interview environment l
ShD: What does sustainability mean for CHEP? JJF: For CHEP, sustainability means much more than just respect for the natural environment. It also means valuing the social environment in which we work and the way in which we impact on local communities. Good corporate governance and sustained CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programmes are fundamental parts of our strategy. That is why we give all of our staff three charity days a year, so they can get out into the communities where they work and try and make a difference to those people who need some help.
An important step has been to make individuals responsible for measuring and targeting improvements in each of our locations. For example, we identified that air compressor leakage across our plant network is an area where we can make a real difference. Each site in the UK has now reduced its compressed air leaks, resulting in a saving of more than $59,000 per year. The next stage of the project is to install new compressors which will further reduce energy costs by $188,000 and reduce CO2
emissions by 777 tonnes. This is just an example of a particular
area in the organisation, but more importantly we are being successful in establishing a sustainability culture within our operations through using newsletters, shift briefings, notice boards, induction sheets and training. That for me is the key, that employees at every level of the organisation are engaged and convinced of the importance of this issue.
ShD: How critical is it to collaborate with other companies in the supply chain? JJF: In a global environment, such as the one in which we operate and live today, I think that it is impossible to understand environmental sensibilities without initiatives that involve the whole supply chain. We are working on several important projects – for example we really need to understand the end-to-end impact of our activities, not only the part that we directly control. For this reason, we have just finalised a Life Cycle Analysis that studied the impact of our business, from the forests all the way down to the end of life when our pallets are recycled. This understanding of the whole process is helping us focus on the more relevant areas.
Working with suppliers and customers is also critical. For example, we have launched a strong programme to convert all our timber and new pallet suppliers to sustainable wood sourcing, even lobbying governments and collaborating with them in countries where such conditions did not exist. Whilst with customers we are always looking for opportunities to reduce environmental impacts and cost. The collaborative transportation programme, with more than 25 customers in it, is a good example of this.
ShD: In general terms, what importance should be attached to sustainability? JJF: Natural resources are limited so we simply cannot carry on operating as we have done and it is the responsibility not only of governments, but also of companies and individuals to take action. But it has also been demonstrated that sustainability policies are an important factor in achieving growth and innovation. It is not possible to understand the supply chain of the future without taking these aspects into account. ●
www.chep.com
www.PressOnShD.com February 2012 ShD 43
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60