UK entries to the 2008 European Business Awards for the Environment
Management Category
Boots Group Plc
This project involved the creation of a sustainable product development strategy at Boots and its integration into everyday business operations. Improvements have been made in sustainable sourcing of raw materials, packaging optimisation and the introduction of recyclable materials, energy management and reducing the carbon impact of distribution activities. As a result more sustainable products, with smaller carbon footprints, are now coming into Boots stores.
Bovince Ltd
Bovince have developed a ‘Tree of Sustainability’ model to develop and guide sustainability within the company. The model has developed into a fully integrated operational system to monitor the company’s performance and encourage innovative sustainable practices. The nine ‘branches’ of the Tree look at areas such as waste, emissions, energy, people & learning and transport. Using this model Bovince have a structure for long term sustainable development that is aligned with their short term objectives and regular actions.
The Co-operative Group
The Co-Operative Group is amongst the worlds leading businesses in terms of its commitment to sustainability and the reduction of climate change. 98% of the companies electricity supply comes from green sources and they have also spent £1.5m on providing solar panels for schools. The Co-Op Bank ethical policy means that it will not invest in businesses that contribute to climate change through the extraction and production of fossil fuels. Also the bank offers its customers sustainable products such as its Green Mortgage. The company is committed to making their company, staff and customers more sustainable.
Process Category
Johnson Matthey
Diesel exhaust soot has serious potential health hazards and in 2009 all new European diesel cars will have to have filters to minimise this risk. Johnson Matthey has developed an energy efficient, compact catalysed soot filter that is a large improvement on the initial designs that are currently being used. Unlike other designs, which come in two parts, the Matthey filter is one compact unit, which is also much more energy efficient and cost effective than current models – without any loss in performance.
Dry Lube Ltd
Dry Lube Ltd specialise in dry conveyor belt lubrication solutions for the food and beverage industry. They have pioneered a unique dry lubrication system that is currently used by the bottling industry as a replacement for the wet system. Traditionally a soap and water solution is used as lubrication on beverage packing conveyors. This can use up to 600 litres of water per hour and also poses serious safety, hygiene and maintenance problems. The Dry Lube system eliminates soap and water completely and instead uses minute quantities of synthetic oil, a much more sustainable solution.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd
Toyota’s site is the first manufacturing plant in the UK to achieve ‘zero waste to landfill’. The company set this ‘5 year Dream Goal’ 3 years ago and has in fact delivered it 2 years ahead of schedule. This meant eliminating the 8.5kg of waste generated per vehicle, which was previously sent to landfill. In addition to the environmental benefits, business benefits of this project include cost reductions in material purchase, handling of products, treatment and disposal of products. Toyota worked closely with its suppliers and stakeholders to achieve this challenging target.
Product Category
Liftshare Ltd
Liftshare operate an online mapping and matching database that allows users to match empty seats in cars with people who require transport. This project has now also been extended to ‘BikeBudi’ where experienced and non experienced cyclists are paired up to encourage more use of alternative transport. Liftshare has 162,000 registered users, 32% of registered journeys result in a match and it is estimated that over 38m road miles are shared each year saving 11,768 tonnes of CO2. They provide their services to hundreds of businesses, hospitals and universities and make their main database available free of charge to the public.
Walltransform Ltd
Wall-Transform is a new thermally efficient insulating plaster/render product. It can be applied internally or externally and provides an economical method of insulating solid walls. The product overcomes the problems inherent in the use of rigid insulating boards, as it can be applied easily and consistently to uneven or irregular walls. Wall-Transform fills a gap in the market where solid wall properties can be insulated to the same standard as cavity wall insulation at a more affordable cost.
Bovis Land Lease
Over three million tonnes of plastic waste is produced in the UK every year with only a small proportion of this being recycled. Bovis Lend Lease were the first to identify potential uses in the construction industry for a material made from co-mingled polymer waste using a new process; Powder Impression Moulding (PIM). The first new product, EcoBoard, consists of approximately 80% co-mingled plastic waste and can replace plywood in temporary, and potentially in permanent, construction work.
International Co-operation Category
Subsea 7
The SERPENT project is an innovative partnership between industry and science. It enables stills and video footage of marine life to be taken, collated and passed on to the scientific community for their review and interpretation in order to enable a greater understanding of the marine environment. Undersea engineering teams use time that is usually spent waiting for equipment or other teams to arrive, to record marine floor activity. Not only has this resulted in academic development it has also engaged these engineers in environmental conservation.
Page last modified: 23 January 2008
Page published: 17 February 2004