An award-winning office wholesaler has gone further than ever before in its bid to reduce its environmental impact, all with the support of Net Zero Bucks.
Sustainability is at the heart of operations for Supplies Web, which operates its southern branch from High Wycombe, providing a wide range of office products,
from stationery and furniture to branded event supplies and catering products. Their principles are underpinned by an environmental policy that is reviewed and updated annually, ensuring they align their business practices with environmental and social responsibility. Recycling ink toners, eliminating single-use plastics, and ensuring all office computers are turned off overnight to save energy are among the initiatives. Supplies Web has also achieved accredited status with ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, which are international standards that help businesses improve their environmental and quality management systems.
Despite these efforts, they saw an opportunity to go further and improve how they measured their supply chain emissions and form a plan to transition their fleet of delivery vans from diesel to electric to further reduce emissions. “With the increasing importance of sustainability, we felt it was hugely important to have a measurable action plan to reduce our impact on the environment,” explains Sian Pringle, Business Operations & Finance Manager at Supplies Web.
They met with Mike King, a Net Zero specialist from the Net Zero Bucks programme who introduced Supplies Web to support and tools that allowed them to calculate their carbon footprint and receive a tutorial on carbon footprinting software. This helped the business identify new areas where emissions could be reduced, giving them a more complete understanding of their impact. Now armed with the tools to track their emissions going forward, they can benchmark future sustainability initiatives.
“Buckinghamshire Business First’s Net Zero Bucks programme provided us with a great platform to set up our Net Zero plan and produced an invaluable report which is now our main point of reference, setting objectives, highlighting challenges, and recommending actions,” says Sian.
Having worked with the business, Mike King from Net Zero Bucks was in no doubt. “Supplies Web exemplifies how businesses can continuously improve their environmental impact, even when sustainability is already a central part of their operations. By engaging with the Net Zero Bucks programme, they have built on their existing efforts and are now equipped with a wider set of tools and knowledge to reduce their carbon footprint further.”
One key finding from the Net Zero report compiled for Supplies Web was the underestimation of homeworking emissions. While the business had already implemented a hybrid working model to cut travel emissions and encouraged walking or cycling to work, the emissions generated from staff working remotely had not been fully calculated. The findings of the report prompted Supplies Web to develop a plan to survey employees about their energy use at home, with a focus on encouraging green energy tariffs sourced from renewable energy. This would help further reduce their overall emissions, as well as their employee’s personal footprints.
“The report is clear, to the point, with excellent recommendations that are achievable,” says Sian. “We have included the report in our ISO audits as it reflects how important this journey is to us. Thank you to the Net Zero team at BBF for all their support - it has been invaluable.”
Going forward, the company plans to continue monitoring its carbon footprint with the tools provided by the Net Zero Bucks programme, while work has started on transitioning the fleet of delivery vans to electric vehicles with a goal of being fully electric within the next four years.
Mike sums up Supplies Web’s net zero journey: “Their commitment to both sustainability and corporate social responsibility sets a strong example for other businesses looking to make a positive environmental impact.”
Get support for your business with Net Zero Bucks
Get in touch with the Net Zero Bucks team to learn all about the support available to help you reduce your energy costs, carbon emissions, and carbon footprint.
Visit the Net Zero Bucks webpage, email netzero@bbf.uk.com or call 01494 927130.