Nippon Gohsei has grabbed bronze in its latest accreditation from Investors in People (IIP).

An in-depth, comprehensive three-day assessment involving more than 20 Nippon Gohsei staff members has seen the company achieve the bronze mark, six years after achieving its national standard.

“This is an excellent achievement for the company and for all the staff involved,” said Helen Starkey, human resources and communications manager.

“We already held the core IIP standard, but the bronze accreditation tested us against a wider range of evidence within the standard and considered a broader organisational development framework.”

The assessment involved interviews with staff on 65 IIP evidence requirements, including leadership and management capability, business planning, reward and recognition, work-life balance and key performance indicators.

The standard accreditation meets 39 core requirements, with bronze meeting an additional 26 requirements.

“One area assessed was the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, something that Nippon Gohsei takes very seriously, and which demonstrates to employees and other organisations alike that the company is constantly trying to make our working environment as good as it possibly can be.”

Formed in 1991 by the UK Government, IIP is an internationally recognised business improvement framework that really makes a difference to organisational performance and how a business engages with its people.

Nippon Gohsei UK also recently gained the BS OHSAS 18001 certification, an internationally recognised occupational health and safety management system.

Employing about 125 people at two sites in east Hull, Nippon Gohsei produces Soarnol, the trade name for ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), which is commonly used as a barrier layer in food packaging and other applications, including for construction, agriculture and cosmetics products.

It is the UK’s only producer of Soarnol and one of only three worldwide and started manufacturing the product at Saltend Chemicals Park in 2004.

For further Media information about Nippon Gohsei, please contact Catherine Ackroyd or Julian Woodford at Mapa, 01482 976976, catherine@mapapr.co.uk or julian@mapapr.co.uk