Woodland Group

19 June 2023•Article

How Woodland is tackling single-use plastic in supply chains

The theme of this year’s environment day, #BeatPlasticPollution, hopes to raise awareness of the impact single-use plastics has on our planet with approximately 19-23 million tonnes of plastic ending up in nature every year

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nation (UN)’s World Environment Day, a day where communities and organisations across the globe come together to raise awareness as advocates against climate change. The UN aims for the day to prompt reflection on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), whilst educating on environment concerns and sparking conversations around the annual theme, this year’s being plastic pollution.

Over 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced each year, and with approximately 19-23 million tonnes ending up in our lakes, rivers, and oceans, the reduction of single-use plastic is key. As a supply chain specialist, we aim to do our bit in reducing single use plastic in the supply chain.

Pallet-wrap and packaging are essential to everyday global logistics operations, just one of the many reasons that we have invested into sustainable solutions to cut down on the usage of single-use plastic across our locations around the world. As global awareness of climate change grows, more and more businesses are introducing sustainable processes to minimise the use of single-use plastic and ultimately promote a circular economy.

Pallet Wrap

We have now implemented pre-stretched shrink wrap across our sites. This is a type of wrap that is stretched before it’s placed on the roll, meaning less is used per square metre to wrap pallets, resulting in a 30% reduction in plastic usage per pallet.

In conjunction, we’ve introduced pallet wrap machines that can apply the film more effectively and evenly than manual wrapping, which helps to reduce the amount of excess film used to wrap a pallet to cut down on wastage.

Pallets

We are working with several providers local to our sites who are able to collect, repair, and reuse the minority of pallets that are broken or damaged in transit. This model to repair rather than dispose is a great step towards our reduced waste to landfill goal.

Packaging

Switching to paper within our fulfilment services offers a great alternative to traditional plastic cushioning. Our paper packaging is biodegradable, made from recycled materials and can also be recycled or composted after use.

In addition to our packaging-focused solutions, we have implemented a range of strategies to lower our energy consumption in hopes to reach our goal of switching to 100% renewable energy by 2030. Our data centres now run on 100% renewable energy, we’ve installed solar panels at our key UK site and plan to have 2 more sites powered by solar panels by the end of the year. We are also switching to zero tailpipe emission forklifts, have invested in LED lighting and PIR motion lighting to reduce energy consumption and are proud to say that 75% of our equipment is electric battery powered.

We focus on supporting and delivering sustainable growth for our clients, guiding them through regulatory changes such as the Plastic Packaging Tax and mandatory carbon reporting while aiming to provide solutions at various stages of their supply chain. As a business we are also committed to our own sustainability strategy, taking accountability, and growing awareness internally to reduce carbon and producing a roadmap to meet SDGs. As new technology becomes available, we will continue to source and collaborate with partners and suppliers to further reduce your supply chain’s environmental impact.

To learn more about Woodland's climate impact and sustainability strategies, read our 2022 Sustainability Report or contact us below: