The Cheshire-based company has been working towards accreditation for a while, and said that consumers have increasingly been seeking evidence of environmentally-sound business practices.

Purchasing manager of the £40m-turnover company, Struan Slater, said: "Businesses need a reliable and credible mechanism to prove to their customers where their products have come from, and certification, by independently accredited third parties, provides this."

However, he said it would not necessarily help the company win new work, but rather that more tender documentation is asking for FSC certification.

Slater said: "Being able to tick the box means that APS cannot be disqualified at the first round for not having the formal accreditation."

The process was "a good investment" and he said the yearly audit, in additional to internal audits, do make the process quite stringent.

He added getting the environmental accreditations is a prerequisite these days, as it is generally a request from the sort of organisations APS deals with.

APS Group has 440 staff and works in the financial services, retail, pharmaceutical and local government.

The company has recently invested in a compactor and it said its plans for the rest of 2009 will include purchasing additional equipment as and when required.