Our Commitment to Sustainability
At Early Excellence, our mission goes far beyond delivering high quality products and services. We are deeply committed to understanding and improving the broader impact of our work on the communities we serve, the environment we share, and the customers who place their trust in us.
Being a responsible business, for us, goes hand in hand with being a purpose-led business. That’s why we place sustainability at the heart of the things we do.
We ask ourselves “How can we be better?” Whether it’s through product innovation, delivery, packaging, or customer experience, we challenge ourselves to think differently and embrace new ideas. Guided by our belief that every idea is worth exploring, we continue to push boundaries and seek creative solutions.
For a company of our size, the journey toward greater sustainability is not without its challenges. We rely on suppliers and partners, which means navigating their processes, packaging, and shipping methods. But at Early Excellence, we don’t shy away from complexity. While we may not have all the answers today, we are confident that through innovation, collaboration, and a shared commitment to progress, we will find the right path forward.
As a leading early years specialist, we have the privilege of positively influencing the lives of children every day. Together, we are building a future where Early Excellence continues to lead with purpose, integrity, and care for our customers, our communities, and our planet.
Zena Wilson, Chief Executive Officer
ISO 14001 Environmental Management
We have already taken meaningful steps to embed sustainability into every aspect of our operations and product development.
We are proud to be starting the journey towards ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification – a significant milestone in our exploration of continuous environmental improvement.
Sustainable by Design
Innovation and sustainability have been a longstanding key consideration, forming part of our furniture, storage and educational resource development process. We continue to research and seek out sustainable suppliers, materials and resources.
All our indoor classroom units are manufactured using wood-based panel products certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certifications (PEFC) and/or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This means the wood comes from verified, well-managed forests, which ensure renewable and sustainable resources with minimal environmental impact.
Our products and furniture are created to the highest quality and are extremely durable. We have a long established 10-year guarantee for our indoor furniture. This helps the environment, keeping our production process to a minimum, reducing waste and eliminating the need for re-investment for our customers.
Many of the learning resource collections are crafted with natural and recycled materials, and FSC certified timber wherever possible. Where we can we avoid using any single use plastic in our products.
In addition, we are moving all our classroom storage solutions from coloured plastic to clear, to ease recycling, or to natural products such as sea grass baskets.
Energy-Efficient Manufacturing
All our classroom units are crafted to our exclusive design in production facilities committed to minimising energy use and waste.
Our furniture manufacturing is driven by a strong commitment to sustainability. Materials are sourced within the UK wherever possible to reduce the carbon footprint, purchased in bulk to minimise transport emissions, and waste board is recycled on-site through a biomass burner, which provides heat for the factory and eliminates landfill waste.
Additionally, our high production standards maximise product lifespan, reducing the need for replacements and supporting global resource conservation.
Eco-Friendly Collections
We offer a dedicated line of eco-friendly educational products which we have highlighted on our website.
You can see our eco-friendly products here:
Educational Focus on Environmental Stewardship
We see that Early Excellence has a part to play in helping children to build their knowledge and understanding of how to protect the planet, both in the here and now and into their future.
Several of our resource collections are designed to foster an understanding of the world around them – from the weather, gardening and growing to the diversity of all living creatures.
Many of the resource collections have a strong association to STEM. Creativity and critical thinking is particularly pertinent to STEM – developing our future scientists, inventors and creators who may go on to explore and move forward scientific progress around sustainability and the climate change agenda for generations to come.
We are delighted to have been commissioned to support with specific projects. Most recently this has included a Wind Farm project with East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Dogger Farm Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, engaging us in a yearlong training and consultancy programme working with educators.
Outgoing Deliveries
We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and are continuously seeking more sustainable packaging solutions.
Where packaging is necessary, we prioritise recyclable and environmentally responsible materials to ensure products are protected during transit. Items are wrapped in recycled paper or biodegradable snap bags when needed. Our shipping boxes are made from 50% recycled materials, are fully recyclable, and include messaging to encourage reuse and responsible disposal.
We are currently transitioning to eco bubble wrap and are working towards eliminating all bubble wrap by the end of 2026. In addition, we are moving to paper-based packing tape and paper Sellotape to further reduce plastic use and support easier recycling.
To minimise waste and reduce our carbon footprint, our products are delivered to our customers without tags or excessive packaging. We carefully plan our deliveries to ensure they are as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.
Upon request, we are happy to collect and reuse our delivery boxes, further supporting our commitment to sustainability.
Brochures & Other Printed Items
We are passionate about reducing our reliance on print, so our brochures and marketing materials are usually available digitally, making it easier for you to access what you need, anytime and anywhere.
Where possible our preferred form of communication is via email and on social media platforms. This works to reduce the impact on the environment.
We keep printing to a minimum, using it only for specific, focused communications. Printed brochures and marketing materials are used selectively to ensure they add real value and complement our digital resources.
In instances where brochures, Continuous Provision Guides and other printed assets are required we have moved to using FSC papers, ensuring the timber for paper is responsibly sourced, with minimal impact on the environment.
Community Initiatives
Alongside charity fundraising events, such as coffee mornings, Sock Day for Downs, and 10k runs, we have a fund for charity donations suggested by our team members.
We also work with local groups to create opportunities for disadvantaged community members.