 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
In association with the Catering Managers Association of Great Britain and the Channel Islands
 Home
|
|
Bunzl UK & Ireland has announced ‘beGreen’, a strategy aimed at embracing change ‘for a sustainable, green future’.
Attending beGreen presentations in Egham and Manchester, more than 550 employees from management, sales, operations and purchasing heard Managing Director James Cunningham announce: ‘the question of sustainability is an issue that goes beyond our business’.
Neil Dobbs, Bunzl Vending Services M.D. and the man who led the team responsible for developing ‘beGreen’, said: ‘as a distribution business there is a need for us to respond to the green strategies of our customers, which in turn are responding to the demands of consumers. At the same time, we must also respond to the initiatives of our suppliers who are committed to manufacturing sustainable products.’ Coupled with a duty to comply with government legislation, Dobbs acknowledged that ‘stakeholders, including our own staff and shareholders, are insisting that we do everything in our power to reduce the effect of our business on the environment.’
Max Harris, Operating Director of Bunzl Catering Supplies Division, reminded delegates that Bunzl had long had an environmental conscience and that, to date, the company had achieved a great deal of which it could justifiably be proud. ‘Most Bunzl companies hold ISO 14001 accreditation and the group has already made a commitment to measuring its carbon footprint and to publishing the results’ he said. ‘With just 25% of UK companies even thinking about such a move, we can be confident that we’re a company at the vanguard in the new era of sustainable business.’
beGreen embraces a wide range of initiatives focussing on reducing emissions and lowering the group’s carbon footprint. The most visible change for Bunzl’s huge customer base will be the launch of a new labelling system designed to allow customers to compare the sustainable attributes of a wide range of products across the group’s portfolio and therefore make informed purchasing decisions, a strategy that the company confidently expects will ‘set a new standard in the industry.’
In parallel Bunzl is improving the efficiency of its fleet, informing its staff and reducing its carbon footprint. Summing up the company’s mood at a time when care of the environment has never had a greater focus within UK & Ireland business, Max Harris said ‘the least wasteful unit of energy, for both the environment and the business, is the one we don’t use.’
For further information contact: Bunzl Vending Services Limited. Tel: 020 8998 2828 Fax: 020 8998 0704.
