SUSTAINABILITY
A wider a look at carbon reduction opportunities
Alastair Scott, Sales Director at Robert Scott, looks into meeting ambitious targets through marginal gains.
Sustainability has moved far beyond being a simple trend to become a central component of the cleaning sector. According to Robert Scott’s latest ‘Pulse of the Industry’ survey, an overwhelming 80% of professionals in the field now identify sustainability as a significant factor for their customers, highlighting its importance not just as a competitive edge but as a fundamental market requirement.
Robert Scott, a pioneer in integrating sustainability into its business model, has adopted a 'marginal gains' strategy to meet ambitious targets. This involves a thorough examination of every aspect of the company’s operations – including its wider supply chain – to identify the many individual opportunities that, combined, can make a sizable impact on its environmental footprint.
Exploring all avenues
At Robert Scott, we’ve set a bold ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, but we understand that this won’t be achieved by any single big initiative. Instead, it’s about the combined effect of a multitude of small operational changes.
We’ve therefore meticulously analysed every element of our operations, from the creation of products to their delivery, and have put in place a range of changes and new processes that cumulatively lead to a significant decrease in carbon emissions.
More obvious measures, such as increasing the use of recycled materials and reducing packaging, have of course played an important role in this. However, what has been truly transformational in enabling us to move towards our goal has been our dedication to looking beyond the obvious, towards more unique opportunities to enhance our sustainability credentials right across our supply chain.
These include changing energy sources, optimising product transportation and improving waste management.
The route to carbon reductions
Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) contribute roughly 25% of all CO2 emissions from road transportation. That’s a huge number and, as a result, our efforts have been directed towards minimising the distance travelled by our fleet.
A critical component of this has been our adoption of ‘backhauling’. This method involves a delivery vehicle completing its initial distribution then, during its return trip, collecting goods from the delivery point or making stops to collect items for return on its way home. This ensures the vehicle does not travel empty.
46 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING
Implementing backhauling reduces the total amount of trips required, enhancing efficiency and lowering our carbon emissions. We’ve successfully applied this strategy with two partners, leading to the equivalent of three fewer truck journeys each week.
Additionally, we’re exploring new methods to minimise our dependency on transportation via roads at all. HGVs emit 137gCO2
So, it’s clear that expanding the maritime portion of our logistics could significantly reduce our carbon footprint.
e per tonne-kilometre, in stark contrast to the mere 7gCO2e per tonne-kilometre produced by maritime transport.
With that in mind, we’ve been testing a new initiative that involves altering shipping routes to bring shipments nearer to their final destinations, thus lessening the need for goods and materials to be transported by road. It’s an exciting project and something we’re keen to share more about with the industry as we progress the pilot phase.
Keeping it local
Around the world, businesses are moving their sourcing strategies from low-cost international suppliers to those closer to home, aiming to lessen risks and streamline their supply chains while simultaneously benefiting local markets. This shift, accelerated by recent global supply chain disruptions, has placed onshoring and nearshoring at the forefront for numerous companies.
While there are clearly many advantages to this approach, the most significant benefit is that of enhanced sustainability. By decreasing dependency on high-carbon transport modes such as air freight and by sourcing more materials locally, businesses can significantly lower their environmental impact.
For that reason, our carbon reduction strategy is focused as much as possible on adopting onshore or nearshore sourcing methods. We’re committed to using more sustainable materials and promoting local manufacturing wherever feasible, thereby not only cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions but also supporting the growth of local industries.
Commitment to renewable energy
As a nation, we need to rapidly increase our use of renewable and low carbon energy alternatives if we want to hit the targets we’ve committed to globally.
Businesses play an absolutely critical role in this transition and, with that in mind, we’ve prioritised renewable energy within our sustainability initiatives. Best of all, we’ve found it
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
