At Nuneaton Signs we are dedicated to being as sustainable as we possibly can be. Since I joined the company back in September 2023, we have been looking at what impacts we have on the environment as a business and where improvements can be made.
Our overall goal is to reach Net Zero by 2040, and we have pledged our commitment through the SME Climate Hub meaning we are now part of the UN Climate Change High Level Champion’s Race to Net Zero Campaign.
As part of this pledge, we are committed to halving our emissions by 2030. Towards the end of 2024 we established our baseline Scope 1,2 & 3 emissions (2023) enabling us to set out our net zero plan and targets.
We started out small by obtaining ISO14001 accreditation and have used this as a springboard to continually improve our environmental performance.
What improvements have we made?
Working with our suppliers
With the help of our base materials suppliers, we have been able to offer our customers the option to purchase signs form our environmental range. All signs in our Enviro range are 100% recyclable. We also encourage our customers to re-use our signs where possible as they are designed with lifespan in mind. Some of our signs are designed to last for up to 10 years! We are continually working with our suppliers to enable us to expand on this range of products.
Waste
We have worked with our main waste collection providers to prevent any of our waste ending up as landfill. Aswell as working with our main providers we have also collaborated with bespoke recycling providers which has enabled us to recycle multiple films and plastics that our mainstream waste provider was unable to recycle. We have also worked with suppliers to work with us in the re-use of other materials, we have managed to establish partnerships that enable us to return pallets and plastic wallets for re-use on future orders. We also teamed up with another social enterprise that take all our waste wood / broken pallets that are then turned into items such as garden furniture.
In-house we are now offering greater recycling facilities – alongside the generic DMR and bespoke recycling, all our ink cartridges, bottles & packets, aerosol cans, wood, metals, enviro range materials and batteries are recycled.
We have also provided our employees with reusable coffee cups which will prevent an estimated 4000 coffee cups being disposed of every year.
This has meant we have seen a drastic reduction in our general waste percentage.
Energy use
To help with our building efficiency we have carried out numerous improvements such as installation of new insulated-high speed opening & closing roller shutter doors, roof and wall insulation, destratification fans, LED lighting across the whole site and replaced our old boiler with a new A+ rated replacement.
We have recently reviewed our energy providers and have moved to REGO backed electricity supply.
Vehicle fleet
We have begun to replace our fossil fuel powered vehicles with electric vehicles. We currently have 2 electric cars, 1 electric Van and 3 hybrid vehicles as part of our vehicle fleet.
In addition to this we have installed 4 x EV Charge points to support the changes in our fleet.
To help reduce mileage of our delivery vehicles we installed a route planning software which manages our routes by picking the most environmentally friendly route.
Training
It is important that our team understands why we are making improvements and know what role they can play in helping reduce our emissions. All employees receive enviro training every 12 months and we hold monthly environmental meetings to discuss actions and plans going forward.
All of this means we have made great progress but there is still work to be done for us to reach our goals and targets.