Quality Standards

Packaging quality standards can be the difference between your products arriving safely and being damaged. The difference between satisfied and upset customers. The difference between making or losing a sale. The difference between a negative or positive perception (and therefore the long-term success) of your business.

These reasons are why we hold ourselves to the highest quality standards when manufacturing your packaging, working to industry-recognised benchmarks and gaining a wide range of accreditations. Extensive industry recognition and numerous awards over the years also reflect the measures we take across our business.

Ultimately, our quality standards ensure that packaging materials, products, and processes meet specific criteria for safety, quality, and efficiency.

GWP Group is exceptionally proud to be accredited to ISO 9001:2015.

ISO 9001 is an internationally recognised standard for quality management systems (QMS). It identifies eight quality management principles that senior managers and team leaders use to guide the entire business towards optimal performance, both in day-to-day operations and in the longer term.

It provides a framework for our business to consistently deliver products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements, while also aiming to enhance customer satisfaction and drive continuous improvement. It can also help reduce costs through lean and efficient production management.

ISO 14001 is the international standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS). It provides a framework for GWP to develop, implement, and maintain suitable systems and processes that minimise our environmental impact and improve environmental performance. In essence, the guidelines help us manage our environmental responsibilities effectively.

As with ISO 9001:2015, audits to ISO14001:2015 are performed by a third-party.

As such, GWP Group is committed to reducing waste through efficient working processes, designing packaging with minimal material usage and promoting the use of recycled and recyclable materials wherever possible.

GWP Packaging are proud to have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), having been fully audited to the FSC-STD-40-004 standard to achieve Chain of Custody certification.

GWP’s Chain of Custody certification (certificate number FSC–C161914) allows your business to source FSC-certified packaging from us, including everything from industrial transit packaging through to retail and eCommerce boxes. It also allows you to use the FSC logo, subject to specific conditions, on your packaging.

The certificate effectively attests that FSC-certified material has been identified, used, and separated from non-certified or non-controlled material from forest to market, along each step of the supply chain.

GWP Group is part of the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register (JOSCAR). This certification details GWP’s commitment to quality and following industry standards and best practices to businesses in the aerospace, defence, security, and space sectors. Effectively, both new and existing customers can be certain that products and services GWP provide comply with the specific industry standards and requirements.

JOSCAR certification is the equivalent of a trusted third party having conducted the due diligence necessary to ensure that GWP have the processes, quality standards, and certifications to align with industry best practices. Ultimately, this saves your business the time and money needed to carry out your own investigations into GWP’s credentials.

GWP Group, along with a large number of individuals in our business, holds full Sheet Plant Association membership, allowing fellow members to easily source a wide range of products as part of a trade agreement.

GWP has also taken an active role in providing services, presentations and seminars, as well as having a strong presence on the official SPA website.

The UK Sheet Plant Association exists for the benefit of its member companies and their employees, promoting the interests of the corrugated sheet plant sector.

It also looks to identify any upcoming issues, problems, or opportunities in the immediate future, before establishing a best practice solution. It can also then use its collective power to buy any expertise or solution once before passing this through to its members at a much lower or even no cost basis.

Macfarlane Packaging is in the top 10 per cent of businesses assessed globally by EcoVadis on sustainability.

EcoVadis is a global platform that assesses and rates the sustainability performance of companies. The assessment covers the four key themes of environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Companies receive a score based on their performance, which customers can use to benchmark against other companies.

EcoVadis certification effectively helps Macfarlane and any acquired businesses to manage sustainability risks, achieve our sustainability goals, and drive positive change.

Macfarlane, along with over 85,000 businesses globally, use Sedex to create a more environmentally and socially sustainable supply chain.

Sedex, which stands for Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, is a not-for-profit organisation that provides a platform for sharing ethical and responsible supply chain data. Whilst not a regulatory body, Sedex offers tools and services to support businesses in their sustainability efforts.

It can help identify, manage, and assess social and environmental supply chain risks, and allows us to stay ahead of local, national, and international laws to avoid sanctions, brand damage, and supply chain disruption. Sedex also helps us identify and comply with local, national and international laws so that we can be more responsive to ESG regulations.

Macfarlane Packaging adheres to the BRCGS Global Standard for Storage and Distribution. This certification highlights our adherance to best practice and process of continual improvement through well-designed risk-based product safety management systems.

It also allows Macfarlane to ensure the quality and safety of our products during storage and distribution throughout the supply chain.

BRCGS certification, specifically designed for logistics operations dealing with food, packaging, and consumer products, provides Macfarlane customers with vital assurance and confidence in the supply chain, while also ensuring high levels of safety and quality.

Macfarlane Packaging Design & Manufacture provides access to three MPAS-qualified designers.

MPAS, or the Military Packager Accreditation Scheme, is an accreditation that sets standards for military packaging.

MPAS is self-administered by the MoD and based on the ISO 9001 standard, supplemented by specific military packaging requirements. It replaced the older  DR/14 accreditation.

MPAS aims to ensure that all companies supplying military-level packaged products to the MoD use MPAS-registered packagers. As such, the scheme ultimately ensures packaging meets the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) requirements for safe handling, storage, and transportation.

Macfarlane’s manufacturing sites in Westbury and Grantham have undergone an assessment and demonstrated that they can produce their wood packaging materials to ISPM-15 requirements.

ISPM 15 is a set of international regulations, specifically the 15th in a series of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, designed to prevent the spread of pests and diseases through timber packaging materials used in international trade. These regulations require that wood packaging, such as pallets and crates, be treated and marked to ensure they are free of pests.

This certification also authorises Macfarlane to apply the ISPM No. 15 mark to qualifying packaging.

GWP have a long history of success in the Starpack Awards.

Most recently, packaging designed for the James Dyson Foundation won a Gold and Greenstar Sustainability Award in the B2B Transit, Industrial and Distribution category, alongside the “Best in Show” award.

Packaging designed for Haberdashery also won a Silver award in the Consumer and home delivery category.

Historic successes also include awards in 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010.

Packaging Business Review declared GWP Protective’s fully trackable case, Tracker Case, the winner of the ‘Innovation in Packaging’ award.

Judges selected the pack from four nominations shortlisted, recognising GWP’s idea of providing a protective case which users can secretly track. The ability to know the whereabouts of a case – and more pertinently, its contents if they are particularly valuable – is seen as having wide-ranging applications.

GWP Group was awarded the business of the Year accolade by Wiltshire Life Magazine in their annual business awards.

The awards celebrate businesses of all sizes from across the county, and those companies that have experienced a prolonged period of growth and/or success.

The award followed on from David Pedley, former GWP Group CEO, and Managing Director of GWP Packaging, Ruth Cook, being jointly awarded Wiltshire Business Person of the Year.