This is a guest article written by the Landmark Street Furniture Team.
The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Caersws, Powys, with its offices and main workshop overlooking the forested hills of the historic landscape and one of Mid-Wales' many beautiful valleys. From the very beginning, Landmark's aim was to create long-lasting, sustainable street furniture that is made in the UK from high quality materials.
The demand for UK manufactured street furniture that is bespoke and well-made has been enormous, and consequently, Landmark Street Furniture have since grown to become one of the main providers of high-quality street furniture in the UK. The extensive product range now covers seating, planters, landscape structure and buildings, cycle storage, playground equipment, bollards, litter and access control, and architectural studs. The main street furniture materials include hard and softwood, steel, stone and recycled materials.
Because sustainability has always been part of Landmark's fabric, pursuing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification was a natural progression at this stage of the company's journey. It is Landmark's stated mission to minimise the impact on the environment, and a driving force for new product development is the availability and procurement of sustainable materials.
Timber is, of course, one of the prime materials in the street furniture catalogue. Landmark only work with a few hand-picked suppliers of timber, ensuring it is responsibly sourced and fully traceable to its forest of origin. Receiving Chain of Custody certification from the FSC has been the next step in further improving the company's environmental performance, and an achievement to be truly proud of.
Undergoing the process of FSC certification saw Landmark tighten practices from ensuring all suppliers are fully compliant to stringently documenting all materials from initial order to arrival in the workshop, their segregated storage to, finally, invoicing.
With all processes and paperwork one has to be extremely organised and highly accurate to stand a chance of becoming FSC certified but the benefits, of course, are immense.
Landmark Furniture Operations Manager, Robert Plume.
FSC certified timber is now available for use in the majority of Landmark's bespoke seating and planter products, as well as landscape structure and buildings. Street furniture made from FSC certified timber that is currently being assembled in the Caersws workshop includes these striking loungers as seen in the picture. These are heavy-duty steel-framed loungers with hardwood slats and will be installed together with stepped hardwood seating also made with FSC certified timber as part of a larger street furniture project at Raven’s Walk, Stratford, London.
Founder and Managing Director Robert Hawgood says "Our company mission has always been to create street furniture that is made in the UK and sustainably. We are absolutely delighted to now carry Chain of Custody certification for using FSC-certified wood. It sends a strong signal to our customers about our commitment to transparency as we are working towards a more sustainable future."
Click here to visit Landmark Street Furniture’s website.