OUR REDUCTION IN PAPER USE CONTINUES TO SAVE TREES!!

We’ve just done some sums on our paper printing volumes since switching over to our new computer system Odoo. We are delighted to report that over the past year we have printed approximately 48,000 less paper copies through the office printers, which equates to a 40% reduction in paper use and also less ink and energy used in printing.

According to Ribble Packaging, industrial packaging and waste experts, it is estimated that a standard pine tree, with 45ft of the usable trunk and a diameter of eight inches, will produce around 10,000 sheets of paper. This means that our paper savings from last year alone has helped to save around 5 trees!!

We will continue to monitor our savings in paper and also work hard as part of our environmental objectives to reduce further paper and cardboard usage where we can.

NEW FOCUS ON OUR MEASURING AND MONITORING

The emphasis is changing for companies to focus more on the scrutiny of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects of running a business. We are now aiming to be a “circular economy”. This basically means we are creating a model of production and use for our products which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

We are already very proud of the areas within our business that we do recycle or reduce environmental impacts already and our environmental achievements and objectives are discussed at main board level and reviewed by our Environmental & Standards Committee. We will be ensuring the following areas are monitored and measured even further going forward to help us create higher standards of environmental and social governance.

CARBON FOOTPRINT MEASURING – we will shortly be getting all our carbon footprint calculations further verified – both for our lubricant products and for our business as a whole.

SUPPLIERS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT – a new register of suppliers of raw materials, goods and services to Witham Group will be contacted over the year ahead to ensure that we have up to date information about their own environmental and social codes of practice.

WASTE – we have a register of all the waste that we produce and a list of registered suppliers who collect the different types of waste from us and we will now be working more to measure our overall waste volumes with a view to seeing how we can reduce our waste overall.

TRANSPORT POLICY – we will be measuring more closely our own fleet of vehicles from our delivery lorries to our company cars, their emissions and fuel economies AND that of our couriers and will be checking as a supplier they have suitable zero/ lower emission goals and other ESG objectives.

RECYCLING – we will also be working on summarising our recycling activities and how they are improving. From packaging and barrels to toner cartridges and elements of recycling in our drums, to monitor improvements in this area.

WATER – whilst we harvest rainwater and save it where we can we now need to be able to report over a 3-5 year rolling period our cubic metres of water used and monitor our water usage and reduce wherever possible.

We’re proud of our environmental achievements and remain dedicated to continuous improvement. For more information about how we are creating a greener culture in our business, go to our website:
https://www.withamgroup.co.uk/about-us/working-with-the-environment