Scottish Leather Group (SLG), the leader in sustainable leather production to the automotive and aviation sectors, has launched its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report.
The 22nd annual statement outlines the pioneering sustainability work that is being carried out across SLG’s businesses, initiatives that have earned its BioPRO® product a coveted Earthshot Prize nomination in 2025. This nomination serves as global recognition of how SLG’s innovative ideas have been transformed into real solutions, meaningfully contributing to a lower-impact future.
The 2025 report offers a full overview of the initiatives that SLG is enacting to lead the sector in ESG. These projects include the opening of a Solar PV array, which will potentially help to decouple manufacturing from the grid.
The company has also achieved a third consecutive best-in-class Gold rating from the Leather Working Group, underscoring its sector leading sustainability credentials. The business also continues to uphold its commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), reporting against the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and proudly delivering the world’s lowest carbon leather.
The report’s release coincides with Muirhead’s 185th anniversary, and Bridge of Weir’s 120th. The companies, which are rich in heritage, remain resolutely forward thinking, both with their business practices and the cutting-edge products they offer.
The company has recently launched three revolutionary technologies, BioPRO® foam and BioTAN® and FreeTAN® tannages, next-generation products that mark SLG’s continual development of sustainability accelerators, providing customers with cutting-edge, sustainable solutions.
SLG’s 2025 ESG Report also reveals that the company continues to make progress towards its net-zero targets, with up to 94% of waste now recycled or recovered through its processes – an increase from 89% last year, with further improvement being targeted through renewed focus on the supply chain.
Over the last two decades, SLG has made multi-million-pound investments aimed at further increasing its leadership in sustainable leather production, with forward-thinking initiatives such as its patented Thermal Energy Plant (TEP) and Water Treatment & Recycling Plant (WTRP) alongside the launch of its £14million Super Tannery in 2023.
The company offers industry-leading traceability and transparency in its raw material supply, with 100% traceability to UK and Irish farms as of 2025, ensuring zero deforestation and, thanks to the development of a new digital platform, compliance with the new EUDR legislation, which is due to be introduced next year.
SLG also produces the world’s lowest carbon leather for the automotive and aviation industries, and continues to have the industry’s lowest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) impact, with an independently verified carbon footprint of just 8kg CO2e/m² on average, helping its customers reduce their carbon impact on the planet without offsetting.
Nicholas Muirhead, CEO, Scottish Leather Group, said: “Scottish Leather Group has continuously invested in considered, long-term strategic initiatives designed to optimise and improve productivity, quality, and sustainability. Thanks to our pioneering approach to sustainability, we are proud to be an industry leader.
“Our 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report – which coincides with Muirhead’s 185th anniversary and Bridge of Weir’s 120th anniversary – shows that we are more focused than ever on leading the way for our industry. Along with our peerless heritage, we are committed to setting new standards for sustainability both in terms of our business practices and the products we offer to customers. The team’s tireless work has received an Earthshot Prize nomination this year – yet another first for our sector.
“This nomination, along with our longstanding commitment to traceability and transparency, as well as our status as a manufacturer of the world’s lowest carbon leather for the automotive & aviation sectors, underscores SLG’s position as the leader in the supply of sustainable leather for the world’s luxury car brands, the aviation sector, and beyond.”
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