The pond in the grounds of Stephenson Group's manufacturing site in Horsforth, which attracts wildlife and a variety of birds, shows how environmentally-friendly the company is.

The pond, which fronts the manufacturing unit at Brookfoot Mill, is one of the features of the factory which has been developed over the years into a modern plant.

Development has taken place around the factory, which employs about 50 people, who make speciality chemicals for the Stephenson Group which has its headquarters in Listerhills Road, Bradford.

The group was founded in 1856 and became part of Thomas Bentley & Son Limited, which was founded in 1890, in 1967. The two sites which the business operates from have been occupied by the company since the late 19th century. But in the last ten years both have been extensively refurbished and the main manufacturing site in Horsforth has been virtually re-built. The company has made sure that the rebuilding has been carried out in a manner sympathetic with the historic surroundings.

Group managing director Richard Bentley said: "We have provided a modern factory suitable for manufacture to the highest standards in an environment which is both sympathetic and environmentally attractive."

As the Horsforth site is by far the bigger operation, the group has focused on that and has obtained registration to the international environmental management standard ISO 14001 while the group as a whole is registered to ISO 9001 quality standard.

This calls for regular internal environmental monitoring covering odour, dust, visible emissions and measurement of noise. The results of this monitoring are recorded and reviewed by the firm's management who make efforts to correct problems it throws up.

A pleasant surprise in a recent survey carried out by the group in the area surrounding the Horsforth site was that some people did not realise they had a chemical factory on their doorstep.

Mr Bentley said: "Environmental considerations are an integral part of the development work for all our products and improvement projects are assessed for environmental impact. Our environmental management system is audited twice a year by auditors from the British Standards Institution. We produce regular environmental reports which are publicly available.

"A key part of our environmental improvement programme is to reduce our energy costs and emissions by process improvement, energy conservation and utilisation of best available technology. It is also our policy to produce minimal waste wherever possible and to recycle, again wherever possible, all of our packaging," he added.

Mr Bentley said one the things he felt was a real incentive for staff working at the two sites was the knowledge that the company was investing in new business, plant and equipment, infrastructure and extra jobs. "This gives them a sense of security for the future," he added.

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