Company information:
Ethical Consumer Research Association Limited
Unit 21, 41 Old Birley Street, Manchester M15 5RF
Main products/processes/activities:
Production of printed material
Distribution of printed material
Production of a rating database and websites
Number of sites and locations:
One (at the address above)
Ownership:
ECRA is a multistakeholder co-operative, it is an Industrial and Provident Society, owned by its members.
Contact email for environmental policy:
enquiries@ethicalconsumer.org
About ECRA
ECRA Publishing was founded in December 1988 to research and publish information on companies behind brand names, and to promote the ethical use of consumer power.
As a co-operative designed to explore the boundaries of what is possible in a commercial environment, ECRA has in the 21 years since its launch developed 5 key rules to help minimise its environmental impacts.
- All paper used both internally and in external published materials to be post consumer recycled.
- All office supplies to be recycled or second hand (except our database servers). This includes electrical equipment, , all our workstations, firewalls and servers.
- All suppliers to be selected from Ethical Consumer best buy companies, providing Ethical Consumer has produced a buyers' guide on that product area.
- Plastics, PVC and other potentially toxic materials to be avoided where possible
- All paper, glass, cardboard, metals, electronic products and plastics to be sent for recycling
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In1995, ECRA was involved in the design of its current offices which are located in a demonstration social housing and workspace mixed use building in central Manchester (www.work.change.coop/).
The building is super insulated for energy efficiency and contains a range of other environmental features. Electricity is purchased from Good Energy.
ECRA, with a turnover of around £250,000, is a small business which would be exempt from the environmental reporting requirements of its own company ethical rating system.
SIX main impacts
Taking into account the inputs and outputs and the main materials in use by the company, we believe that the most significant impacts currently occur through the following six products/processes/practices:
Use of paper
Transportation impacts including magazine distribution, couriers, travel to work. As at July 2011, no co-op worker members routinely use a car to travel to work.
Energy use, notably servers and heating.
Disposal of waste
Printing Inks, dyes
Purchasing of office supplies
Commitment to address environmental issues
ECRA seeks to continually improve its environmental performance by preventing pollution, increasing energy efficiency and minimising waste. It aims to take into account scientific and technical developments and consumer needs. It also aims to consider environmental issues whenever new products are designed or developed.
The co-operative welcomes comment and criticism as to how these goals can best be met.
Last updated April 2012