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Alliance Boots is purchasing greener vehicles and sharing deliveries in some remote areas; the Multi-deck Urban Delivery trailer (MUD) (below, left) is one example of how the company is reducing the environmental impacts of product delivery
SNAPSHOT: ALLIANCE BOOTS Sectors: Pharmacy, health and beauty manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer Turnover: £20.2B in the year ending 31 March 2011 Areas of focus: Energy efficiency, prod- uct design, transport, packaging, waste minimisation
Amount invested: The company has no specific sustainability budget, but cash investment was £597M for the same year Sustainability report:
http://www.alli-
anceboots.com/social_responsibilities/ csr_reports.aspx
An ongoing algae project to develop processes that could enable algae to be grown utilising carbon dioxide emissions from the combined heat and power plant (CHP) in Nottingham
ment within the normal course of business, we do have the fund to dip into.”
Ellis says Alliance Boots’ attitude to the sustainability agenda goes beyond the envi- ronment to “a much more holistic picture that includes our people, our customers, the com- munities we serve and the sustainability of the planet.” The process begins with stakeholder dialogue, with partners including academ- ics, NGOs, the media, suppliers, customers, shareholders and staff to establish which areas the company should concentrate on. Alliance Boots then partners with what Ellis describes as “critical friends who have a certain amount of expertise in each area”. He says: “So for argument’s sake if we want to move from mineral-based to plant- based ingredients, we work with the Royal Horticultural Society and Kew Gardens to try and help us understand how to grow and
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nurture the plants so they can be harvested on a regular basis without causing as much environmental damage as removing minerals.” The company also works to improve the sustainability of its products with organisa- tions such as Forum for the Future. Ellis says: “We try to work with different
groups to utilise their skills and knowledge to advance our agenda. Our CSR report KPMG verify and audit our results, looking after the numbers, and Tomorrow’s Company makes sure the wordings we use are consistent and we’re not indulging in greenwashing.” Alliance Boots is taking action to reduce its environmental impacts in areas such as transport – purchasing greener vehicles and sharing deliveries to remote parts of the UK with other retailers. “We’re
because we are videoconferencing to help reduce the amount of internal travelling we do as a manufacturer, retailer and distributor we have a good understanding of how our products are made in order to address impacts from raw materials and packaging.” Sustainability goals are set as part of man-
agement personal performance targets and Ellis says: “All of our CSR data is collected through the finance function, so we believe we have very accurate information to help us to manage the agenda better. And there is no distinction between financial and CSR data because we see it as information that helps us run the business more effectively. “I’m confident that going forward we have a platform on which we can build in order to create a business that’s fit for the future.”
also using videoconferencing to help reduce the amount of staff travel, and
www.allianceboots.com Sustainable Business | January/February 2012 | 17
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