Sustainability & Environmental Statement
Berkeley Tandem, Inc.
We are a “Made in the USA” Company
Our entire component manufacturing is concentrated near our assembly facility in Nashville or our contract assembly facility in Howell, NJ. Our frame products have been made in the USA since 1995. The design and unique character of the framed award products seen on the our websites are copyrighted by Berkeley Tandem, Inc. and crafted in the USA. © 2010
Current Frame Materials: Glass, Aluminum, Mylar engineered faux metal poly, Wood (some available wood mouldings styles not shown on this site are imported mouldings. Please inquire). All are 100% recyclable. You can break your frame down and recycle locally or call us to return your frames and we will recycle them for you. There is not one part of any frame we make that needs to end up in a landfill.
Shadowbox Spacer: In 2010 we are phasing out our foam spacers and replacing them with custom designed cardboard spacers with an acid reduction white front. These new cardboard spacers will maintain 60-80% post consumer waste and can be recycled like any cardboard. The foam spacers can use between 30% and 80% post consumer content from re-grind and re-use non-conforming foam recyclable material. All foam is 100% recyclable. Our foam uses no ozone depleting materials in manufacturing process. And when possible plant-based foam is used for packaging.
Mat Board and Frame Backs: Made of wood pulp fibers, surface, core and backing paper buffered with calcium carbonate. Recycled content varies from 50% to 80%.
Decorative Foil: adding decorative borders and medallions by using hot foil stamping is a signature feature of our frames. The Foil and Specialty Effects Association recently conducted an independent study and found foil stamped pulp paper products meet as well as exceed the standards of 100% recyclable. Foil itself is not harmful to the environment, as it is made from natural material. From choices in raw materials, recovery systems, and CO2 emissions during the production process to alternate sources of energy generated by foil waste (thermic utilization), the industry is currently in the process of altering manufacturing to meet the needs of today’s eco-friendly business environment. Magnesium dies are new to the market, replacing copper and brass as a more environmentally friendly material. And their customers, like Berkeley Tandem, will continue to demand a more environmentally friendly processes, especially as our customers demand it. By raising awareness in the foil industry we are seeing more environmental initiatives for the future.
Certificate Papers and Printing: Our house certificate paper is Cougar by Weyerhaeuser. We have been using it for years and offer it in a bright white and a cream natural with various pre-printed designs and sizes on our site fusionframes.com. The white is a 98 brightness. Corporate colors print beautifully. The natural cream is a nice cream, not too yellow and compliments our frame colors. It foil stamps and die cuts well. It is a very economical paper and available locally from our paper distributor. There is 10% recycled content and it is a Sustainable Forestry (SFI) certified paper. The quality is high enough for proper reproduction of corporate graphic standards and the digital is laser guaranteed. All of our off-set printing is created with soy-based ink. Please visit our Fusion Frames site for purchase.
Packing Material: All paper packaging and boxes are made from 100% recycled content. Our ship packaging is designed to fit our products, keeping packaging to a minimum. Voids are filled with cornstarch peanuts, packing paper and bubble. But, because our frames are custom boxed where typically no void fill is necessary, our packaging impact is reduced. Bubble wrap: Minimum 20% recycled plastic, Minimum 10% post-consumer content, 100% recyclable, not biodegradable. Foam bags: 15% Post-Consumer Content. None of our plastic packaging is made from ozone depleting materials. At our warehouse we practice recycling of packing and component materials.
Product Impact Statement: Recognition is personal. And when it is created with meaning and given with pride it is not something that ends up in a landfill. By providing a product that, by nature, is archival and sentimental it is part of conscientious consuming.
Goals: One of the keys to mainstreaming environmental sustainability is by making it easy for people to do the right thing, rather than requiring an extra effort to choose the environmentally preferable option. If we create products and systems and infrastructure to favor the environmentally preferable choice, we don’t have to urge each person, one by one, to make the right choice. Our manufacturing is localized, reducing our fuel costs to ship material. Using the Internet for marketing and sales reduces our need for paper mail marketing. Sourcing components with high recycled content or recycling the actual product after its life cycle in the market serves sustainability.
We are committed to continue to search out more eco-friendly materials, new ways of packaging, to one day build an improved manufacturing facility using geo-thermal and solar power and provide a great work-place for our employees in order to meet the long-term goal of closed-loop production and zero environmental impact. This statement is not made to justify what we do. It is to tell you where we are in our on-going process to be better stewards of the environment and more sustainable manufacturers of framed certificates.
Let us know “green” frames, awards and certificate presentation material matter to you.
Questions or comments: email lyn@btandem.com
Updated 1-10