Architecture firm Holder Mathias has been certified with the ISO 14001:2004 standard for excellence in environmental standards.

 

The standard is awarded for an organisation’s commitment to environment standards. It requires organisations to demonstrate that it can identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, continually improve its environmental performance, and take a systematic approach to setting and achieving environmental objectives.

 

Peter Gamble, managing director of Holder Mathias, said: “As one of only a handful of architect firms to be certified with the ISO 14001:2004 standard, this achievement reflects our commitment to sustainability, which is placed at the heart of our approach to design.

 

“ISO is an internationally–recognised standard and the auditing process is rigorous. Achieving ISO 14001:2004 is a guarantee to clients of how seriously we take our environmental responsibility.”

 

“This is the second year that Holder Mathias has been awarded the standard. The auditing process covers the way we design, our travel plan and housekeeping matters such as energy and paper use. “

 

Gamble continued: “We build sustainable thinking into our designs from the very start, whether it’s looking at materials used, how a building is placed on a site, or its impact on the local community. This is a 360 degree assessment of our environmental approach, and one which we are proud to achieve.”

 

Holder Mathias’ Bletchley Leisure Centre was recently honoured at the BREEAM awards, where it was named one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly leisure buildings completed last year.

 

The building scored a massive 79.6 per cent BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, and was one of only 16 developments in the UK to receive an award and one of the few to be completed to this level.