A Proud & Significant Story of Sustainability: Interview with Nicholas Muirhead
Nicholas Muirhead is CEO of Scottish Leather Group. He has been working within the family business for over 18 years and even earlier as a boy, he was helping out, absorbing the depths of knowledge from the professional experts in the firm.
“The learning journey was brilliant,” says Nicholas. “It was a great testbed for what I am doing now. I learned from some incredibly knowledgeable people that I knew from a young age as well as learning directly from my father and taking on his business ethos ‘How can we better tomorrow than we are today’”
However, it wasn’t always Nicholas’ clear cut intention to join the family business. He studied chemical engineering at University – a way to keep his options open. But when he graduated, Scottish Leather Group was in the process of developing a new thermal energy plant – which was an exciting innovation opportunity. He joined the team as a Project Engineer in 2007.
From the very first founders opening a Tannery in Glasgow in 1658, to the eight generations of family tanners and leather makers, the group of businesses now within Scottish Leather Group, have always been firmly rooted in Scottish heritage.
With 750 employees, Scottish Leather Group today is a group of 3 distinct brands with shared values across sustainability, high quality and innovation.
Muirhead was established in 1840 and is proud to be a market leader for the global aviation industry. With a focus on low carbon, high performance leather, you’ll find Muirhead leather on 160 airliners, buses, coaches, and railways, and in the marine and furniture industries as well as leading restaurants and government buildings, hotels and private commissions.
Founded by Arthur Muirhead in 1905, Bridge of Weir leather has helped shape the course of automotive history. Synonymous with comfort and timeless quality, Bridge of Weir leathers have been defining car interiors in terms of sporting performance and luxurious quality. From the Ford Model T to the DeLorean DMC-12, Aston Martin V8 Vantage to the McLaren F1.
Lang offers over 150 years of tanning experience producing the finest Scottish leathers and a tannery in Scotland known for the quality of its leather.
Over 98% of raw hides are sourced from the UK and Ireland. Scottish water is recycled and reused and over 50% of tanning production is organic.
With a transparent zero waste strategy and the world’s lowest carbon leather, producing game changing products, Scottish Leather is clearly at the forefront of sustainability within the global leather industry.
It’s an impressive approach but it doesn’t come without challenges.
“The commercial reality is that it’s expensive to manufacture leather sustainably. And we don’t make commodity leathers because we know the benefits of natural, long lasting, premium leather ” explains Nicholas. “We are proud to have customers in the US and UK who value sustainability and natural leather. But it is a journey of customer education”.
Notwithstanding, the business recognises an opportunity in providing a wider comprehensive approach to leather.
“Looking beyond leather in the sense of the complete application of leather is a clear vision for us. For example, we have a great sewn cover operation in China. This offer is a one stop show from design to producing sustainable leather, simplifying the journey for the customer and creating a much easier customer experience”
But perhaps it is Scottish Leather’s unrivalled approach to protecting the environment that places it beyond comparison. In 2024 the business celebrated 21 years of recording and sharing their ESG impact.
“It’s about doing the right thing” says Nicholas. “We know that our approach to sustainability is pioneering but it’s not yet seen as a necessity. We believe it will become one and we’ve put in the work to lead the world in this way forward”.
The business is now 90% of the way towards achieving its target to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1 and 2 of the standardised Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol this year.
The group’s new £14 million Super Tannery has slashed energy use by 82% and water consumption by 42%, advancing its low-impact leather production goals.
“We are extremely proud of the progress we have made over the past two decades. Environmental sustainability sits at the very core of all decisions that are taken across our businesses and as a result of this we are industry leaders in providing an unprecedented range of solutions to the many and complex challenges that our customers face today”.
With exciting new innovations to be unveiled this year, the future for Scottish Leather Group is bright. As Nicholas explains:
“From exceptional supply chain traceability to new tanning technologies, we’re not just delivering environmental innovation for our customers but also confidence. Confidence that no other leather manufacturer is doing more to continually innovate and invest in order to stay ahead within the rapidly evolving regulatory sectors in which we operate.
All of this is only made possible through powerful and positive collaborations with our people, our suppliers and our customers which in turn underlines our central belief that together we go further.”
For more information about Scottish Leather Group’s sustainability and its 2024 ESG Report https://www.scottishleathergroup.com/planet