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Sustainable Development Goals
What are the Sustainable Development Goals?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established in 2015 by the international community as part of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through which countries of the world collectively pledged to eradicate poverty, find sustainable and inclusive development solutions, ensure everyone’s human rights, and generally make sure no one is left behind by 2030.
17 SDGs have been defined, with 169 associated targets, to be reached by 2030. They address global challenges the world faces and tackle all dimensions of sustainable development, in a balanced and integrated manner.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
As a business, we know how important it is to acknowledge these goals and to spread the word to our suppliers, customers, and colleagues. We strive to, where possible, tackle those where we can make the greatest impact.
Outlined below is a selection of the Sustainable Development Goals, along with details of our ongoing efforts to achieve them and opportunities for further improvement.
3 – Good Health and Wellbeing
Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all, at all ages.
We are dedicated to creating a working environment that promotes the good mental and physical health of our team. Where possible, we offer flexible working arrangements and have implemented a Mental Health & Wellbeing policy, which includes:
- A Wellbeing day, offering an opportunity to focus on activities that promote a healthier work-life balance and improve emotional, mental or physical wellbeing.
- A Life leave day, to deal with an emergency without any added stress.
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme, a free and confidential service for employees and their immediate families that includes short-term counselling, legal advice and financial guidance.
- E-learning sessions on mental health and wellbeing.
We value suggestions from our team in all areas of the business and have an anonymous suggestion box to help facilitate this. As such, we are able to evolve as an employee-friendly organisation.
4 - Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
As advocates for better music education, we at Chamberlain Music understand the importance of providing students with top-quality instruments and resources. Our commitment and expertise in this area has made us a leading UK music education supplier.
Our services for music education
An important development, we are now a Department for Education approved supplier for the Musical Instruments, Equipment & Technology framework. This offers unparalleled investment to Music Hubs for new instruments and equipment. Our appointment comes down to many factors, one of which is our comprehensive range of instruments and tools for education.
From the time-honoured craftsmanship of Yamaha and Kawai to the innovative education-focused designs of our in-house brands like Nuvo and Percussion Plus, we can cater for all diverse requirements.
Our unique position as a manufacturer, distributor, and supplier allows us to provide our customers with a genuinely thorough and stress-free service. From initial inquiry to seamless delivery or installation, and beyond. Read more about our services to music education here.
Our education resources
Many of our in-house brands go above and beyond when it comes to education.
Octopus Ukuleles come with the opportunity to join the Octopus Ukulele Academy on YouTube, hosted by Andy Eastwood. This free series covers topics for beginners and beyond.
Percussion Plus has published an award-winning resource, Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe, offering engaging lesson plans for educators. In 2024, this won the Music and Drama Education Expo award for Outstanding Music Education Print Resource.
Inclusivity & SEND
We have a keen focus on developing our provision for SEND, providing opportunities for everyone to participate in a fulfilling music education.
This includes products such as the Arcana Strum, Digit Music CMPSR, and Cosmo, alongside accessible ranges like Colour & Play, Slap Djembes, and Percussion Play outdoor instruments.
Our service to international schools
For 35 years we have supplied instruments to over 20,000 schools in the UK and many British international schools across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Far East.
Gap year employment scheme
We offer opportunities for recent graduates to gain experience in marketing, design, and photography before moving on to university or further career steps.
5 - Gender Equality
Ensure individuals are treated equally and fairly, ensuring equal opportunities and rights for everybody.
We are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone, regardless of gender, has equal opportunities to thrive, succeed and lead.
- We believe that pay should reflect the role, not the person, ensuring fairness and transparency.
- We champion equal access to senior management roles, creating pathways for diverse talent.
- We have a zero tolerance policy for harassment, creating an environment of respect, safety and inclusion.
7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Our warehouse features energy-efficient LED lighting with motion sensors, ensuring only active areas are illuminated. This significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions.
We also maintain insulated and heated working areas for efficiency and staff comfort.
We recognise there is more to do and are committed to further improvements.
8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Starting as a small local music shop in 1990, we have grown steadily over 35 years and now employ around 40 staff.
Supporting British manufacturing
We prioritise UK suppliers wherever possible, supporting local craftsmanship and reducing environmental impact.
- Reduced carbon footprint
- Support for UK economy
- Preservation of traditional crafts
- Higher product quality
- Faster supply chains
Our honestly made range
Our Honestly Made products are sourced from independent workshops following fair trade principles including fair pricing, sustainable materials, and ethical production.
12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Packaging
- Re-use of packaging materials wherever possible
- Recycling of unusable materials
- Use of recycled-content plastics
- Use of renewable and recyclable packaging
Shipping
We partner with courier services that share our sustainability goals and continuously review our processes to reduce environmental impact.
Sustainable brands
We also distribute HuskeeCup coffee cups, a triumph of sustainability through innovation, in the UK.
Sustainability is key to HuskeeCups’ success. The reusable HuskeeCups not only battle the waste produced by disposable cups, they also take on and repurpose waste from the coffee production process. Every cup is made using coffee husk, an organic waste material that's typically discarded at the milling stage of coffee production.
They also have a HuskeeRenew range made from Tritan Renew 50™, which includes 50% recycled content and HuskeeSteel made from 91% post-consumer recycled stainless steel.
HuskeeCups should last for several years, but when they do eventually reach the end of their long life, they can be returned to us. We'll then make sure they get returned to the manufacturers to get recycled into new Huskee products such as the Huskee Dog Bowl. This is HuskeeLoop - the ultimate closed-loop ecosystem ensuring zero waste.
13 – Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
We realise that this is an ongoing process and are always on the lookout for ways to make sustainable changes, whether large or small.
For example, we are migrating to a new computer system which will significantly reduce the amount of paper and printer ink we use. We also try to minimise our carbon footprint by shipping large orders all together rather than in smaller shipments.
Many of our suppliers are also climate conscious. pBone became the first instrument manufacturer to offer only carbon-neutral musical instruments independently assessed by Carbon Footprint in 2020. Nuvo supply sustainable instruments with affordable spare parts for easy repair and the “Pass It On” scheme so each instrument can be passed down for years to come. The estimated carbon cost of a Nuvo flute is just 20% compared to the metal equivalent.
We are constantly monitoring goods from our factories and looking for ways to make packaging more sustainable.
Keeping our waste out of landfill
All the waste at Frederick Hyde is collected weekly by Chambers Waste Management, who recycle up to 98% of all waste they handle.
They also work with Andusia, who specialise in recovered fuel solutions including Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This allows waste such as food waste, non-recyclable plastics and polystyrene to be processed into alternative fuel for power generation.