Freight, supply chain and logistics company, Allport Cargo Services, has launched a single-use plastic policy to support its wide ranging ‘doing well by doing good’ Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) strategy. The company, part of logistics group EV Cargo, aims to remove avoidable single-use plastics and replace them with viable and sustainable alternatives. It has committed to reducing single-use plastic across the business by 2021, with a view to complete elimination.
The move signals Allport Cargo Services’ commitment to increasing business sustainability at both an operational and administrative level with major programmes also running for CO2 reduction and supporting global communities that underpin ACS’s global operations. Initial work for the Single Use Plastic Policy will address plastic used for catering, cleaning, office materials, packaging, warehouses and transport – with the company already removing 51,000 single-use plastic seals used by its fleet and replacing them with a digital solution.
The policy is spearheaded by Allport Cargo Services’ chief executive officer, Clyde Buntrock. Clyde explains: “With so much information in the public domain on the effect of single use plastic on the environment, from Primary Schools to Parliament, I strongly feel this is the right thing to do. This is not a perfect science, and we are not claiming to be complete on day one, but as a directional strategy as part of EV Cargo’s wider environmental targets, our aim is to relentlessly and realistically avoid single-use plastic in our daily operations.”
The company has already introduced 16 initiatives in support of this policy across the business. Including:
- Removing over 51,000 single-use plastic seals used by its fleet and replacing them with a digital solution. This has involved retrofitting vehicles with static security combination locks that generate random codes for each load.
- At warehouses, brown plastic packing tape is being replaced with a paper-based option.
- At head office, plastic food-related items and stationery are being replaced. Waste recycling has become a focus and recycled paper is now used for packaging IT equipment, instead of plastic bubble wrap. On the company’s central marketing portal, where consumables can be ordered, single-use plastic options have been replaced with alternatives.
- Building on established community support initiatives, team building days will also focus on activities such as beach clearances to illustrate the extent of the plastic waste issue internally. Additionally, all colleagues are being provided with a reusable drinking bottle to communicate this initiative.
Recent environmental campaigns have highlighted the 300 million tons of plastic that end up in our oceans every year. In Europe, 60 million tons of plastic is produced each year, 40% of which is packaging. Clyde believes that everyone in the industry needs to be taking action to reduce the global environmental impact of their business operations.
Global transportation has a massive impact today and the company believes the industry needs to change its collective actions. Clyde concludes: “Many of our clients in the fashion, retail and consumer goods industries are already taking action to reduce single-use plastics and we are working with them to ensure this also carries through into their logistics and supply chain. We are seeing customers voting with their feet and opting to support companies that embrace the reduction of single-use plastics. We’d like to encourage others to follow suit. This is not about competitive advantage, this is about collective actions for the greater good, safe guarding our planet for future generations.”
