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PRF Composite Materials (Poole, Dorset, U.K.) has been awarded EN ISO 14001 environmental management systems (EMS) certification as part of its ongoing commitment to the environment.

PRF says it has made significant steps in lessening the company’s environmental impact, particularly in the company’s investment in, and use of, solar energy. PRF now have solar panels on three out of four of its sites, including the latest installation of a 192-panel array on its prepreg manufacturing facility. In total, almost half of the annual electricity PRF uses —  ~130,000 kilowatt-hours —  is now self-generated solar power. For the remaining energy used, PRF has renewed over half of the company’s energy supply contracts to use green energy from renewable sources only, and is in the process of converting the remaining supply.

Alongside manufacturing and operational improvements, PRF is committed to building sustainability into the very heart of its product development program. The team have recently launched RP570 FR Reepreg, a fire-retardant eXpress cure prepreg material made with recycled carbon fiber nonwoven mat. The project is an additional highlight to PRF’s commitment to circularity and reducing environmental impact.

“We have been looking at waste elimination and improving circularity through regeneration of waste into a product that can be used in the supply chain,” explains Dave Ellson, managing director of PRF. “We have been investing significantly in this process and have launched Reepreg, which offers a viable way forward in replacing some virgin carbon fiber use and offering prepreg materials that are less energy to process.” 

Obtaining ISO 14001, Ellson says, further demonstrates PRF’s commitment to the environment, its employees and its neighbors.