Oakland Environmental - our impact on people and the planet
Oakland International is and always has been 100% committed to making a positive impact on our environment. Our aim is to become the first carbon neutral company in our industry sector. Having joined the Business Ambition for 1.5oC Campaign of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) initiative, [https://sciencebasedtargets.org/business-ambition-for-1-5c], we are one step further towards that goal.
We have been recognised both locally and nationally for our efforts to run a business with a sustainability strategy to reduce our impact on our environment, support our community, our team and our partnership relationships. The first award won in 2004, National Award for Social Impact, and followed by an award for which we are extremely proud, the Queen’s Award for Sustainability in 2017.
Environmental initiatives already in place are:
- A total of 1,698 PV panels have been installed at Redditch, by means of both funded and Power Purchase Agreement arrangements. These panels generate income through Feed In Tariff payments and savings on Grid electricity.
- Latest solar panel installation commenced August 2021 at our Bardon site with £477K investment, 529,000kwh of renewable energy.
- Pool cars have been replaced by electric and hybrid models, reducing the impact of business travel.
- We have an onsite, sustainable reed bed sewage treatment plant which treats waste without damaging the environment.
- Cardboard, shredded paper, shrink wrap, WEEE waste and plastic are all recycled. General waste is sent to an energy recovery plant.
- Short-dated food is donated to local charities where possible, and is also distributed through the Food Bank Scheme to various other local charities and good causes.
- An electric bike rental scheme has been offered to Oakland employees and provides a carbon friendly method of transportation, to and from Oakland, at an affordable rate.
- Low energy, occupancy-sensitive lighting is in place throughout the warehouse.
- Software programmes are used to manage energy use at the peak points in the day, saving money and removing strain from the Grid.
- 92k upgrade on energy efficient plant for our freezers, allows us to operate more efficiently.
Additional projects we are working on or hope to implement in the near future include:
- Voltage Optimisation technology.
- Carbon Trust Certification or similar, demonstrating excellent performance on environmental matters.
- Carbon Footprint assessment, watch this space for visible metrics over the next couple of months.
- Electric Trailer Trials in August 2021 to identify the viability of investment for future.
- Green Travel Plan, team survey completed and working through implementation.
- Trial system to lower temperatures around the plant with investment of £9K on energy efficient cooling fans for our plant at Bardon and Redditch.
Look on our Oakland Foundation and Molly Olly’s pages to see how we are supporting the communities in which we work, and live in.
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