12:00, 23 November 2021
Words by Smiley Team, Staff Writer, London
We’re always keeping up to date with companies that are doing their bit to give back to the planet – whether that’s through ambitious sustainability goals or innovative ways to re-think their products.
Here are just five examples of businesses that have announced new green initiatives within their companies in the past few months.
Is your business giving back to the planet? We’d love to know more – get in touch with our editorial team on [email protected].
Vodafone’s new SIM cards are part of the company’s commitment to reduce its impact on the environment. It will now provide customers with eco-SIMs in the half-sized format made from recycled plastic, replacing cards that are currently made from new plastic.
The new cards will be rolled out in all 12 of Vodafone’s European markets, in addition to Egypt, Turkey and South Africa. These SIMs will eliminate the need for 320 tonnes of virgin plastic to be manufactured each year, and it has the potential to save an additional 1,280 tonnes of CO2 per year from not manufacturing new plastic to be used for the cards.
The John Lewis Partnership has signed a £420m five-year revolving credit facility linked to environmental targets. The facility is provided by seven banks and the financing replaces existing facilities of £500m, which are due to expire at the end of 2022.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the interest rate the company pays on the facility will vary depending on whether they achieve three environmental targets over five years related to reducing carbon emissions, reducing food waste and moving away from fossil fuels.
- Carbon emissions: to be net zero by 2035
- Food waste: 50% reduction in food waste across Waitrose by 2030, against a 2018 baseline
- Transport: end use of fossil fuels across the company’s transport fleet by 2030
Sainsbury's has strengthened its commitment to tackle the climate crisis by accelerating its target to become net zero in its own operations by 2035, five years earlier than its original ambition.
To help achieve its target, it will install 100% LED lighting across its supermarkets by the end of this year, reducing lighting energy consumption by 70% and store energy consumption by 20%. By the end of the year, Sainsbury's will be using 100% renewable electricity across its entire estate and has committed to the long-term purchasing of renewable energy from new wind farms and solar projects to be built over the next two years, significantly reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.
Gousto is trialling a "world-first" edible packaging solution, as part of its efforts to continue reducing plastic packaging in its recipe boxes.
After 15 years of research and one year of development, the stock cube wrapper is the world’s first edible packaging to be made from pea protein. Created in partnership with Xampla, a mission based spinout from the University of Cambridge, the stock cube will be trialled in Gousto recipe boxes.
The edible packaging is made by engineering and drying a pea protein material into sheets that have the same benefits as plastic, being able to preserve the food’s flavour and shelf life, but with none of the packaging waste.
IKEA has signed the 2040 ambition statement through the collaborative platform Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels, facilitated by the Aspen Institute. The statement makes it clear that global transport buyers want zero-carbon shipping, and rapidly accelerating decarbonising efforts.
The company is committed to becoming climate positive by 2030 by reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the value chain emits, while growing the business. Currently, the transport of IKEA products from suppliers to warehouses and stores around the world accounts for approximately 5% of the total IKEA carbon footprint. The target is to reduce the average carbon footprint from every transport by 70% by 2030, compared to the baseline year 2017.
Is your business giving back to the planet? We’d love to know more – get in touch with our editorial team on [email protected].
