Specialist Group: practicing local and global sustainability

With a rich history in joinery spanning more than three decades, Specialist Group’s environmental journey began in 1990, when company founder John B. O’Hagan purchased 100 acres of sustainable forestry in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Since then, the company’s net zero journey has continued, using renewable energy and timber sources and implementing a zero waste to landfill policy since 2012.

Now formalising its sustainability strategy into a formal project with clear goals, Specialist Group’s current emission reduction sits at -64% – with the aim of achieving carbon neutral by 2026. This will involve significant investment and operational change, including a switch to onsite wind and solar generated power, as well as a full transition to electric vehicles and the decarbonisation of its fleet of lorries and vans. An ambitious target, but one the company is ready to invest in.

Underpinned by FSC and PEFC accreditations, Specialist Group provides clients with a full cradle-to-cradle chain of custody, tracing the origin of raw materials from the formaldehyde free timber core material to the FSC veneers applied. A recent investment in robotic sanders throughout the factory has significantly improved accuracy and efficiency, including fully integrated CAD and CAM capability – improving accuracy and buildability of products and further reducing waste.

For Specialist Group, making an impact works at a larger and more local scale – making a difference in local communities through its diverse work in commercial interior design, and globally through ambitious carbon goals.

“Sustainability for us as a business is more than protecting our planet,” Ciaran O’Hagan, group managing director at Specialist Group, explains. “It’s protecting and developing our people; helping those in society less fortunate than ourselves; enhancing the communities in which we live; and ultimately providing a positive future on a planet where our children can thrive.”

Corporate Social Responsibility is core to the company’s value system, with 2023 marking its biggest year for giving back; raising over £250,000 for a diverse range of charity organisations. Its support for community development has seen Specialist engage with a number of inspirational projects, including its partnership with the National Trust and Mix Interiors – each year planting a tree within their conservation area in Carnmoney Hill, Northern Ireland, for every guest in attendance at every Mix Awards event since 2021.

“Our passion for positive change drives us forward,” O’Hagan continues. “As our business has grown, we have become increasingly aware of the impact we can make in inspiring change beyond our own company. Our support for community development has seen us engage with a number if inspirational projects such as the Eden project and the Stephen Lawrence charitable trust. It is humbling to support those contributing in such a positive way to our wider society.”

“At Specialist, we take a full holistic view on sustainability. We’re committed not only to implementing change in our own business, but to inspiring change in others around us.”