world to obtain the British Standards Institution (BSI) “Kitemark” quality standard for its entire product range, has now been awarded ISO 14001 environmental management accreditation by the organisation.

And Sunsquare, which in July was named Business of the Year at the EADT Business Awards, has also been accredited to the newly-updated ISO 9001 quality standard.

Sunsquare has been a pioneer in skylight and rooflight production since its launch in 2004 and also has a long-standing commitment to the environment.

Achieving the ISO 14001 standard, also recently revised, demonstrates a firm’s environmental credentials, including reduced waste and energy use, and improved efficiency which also cuts the cost of day-to-day operations.

Gary Hearn, systems and quality manager at Sunsquare, said: “The success of a management system relies upon the engagement of everyone involved and understanding how the business interacts with customers, suppliers, neighbours, staff and the industry.

“There are two ISO standards an organisation can aspire to as evidence of that success: ISO 9001 for quality and ISO 14001 for environmental management.

“Sunsquare is among the first to adopt and gain certification for both newly-revised standards where the bar has been raised higher, with an assessment by the world’s foremost standards body, BSI.

“Since 2015, the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards have moved closer together in approach which means the focus of the business can safely continue to add value while removing waste from processes.

“The assessments were done within days of each other across every aspect of the organisation involving staff at all levels and fully traceable records covering several years.”

Mark Lambert, sales director of Sunsquare, added: “Sunsquare has been on this journey for some time.

“The certifications show the outside world what has been done so far and mark a determination to improve further still.”