We are fully committed to expanding our  Sustainable Procurement Policy, starting with our EcoVadis rating. We are proud to announce that we have been awarded a silver medal for sustainability from EcoVadis. The Bronze Award was the first step in our process and route to improve our Environment and Social Governance, but since improving from 2021, we have now been awarded the Gold rating. The EcoVadis overall score (0-100) reflects the quality of the company's sustainability management system.

We are planning to go fully electric by 2030 - extending our reduction of carbon emissions and improving the air quality in towns and cities around the UK. We have recently started using three fully electric vans to deliver to Customers. This will massively contribute to our net-zero emission goal, but going further and expanding out of our warehouse, and into our vast field of product distribution to customers.

We've also started to look at weight capacity and what that can mean for the environment. As Fully Electric Vehicles are on the rise, the government decided to bring in a derogation to permit drivers to drive more than 3.5t to allow for the weight increase in electrical batteries. This means that in the near future, we could benefit from our entire fleet of vehicles having more capacity in weight. This would also help to reduce the number of orders and deliveries that we make as a sustainable conscious company - benefitting from the overall reduction of our carbon emissions. We are also reviewing the use of hydrogen as diesel is phased out of use.

We hold packaging data for all of our products, so are able to advise which products offer a lower impact. Most packaging is recyclable but for many businesses the waste is just treated as commercial waste and not recycled. For some of our products we are able to take back the packaging and return it to the manufacturer where its can be recycled and reused.

Our latest range of innovative PVA cleaning products provide a sustainable method of cleaning. Every element has been developed to help reduce single-use plastic waste and encourage movement towards a more sustainable cleaning solution.

A number of our customers are already looking at reducing the amount of plastic they buy. This can be in the product and also the packaging of that product. A number of our paper products come in a cardboard outer, rather than shrink wrapping. We also offer a range of reduced plastic products, such as our PVA Hygiene range. Most plastic packaging can be recycled, but needs sorting and placing in the right waste stream. Some schools we supply have managed to reduce the amount of plastic sacks by having clearly labelled bins, which are then rinsed out and used without plastic sacks.

For customers who don’t have the time, we offer a collection of plastics to ensure the materials make it back to the relevant recycling units and are working with manufacturers to get containers bigger than 5lt returned and refilled so we achieve a closed loop. 

Did you know that 80% of companies don’t know if their products contain conflict minerals?

During 2021, the company will begin determining with our suppliers if any tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold remain in the products which we sell and where the source comes from i.e. recycled or scrap. 

Treebourne has committed to planting 10,000 trees a year to help Eastbourne become carbon neutral by 2030. The Eastbourne ECO Action Network is a voluntary collective of local citizens and environmental groups, set up to work with the council towards achieving this goal. They want to do this both by finding ways to reduce emissions across the town, and by planting thousands of trees.Within the ECO Action Network, the Treebourne team (previously known as Carbon Capture) are focussed on getting trees planted, on both public and private land.  We are proud to support the Treebourne project and we have really enjoyed helping with the local tree planting.

We have taken part in four Park Cleans now, with more planned for later this year, in conjuction with Plastic Free Eastbourne. Plastic Free Eastbourne promote initiatives to improve the way we care for our planet. They believe in taking action with urgency in order to raise public awareness about some of the most pressing issues facing our environment. Their main aim is to make Eastbourne carbon-neutral by 2030.

We've also taken part in The UK charity 'Toilet Twinning' which raises funds by inviting people to donate and "twin" their toilet with one in Afghanistan, DRC, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania or Uganda. The aim is to provide clean water, proper toilets and hygiene education. So far, Toilet Twinning has twinned more than 100,000 toilets.

Our highly trained engineers are helping our customers by maintaining their equipment and constructing a safe and healthy workplace environment as a result. Our onsite equipment  evaluations take place when one of our engineers visits a customer's premises as part of a preventative maintenance schedule.  We asset tag all equipment with a unique bar-code and record all work carried out on each item.  Saving our customers both money and time, and having a positive environmental impact in the long run.