Even if you do not follow the news religiously, you will be aware of the damage being caused to our planet due to pollution and increased carbon footprints.

Each year, more and more damage is destroying the planet not only we live on but for all the beautiful wildlife. However, the question remains… is it too late to reverse the damage caused and restore our once beautiful undamaged planet?

The Damage To Our Planet

As we are all aware, the damage to our planet is becoming more apparent with each year that passes. With climate changes fast approaching us, it is time that we all made a difference to our planet. But before we begin discussing ways which we can reduce the damage being caused and change our ways, we are going to discuss how mankind is destroying our planet and the implications this could have if we do not change our ways. 

Plastic Pollution

Whilst there are many more reasons for damage being caused to our planet, with plastic pollution only accounting for 4% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This is twice as much as the aviation industry produces. Therefore, plastic is considered as a major contributing factor for the damage being caused.

One of the biggest issues with plastic is the fact it is not fully biodegradable. A plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years for it to degrade once it makes its way to a landfill. However, they still do not fully breakdown, but photo-degrade instead. This means that the bag becomes microplastics which release toxins into the earth and pollutes the environment

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Scary but true facts about plastic in the ocean!

• Around 8 million pieces of plastic make their way into the ocean every day!
• In our ocean today, there are 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in our ocean!
• The amount of plastic in our ocean weighs around the same as 3,165 Orcas at 269,000 tonnes!
• 100% of baby sea turtles have plastic in their stomach!

Whilst there are so many more terrifying facts around the plastic in our ocean, these are just a percentage of the scary but true facts we should know about!

Many of us will order parcels offline or purchase things in-store which have plastic packaging on them and think nothing of it as you discard of the plastic and go about your day, but once that plastic has been collected, it will often sit at a landfill for thousands and thousands of years.

It is not only microplastics which are harming our planet, but the plastic itself. There are many animals, especially marine which die each year from ingesting or suffocating because of plastic material.

Many people do not think about the process before they receive their parcel which is packaged in plastic. The process which takes place to create plastic produces a high level of pollution in itself due to the burning of fossil fuels. 

It was recorded that in 2019, the production and incineration of plastic alone will produce more than 850 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses to our atmosphere. This is equivalent to 189 five-hundred-megawatt coal power plants producing emissions whilst in operation. 

As you can imagine, with all the products being purchased and delivered online, there is a lot of plastic packaging which is needing to be produced and therefore producing a lot of carbon emissions. 

 

How Can We Make A Difference To Our Planet?

There are many ways which we can try to make a difference to our planet, from small minor changes to potential world beating differences! However, due to the damage which has already been caused, it is unfortunately going to take much more than a few of us reducing our plastic usage. 

To make a noticeable difference in our world and reverse the damage which has been created will take many years and lots of manpower and effort. That is why, as a company we have begun to make a difference in the way we operate and the plastic we use. If we do not need to use plastic, then we simply will not. 

But little by little, we can all begin to make small changes to our daily lives and if all of us begin to make these changes, a difference should be seen to our planet and a reduction in global warming.

It Isn’t Just Plastic Packaging Which Is Destroying Our Planet

Whilst we are aware of the extremes of plastic pollution, from production, usage, wastage, and destruction, the process of shipping and delivering your parcels is creating a significant amount of pollution. 

The vehicles delivering your parcels are contributing daily towards the pollution of greenhouse gases and creating damage to our planet once again. But did you know that it is more eco-friendly to have your parcels delivered to your home than it is to get in your car and purchase them from a shop.

This is because a delivery driver could have on average 150 parcels per trip and could be spread across a round trip of 50 miles. Now, when you first look at this, you may think that this will be far more damaging than a trip to your shopping centre due to you being closer. However, if you add up 120 individuals travelling to their shopping centre and work out how much pollution this is emitting into the atmosphere, we are certain that you will be shocked! Whilst a delivery driver travels a greater distance, we can limit the amount of vehicles on the road.

Our Aims And Ambitions

It is estimated that five million tonnes of plastic is used every year across the UK, half of this is down to packaging! This is 2.5 million tonnes of plastic needed for packaging. Therefore, we have made a conscience decision to turn eco-friendly and remove plastic packaging from our company with our 2030 ambition.

By 2030, we want to make sure that we are contributing towards a world without waste and becoming a leader in sustainable packaging. By contributing towards a world without waste, we are adding value to our society on both a local and global scale.

We hope that once we begin to contribute, many other businesses will follow suit and one day there will be a world without plastic pollution and the damage can be restored once and for all.

However, we are not only aiming to contribute towards offsetting the global warming crisis, but also many other issues in the world we live in. In a bid to make a difference to our world, we are going to target: 

• Poverty
• Waste
• Pollution
• Climate change
• Biodiversity loss

We are not just a packaging company… we are a packaging company who wants to make a difference to our planet!

How Are We Going To Achieve That?

For us to achieve our ambitions, we have devised a three-step plan to ensure that we are successful. 

1.    Meet All Sustainable Packaging Criteria

To achieve the requirements for sustainable packaging, we first need to meet the criteria’s required. Our team believe that we can achieve the criteria we’ve set out and accomplish what we set out to do!

Good For People – The packaging has to be beneficial, safe, and healthy for all individuals throughout the packaging’s lifecycle.

True Priced – Must meet the markets criteria for performance, both social and environmental, costs.

Sustainably Designed – designed specifically to optimise materials and energy.

Recyclable Or Compostable – It has to be able to be effectively recovered and utilised in biological and/or industrial closed loop cycles.

Responsible Material Use – Packaging must be made out of renewable or recycled materials. 

Free Of Hazards – Made from materials which will continue to be healthy throughout the entire lifecycle. 

Sustainably Produced – The manufacturing process must use clean production technologies and practices.

Renewable Energy Use – Sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy.

2.    Foster Collaborations To Initiate Our Sustainable Transition

Unfortunately, alone we can only achieve very little, but together we can achieve so much! Throughout our ambitions, we continue to build long-term relationships with our production partners. 

We continue to form new partnerships whilst deepening our existing ones. We are joining leading platforms such as the United Nations Global Compact, EcoVadis, Sedex, Science Based Target Initiative, Plastic Pact Netherlands, and WEP’s.

We will proceed to join more lobby initiatives to accelerate the step towards a circular economy, mandatory climate actions, and legislations for fair minimum wages (living wage).

3.    Ensure Recognition By The Highest Ranked Institutions As Well As Our Stakeholders

Whilst we have an ambitious sustainability agenda, we aim to prove and justify our achievements. Our emission reductions will be validated annually by the SBTi and we will ensure that we certify our products along with our operations in line with leading international standards.

Overall, our goal is to maintain our EcoVadis platinum medal and remain within the top 1% of companies assessed within our industry worldwide. 

Soon, we hope that we will be living in a world with less plastic, less packaging, and less pollution!

We are going to continue to aim towards our ambition and achieve a much more eco-friendly packaging service, and eventually we hope many more companies will follow behind us!