One of our recent blogs discussed the importance of a holistic view in terms of sustainability when customers are seeking new supply partners.
A key element of that is of course the products themselves – what they are made from, how far they have travelled, and what can be done with them at the end of their service lives in terms of recyclability and compostability.
But any supplier in any sector has to go well beyond that to be considered truly sustainable, especially in current times when ESG – environmental, social & governance – is being more widely embraced by companies seeking to embed responsible practices in all areas of their business.
Environmental policies remain a key element of this, of course, with companies re-examining all aspects of their operations to establish whether they can have less of an impact.
Reducing the overall volume of waste is critical but, especially in a manufacturing business such as our own, the generation of some amount of waste is an inevitable by-product of our operations.
The key then is to minimise the amount of material going to landfill reducing the legacy of waste for future generations.
To that end, we’ve examined all aspects of what we do and have adjusted our practices to the point that we are proud to say we are no longer sending any waste to landfill.
Our waste management partner, Fortress Recycling, researched everything they collected from our Coventry HQ, and the findings made for very interesting reading.
Recyclable materials such as paper, card and plastics accounted for 30% of the total by weight, with a further 64% of the waste going to be incinerated to create solid recovered fuel – an alternative to landfill for dry, non-hazardous waste.
The remainder was made up of glass, food and metals – again all recyclable – and inert materials.
It’s another key milestone for us as we strive to be a responsible supply partner – and to do our bit for the world around us.