SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS

At YKK El Salvador we take care of our manufacturing processes in order to comply with government and corporate environmental regulations, and to protect the environment and mitigate the impact of our activities. We have adopted several practices to achieve productivity and product quality while protecting the environment.

We adhere to the ISO 14001 Standard, which requires that we have an environmental management system, policy and objectives in place. As part of this standard, we have a solid waste management system that includes segregation, classification, reduction, re-use, recycling and landfill disposal, which all comply with sanitary and environmental standards for waste.

We check and control our emissions into the atmosphere to comply with air quality parameters according to Salvadoran law.

We study and measure the environmental impact of our activities and follow an environmental adjustment plan to reduce or mitigate the impacts. We also help to reduce environmental risks through proper chemical management, as well as the evaluation of our chemical suppliers to make sure they comply with our standards.

For the liquid waste and sewage that we generate, we have a wastewater treatment system that complies with water quality parameters according to national and international norms for process and domestic wastewater. Our wastewater treatment consists of a physical-chemical treatment, and we are currently in the process of improving the system by adding a biological treatment, a water cooling system and an effluent disinfection (a process that will remove contaminants from wastewater).

We also follow the Bluesign® standard, which provides us with guidelines for a sustainable textile production. This standard is designed to eliminate harmful substances right from the beginning of the manufacturing process and set standards for an environmentally friendly production so our consumers can be confident that we have produced a sustainable product.

As part of our ISO 9001:2008 System (an internationally recognized quality management system), we plan our activities to achieve more efficient processes to save resources like energy and water and to decrease the generation of waste or reprocessing.

Finally, during the past five years, we have planted more than 2,500 trees in open areas that need reforestation, as well as inside of our facilities during World Environment Day.

YKK El Salvador's Flocculation Tank causes fine particles in water to clump together into a floc (a loosely clumped mass of fine particles) by adding a flocculant (a substance that promotes the clumping of particles, especially one used in treating waste water) to the water. The water containing the flocs is then sent to a tank for sedimentation. The sludge formed from the sedimentation is then extracted with a pump, and water is removed from the sludge using a press filter. The clarified water is then sent to a multimedia filter, and it is pH controlled before it is disposed into the drainage system.

YKK El Salvador Waste Water Treatment Facility