Natural Resources
William Drake Limited is a small company with an artisan approach to organ building and restoration. Due to its relatively small work output compared to an organ factory, the volume of natural raw materials utilised is very much related to this. However, we all at William Drake Limited take sustainability very seriously.
Our raw materials come from mainly natural sources and we steer away from using harmful products wherever we can.
We source our timber from British Timber merchants and saw mills, which have had to comply with European Union Timber Regulations since 2013. These strict regulations prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber on the EU market. One of the Timber merchants utilised is involved in re-planting schemes, mostly with broadleaves, in four different locations.
We aim to restrict the use of new tropical hardwoods in our organs to a minimum, and use re-cycled timber harvested from scrapped instruments or old furniture in restoration projects where possible.
Our wood waste is being recycled as fuel and saw dust is made into fuel pellets and bricks. Our wood shavings are also locally popular as animal bedding.
Energy Efficiency
William Drake Limited has its workshops in a school room attached to a former Congregational Church. In the last seven years the buildings have undergone improvements with the addition of roof insulation as part of a re-roofing program.
Parts of our Victorian premises have been fitted with secondary glazing in 2021, which has significantly reduced our energy use. We have also recently replaced our ageing combustion boiler with a new condensing boiler, making an improvement from 60% to 90% in boiler efficiency.
Our firm employs staff from the immediate locality minimising the need for travel and we minimise carbon driving miles where possible by combining tuning/maintenance trips.
Conclusion
Our team is relatively small making it easy to monitor environmental practices.
We largely source natural materials from companies which adhere to strict EU environmental and Health and Safety regulations.
William Drake Limited uses sub-contractors that adhere to our high standards and philosophies.
William Drake Limited constantly reviews its practices with an eye on possible improvements of practices with regard to environmental sustainability.