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In December 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed the Navitron website for the company's environmental policy or report. No such information could be found. An environmental policy was deemed necessary to report on a company's environmental performance and set targets for reducing its impacts in the future. A strong policy would include two future, quantified environmental targets, demonstration by the company that it had a reasonable understanding of its main environmental impacts, be dated within two years and have its environmental data independently verified.

However, the company was considered to be providing environmental alternative products: it only sold renewable energy and heating products. It also sold a small number of bamboo and "sustainable glass" homeware items.

Due to the fact the company had a turnover of less than £10.2 million and was considered to be providing an environmental alternative it received an exemption under Ethical Consumer's Environmental Reporting category.
Overall, therefore, Navitron received Ethical Consumer's middle rating for Environmental Reporting and lost half a mark in this category.

Reference:

www.navitron.org.uk (17 December 2020)

In December 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed the website of SolarUK, looking for information on what the company was doing to tackle climate change. Ethical Consumer was looking for the following:

For the company to discuss its areas of climate impact, and to discuss plausible ways it has cut them in the past, and ways that it will cut them in the future.

For the company to not be involved in any particularly damaging projects like tar sands, oil or aviation, to not be subject to damning secondary criticism regarding it’s climate actions, and to have a policy to avoid investing in fossil fuels.

For the company to report annually on its scope 1&2 greenhouse gas emissions (direct emissions by the company), and to go some way towards reporting on its scope 3 emissions (emissions from the supply chain, investments and sold products).

For the company to have a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with international agreements (counted as the equivalent of at least 2.5% cut per year in scope 1&2 emissions), and to not count offsetting towards this target.

The company did not discuss its climate impacts or report its carbon emissions. However, as it was a small company with an annual turnover below £10.2m and its core business model was the manufacture, supply and sale of renewable energy products and as such received a partial exemption from carbon reporting and discussion. It therefore received Ethical Consumer’s middle rating for carbon management and reporting and was not marked down under Climate Change.

Reference:

www.navitron.org.uk (17 December 2020)

In December 2020 Ethical Consumer searched the Navitron website for the company's policy on the use of potentially hazardous chemicals in the manufacture of solar products. No policy was found. But the company did not seem to be making any electronic products.

A toxics policy was deemed necessary for all electronics companies, as these substances were widely used by electronics companies and had a significant negative environmental impact when released after disposal.
A strong policy on toxics would include publicly disclosed data on the use of hazardous chemicals such as BFRs and PVC and/or phthalates; as well as clear, dated targets for ending their use.

As the company did not use these toxic chemicals in electronics it did not lost a mark under Ethical Consumer's Pollution and Toxics category.

Reference:

www.navitron.org.uk (17 December 2020)