A Christmas Gift that keeps on Giving

Posted on 21 Dec 2021

How would you like to find in your Christmas stocking an investment on your behalf in environmental improvement projects around the world and find that this gift would offset your personal carbon footprint throughout 2022?

That’s exactly the gift National Flexible have made to each of our people. We have done this by teaming up with Ecologi, to purchase carbon credits from climate projects around the globe.

We chose Ecologi because they only support carbon offset projects that are verified to Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard, they ensure that these projects meet sustainability and development standards such as CCBS (Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards). All of which contribute positive environmental impacts to their local communities, and to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Interestingly, for several years, National Flexible has provided its customers with free Environmental Packaging Audits in order to improve and / or reduce their packaging use. In addition, we have provided free Technical Training workshops for customers staff. These workshops focus on economical pack design and selecting the most appropriate films and materials both environmentally and technically for each individual packaging product and application.

Nevertheless, despite these ongoing customer services, we never considered ourselves a market leader in these environmental activities. However, on reflection, we were the first company in the UK to introduce films with a 50% chalk content and we remain the only UK company that can supply ‘carbon free’ film printing. This is achieved by the use of hydro powered press and lamination allied to water-based inks. This is a unique combination and it is estimated that our customers in 2021 who have used this innovative print solution has saved some 80,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in the one year. This has been particularly helpful to those customers who have set themselves ‘carbon footprint’ reduction targets. As indicated, whilst we never saw ourselves as being an environmental leader, there is much here to change that perception.

Wouldn’t it be brilliant if other companies followed our current example? There are some 3 million private sector companies in the UK with over 27 million employees. If just 10-20% followed our lead into the Ecologi scheme (and there are many others) and it was adopted by these other companies the battle against global warming would be transformed, with environmental projects funded worldwide and millions of extra trees planted. These actions would reduce carbon emissions relatively quickly we could all do this together.

In our case, we have extended this gift to some of our key suppliers and others, with a view to working even more closely with them in the future towards a carbon negative target. 

If you choose to send this information to the key decision makers in your business, we can supply further information, after all, the more we all work together on the problem of reducing our carbon footprint, the more chance we have of finding solutions.

Meanwhile, our very best wishes for the coming festivities from myself and all at National Flexible. As ever, I welcome your views on any of the items raised. Why not join me on LinkedIn for more regular updates?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-twigg-3a440b53/

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