LWG Audit to the Environmental Protocol
At Eurofins | BLC, we have approved auditors to carry out audits on tanneries, leather producers and traders to the LWG Environmental Protocol. Our experienced auditors will travel globally to deliver the LWG audit which is designed to provide a measure of environmental compliance and performance capabilities of your leather business.
Brands are encouraged to audit their suppliers via the Leather Working Group, to advocate appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry. This naturally has a positive effect for consumers, showing that leather used in your products has been manufactured in an environmentally appropriate way.
About the LWG Environmental Protocol
The LWG Environmental Protocol is made up of 18 sections, 11 of which are critical. The weighting of the critical sections will automatically default to the lowest score achieved within one of the sections, which is designed to encourage proficiency in environmental performance across all critical areas of the audit.
The LWG audit covers the following areas:
* = Critical Scrutiny Sections
- General Facility Details
- Operating Permits*
- Tannery data*
- Raw Materials Traceability
- Environmental Management Systems*
- Restricted Substances*
- Energy Consumption*
- Water Usage*
- Air & Noise Emissions*
- Waste Management*
- Effluent Treatment*
- Emergency Plans*
- Housekeeping*
- Manufacturing Processes
- Beamhouse Processes
- Post Tanning Processes
- Finishing Processes
- Complaints and Public Relations
LWG Certifications & Ratings
The LWG audit to the LWG Environmental Protocol assesses tanneries, leather producers and manufacturers for the provision of an LWG rating. Upon completion of the LWG audit, the business being audited will receive an LWG Environmental Audit Protocol Responses Report containing their overall certification, rating or score and the results will be visible on the LWG website.
Certifications & Ratings for Tanners
Tanneries and leather producers can achieve either a Gold, Silver or Bronze certification or an Audited rating.
Ratings & Scores for Leather Traders
Leather traders will achieve a score per material, which takes into consideration the amount of leather sourced from LWG certified tanneries and is marked out of 100%. Material sourced from LWG Gold Certified tanneries carries a higher rating.
To be eligible for an audit, traders must have a physical site that can be audited such as a warehouse and must deal in part processed material such as wet-blue, crust, splits and pickled hides and skins. Traders dealing in finished leather and unprocessed material cannot be audited.
Arrange an LWG Audit
If you are interested in arranging an audit of your business or of a supplier, contact us today by email to [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 1604 679 999.