Some of the things we’re doing to minimise the impact of our business on the environment and help alleviate climate change.
Warburtons signed up to the Federation House Commitment, the Food and Drink Federation’s agreement to reduce the amount of water the industry uses, at the beginning of 2008.
Since then, we’ve published targets to measure the total amount of water we use in producing our products and make an absolute reduction of 20% in direct water use from our 2007 total by 2020. So how are we doing?
Building it into the business
By industry standards, we are not heavy water users, but we do understand how important it is for all of us to do what we can to reduce its use, minimise waste and increase recycling. So, with the help of FHC administrators, Envirowise, we are aiming to build water conservation into every area of our business.
Doing the housekeeping
We spent what remained of 2008 ‘doing the basics’ - analysing how much water came into our bakeries and how much went out again as waste. We looked at what was used where; how much was essential to our production processes and how much we were using in other areas, where savings could be made.
In all 14 of our bakeries, we fitted new mains and sub-meters – that’s around 120 in total - and now all significant water usage is measured and monitored every week.
2009 saw us concentrating on ‘good housekeeping’, tracking down and fixing leaks, getting rid of hoses, introducing ‘smart’ taps for hand washing and reducing the size of the flush in our WCs. (It really makes a difference).
Stepping up a gear
We’ve set up volunteer ‘Green Teams’ throughout the business whose job it is to spot and create opportunities for water and energy savings, as well as delivering ‘action plans’ and trying to get everyone else involved. We are also making sure that we share best practice in the business and with other companies.
So at a time when we’re glad to say that our business is growing rapidly, we have nevertheless managed to make modest reductions in our water use. Starting now, we’re aiming to step up a gear.
Currently, we are exploring the practicalities of collecting rainwater from our roof space for non-food related uses, such as cleaning vehicles, breadbaskets and feeding our boilers, which could lead to big savings.
We’ll also be continuing to work with the FHC and Envirowise to help us make the most of the environmental and commercial opportunities that saving water presents and progress will be reported here, on the site.
At Warburtons, we are committed to delivering fresh bread every day. That’s why we have an estate of 14 bakeries, most with satellite distribution depots, serving local communities around the country and why our trucks have become such a familiar sight on Britain’s roads.
Transport is a significant part of our overall carbon footprint and we are exploring a number of different ways to reduce its environmental impact, without reducing the level of quality and service that we offer our customers.
Setting targets. Managing growth.
To help us achieve our aims for transport, we have set ourselves targets to reduce our fuel use by 10% from our 2008 total by 2014. We are also aiming to achieve zero growth in food miles from our 2009 total and to evaluate the potential of using electric vehicles and alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas.
Our business continues to grow rapidly. So how are we balancing growth with reducing our carbon emissions? We are currently examining four approaches.
Double-deckers adding capacity.
Most of our local bakeries make most of our products, but where some have to be transported from bakery to bakery, we have been increasing the use of double-deck trailers. These nearly double capacity, reducing miles and fuel use. The number of double-deckers in our fleet is up to 34 and we are looking to increase their use further still.
Alternative fuels. Gas and electric.
A number of our tractor units and delivery vehicles already run partly or wholly on compressed natural gas. We are now trialling a 100% compressed natural gas-powered tractor unit from Mercedes Benz and are soon to get our first electric delivery vehicle on a five-year lease.
Safe and Fuel-Efficient Driving.
We have also appointed 13 driver-trainers, who are working across the business with all Warburtons drivers to teach them SAFED – Safe and Fuel-Efficient Driving – techniques, and this will also have a positive impact on the amount of fuel we use.
Optimising the routes we travel.
Finally, we have been using a vehicle routing and scheduling software package to help us ensure that our deliveries are made in the most efficient way possible, optimising depot to store routes and volumes carried and when our modelling is complete, this will be rolled out nationally.
Looking to a fuel-efficient future.
For the future, we will continue to pursue these and other approaches and work with our customers and suppliers to help identify where further reductions can be made. Reducing transport emissions is a complicated business and almost certainly will always demand inventiveness on our part and not one, but a range of answers.