Our 2025 annual environmental report is published. Process water consumption is down 22%. Grid electricity sourcing has dropped from 91% to 74% of total consumption. Three areas where we fell short of our own targets — and what we are doing about them.
We publish this report annually because our ISO 14001 certification requires it, and because we believe our distribution partners and project clients have a right to know what the environmental cost of making their products actually is. We do not publish it to market ourselves as sustainable. We publish it because the numbers are real and the commitments are accountable.
Water
Sanitary ware manufacturing is water-intensive. Ceramic forming requires water in the slip, in the casting process, in the cooling of the kilns, and in the finishing of the fired body. Our ceramic line at Xiamen used 4.2 million litres of process water in 2024. In 2025, it used 3.3 million litres — a 22% reduction.
The reduction came from three changes: closed-loop cooling on the kiln chambers (recirculating hot water rather than discharging it), a slip-casting process modification that reduced water content without affecting product density, and a wastewater recovery system that recovers 80% of rinse water from the glazing line for reuse in slip preparation.
Where We Did Not Meet Our Target
We targeted 28% water reduction. We achieved 22%. The gap is the brass machining area, where our cutting-fluid recovery system failed twice during the year — once in April and once in September — and was operating at partial capacity for approximately six weeks in total. We have replaced the failing components and the system has been running without interruption since October.
Energy
Grid electricity consumption fell from 8.4 GWh to 7.9 GWh, a 6% reduction, against a target of 8%. Our rooftop photovoltaic installation, completed in Q1 2025, contributed 1.2 GWh of self-generated electricity. Grid sourcing therefore fell from 91% to 74% of total consumption.
- Kiln efficiency programme: new burner calibration across all four kilns reduced gas consumption by 11%
- Compressed air audit: identified and repaired 23 leaks across the factory, recovering approximately 180 kWh per day
- Lighting replacement: 100% LED across all production areas and warehouse, completed Q2 2025
Waste
Ceramic waste (rejects, kiln furniture, grinding swarf) totalled 148 tonnes in 2025, down from 162 tonnes in 2024. Of this, 91% was recycled into secondary ceramic materials by our local processing partner. The remaining 9% went to licensed industrial waste disposal — the same proportion as 2024. We have not yet found a viable solution for the residual ceramic dust from our grinding operations; this remains an open item for 2026.
Looking Forward
Our 2026 targets: 15% further reduction in process water consumption, 95% of ceramic waste recycled (up from 91%), and solar self-generation covering 25% of total electricity consumption (up from 15%). The full 2025 Environmental Management Report is available to partners and auditors on request. It includes our ISO 14001 audit findings, our legal compliance register, and our supplier environmental assessment results for the twelve principal suppliers we audited during the year.
