Sustainability at Amalgam

We at Amalgam recognise that climate change is the biggest threat to human health and security in the future. This is why we are acting now and taking steps to alter our business to minimise its impact on the environment at large. We are in the early stages of a sizeable programme which is now core to every decision we make at Amalgam.

Whilst our obsessive approach to model building does produce waste, we are aiming to reduce our environmental impact across the organisation and have already begun to phase unnecessary plastic from our product packaging. Furthermore, we have started recycling programmes in each of our workshops to reuse every material we can and to ensure any waste is disposed of correctly. At a product level, all of our models are timeless; they are built to last and are designed to be enjoyed as a beautiful exhibit eternally. If a customer suffers an unfortunate incident, we also offer a repair service to our customers to ensure models continue to be enjoyed into the next generation and beyond. We are always looking for opportunities to use recycled materials in the building of our models as more resin and other material technologies develop that offer sustainable solutions.

In our workshops and offices, we have instigated a programme that will replace all our applicable equipment and lighting with energy efficient and auto-switch off alternatives. This is an ongoing process as we do not wish to curtail the life of our current equipment or lighting needlessly.  Doing this would only create more waste. We only source from brands and companies that ensure safe working practices for their employees, and that inflict the least impact on the environment. In our workshop in China, we have adopted new wastewater treatment processes that we will roll to our other workshops in due course. We are investing in new machinery to recycle the solvents we use in production, and we anticipate reducing our reliance on solvents in general, by using water based paints on our models. We are investing in silicon recycling technology to ensure all our silicone materials are recovered and used again in our manufacturing processes.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has opened our eyes to the benefits of home-working in our European locations, effecting a small but positive impact on our carbon footprint. Whilst our artisans are required in the workshops to build, we now encourage our support personnel to work flexibly, reducing their travel time and costs as well as the associated carbon footprint.  We have fully adopted digital working practices that help us reduce our waste, decreasing our paper consumption significantly.

Carbon Offset Your Purchase With Greenr

We are now pleased to partner with Greenr to give our customers the option to offset the carbon footprint of their order. Once a model has been added to the basket, just tick the option to add £5 and Greenr will do the rest. We are hoping to encourage our customers to use this new facility to offset their orders, and so Amalgam will match each £5 donation made by customers on orders valued at £500 and over.

Greenr is a social enterprise that uses technology to connect consumers to carbon offsetting programmes in a transparent way. Their carbon experts have sourced some of the leading carbon removal projects in the world, all of which are of the highest carbon standard with certifications under the Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard, the Woodland Carbon Code and CCB Standard.

By offsetting the emissions of a purchase, customers are ensuring that their carbon footprint is offset via one of their projects, whether that is funding rural solar in Africa, reforestation in Scotland, or conservation in Peru. 95% of each contribution goes directly to the carbon offsetting projects, with only 5% funding management of the Greenr scheme.

Greenr's portfolio of projects specialise in having strong social and environmental benefits, having positive impacts on local employment, poverty rates and wildlife conservation. For more information about Greenr and their projects, visit www.gogreenr.co.

Why Offset?

Most scientists now agree that man-made climate change is raising temperatures across the world, affecting people’s lives, our environment and our future. The carbon dioxide that is emitted from our buildings, our transport, our electricity and industries that produce the everyday products we consume, are the primary cause of this change to global temperatures.

While there is a significant amount of work going on to try and reduce or avoid carbon emissions, for now the valid answer to minimise your carbon footprint is to offset your emissions or avoid carbon intensive activity (such as flying). By doing this you can ensure that whatever is emitted in connection with your actions is then being recaptured. Greenr connects you with tried, trusted and certified offsetting projects, both locally and from around the world. By investing in these carbon negative projects, we can restore our natural world and combat climate change together.

What £5 can do

Greenr consider the average cost to offset a tonne of carbon to be approximately £11, so a £5 pledge roughly equates to offsetting half a tonne of carbon. For the Ecosphere+ project in Peru, £5 equates to protecting 10 trees. This is the equivalent of counteracting one flight to New York, driving 1500 miles or burning 300 kg of coal.

Aware that we have a range of price points at Amalgam, we decided that a £5 base donation was the best figure to begin with to ensure full support from our customers. If you wish to donate more, just add the Offset to your cart and raise the quantity.