Page 8 - BOSS Today Issue 55
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BOSS Today      #55    SUSTAINABILITY














          So, What’s On The Agenda Now?        state business, but one that creates
          To summarise, the areas of sustainability   a service the people want to pay for.”
          that are most on the agenda right    With that in mind, Risbridger has
          now are to do firstly with product and   worked to eliminate waste; create
          environment i.e.                     closed recycling loops; not buy any
                                               packaging materials (and to challenge
          n  The reduction in the production    their suppliers on the packaging that
             of waste                          they are using); contract delivery out
          n  Improvements in the sustainability    to electric vehicles; put together a
             of packaging                      full range of green products “so that   “It’s all about having some
          n  Adopting a circular economy       people can run an office and have a   really concrete shorter
             (i.e. recycle and re-use)         lower environmental impact”; and
          n  The reduction of carbon footprints  launch a range of products called   term goals like ‘net zero by
          n  Measuring and reducing the impact    ‘Products For Life’, made in countries   2050’, with the long term
             of greenhouse gases (the UK       where there are good environmental   ambition behind it.”
             Government’s plan is for ‘net zero’    conditions for manufacturing and
             by 2050)                          working conditions for staff.   Jo Pybus,
          n  Supporting biodiversity, conserving                               Sustainability and Public Affairs
             resources and not destroying, but     n  Because of the weight of requests for   Manager, Essity UK & Ireland
             regenerating, habitats            information on sustainability from
          n  In our industry particularly, a trend    its end user base, Banner has been
             against toxins such as xylene and     used by EVO to try sustainability
             toluene in – for example – marker    initiatives out before rolling them
             pens                              out across the rest of the group, as
                                               Spence explains: “We’ve brought in a
          Also, what is coming up very clearly is a   responsible procurement policy and
          drive to sustainable human practises, i.e.  a Code of Conduct so that we are
          n  Ethical working                   very clear about our expectations
          n  Respect for human life            from our supplier base and we can
          n  Living up to labour standards     evidence how we’ve done that to our
                                               public sector customers.  We have a   “By our centenary year
          Many Paths – One Goal                programme called Evolution where our
          Given the broad nature of the above –   CSR purpose is to go above and beyond  in 2026 a minimum of 90%
          and the wide diversity of our industry   to create better outcomes across four   of our sales will come
          – it is unsurprising that each of the   pillars: the Environment, Community,   from products that are
          four companies interviewed for this   Supply Chain and People. For each of
          feature has taken their own individual   these, we are setting out where we’re   sustainable.”
          approaches on sustainability:        going, setting targets, tracking our
                                               progress, and measuring what we   David Harman,
          n  Jay Risbridger’s Green Stat was   have achieved. So, we have a good   Product & Services Director,
            originally set up in 1989 as The Green   document now that sets out all the   Lyreco UK
            Business Company, with a particular   different activities and we are applying
            and fundamental approach from the   pressure to ourselves and to our supply
            very start: “Our first consideration   chain to act differently – and it also
            was ensuring that our primary aim   includes what we think the impacts of
            was to create a green business, not   those activities will be.
            to create one that was profitable
            or one that was intended to grow   n  Manufacturer Essity has very recently
            as large as possible because, to me,   published plans for its journey to ‘net
            green growth is an oxymoron – you   zero’, as Pybus explains: “It’s all about
            can’t have endless growth in a finite   having some really concrete shorter
            world. So we tried to create a steady   term goals like ‘net zero by 2050’, with


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