Environmental Impact
The sustainable supply chain - actions speak louder than words
As the need to try and lessen our collective carbon footprint increases, some companies run the risk of being daubed with the 'greenwash' brush - the inference being that they are paying nothing more than lip service to the pressing ecological issues of the day. At David Luke we believe that actions speak louder than words.
We have implemented a number of initiatives and are working with our suppliers and contractors to develop new ways of working that will ensure we put People & Environment at the centre of our future. We now recycle a significant proportion of our waste and are striving for zero landfill in the near future. In 2008 David Luke was awarded the ISO14001 accreditation for our Environmental Management System.
Transport
Proper planning is essential and relies on both suppliers and retailers playing their part. Our biggest environmental impact is transport, whether it is the ship carrying containers from the Far East, or a Sprinter Van making a delivery to a customer. Nearly every form of transport produces carbon dioxide that adds to the global Greenhouse Effect.
Consolidating deliveries, where possible, is a simple way to improve this. Frequent, small deliveries are much less efficient than infrequent, large deliveries. A Parcel Company may deliver 1 box to a customer 3 days a week. In some instances, with the proper planning, this could be 1 delivery a week of 3 boxes. Therefore, the van has only made 1 trip to the customer instead of 3. We apply the same principle to the inbound deliveries from our suppliers, consolidating where possible, to make a more efficient supply chain. Both our Parcel Carriers have recently launched high performance, zero emission vehicles and over the coming years these will completely replace the diesel equivalents.
Environmental awareness and the drive for sustainability is pricking the conscience of business and industry like never before. Together we can achieve the goal of a sustainable Supply Chain that meets the needs of today without affecting the viability of the future.
Product development
In 2009 David Luke were proud to introduce the Eco-Jacket to the Eco-uniform range. These jackets are different from ordinary jackets as they are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. The development of this garment reflects David Luke's on-going commitment to reducing our effect on the environment.
Not only does the manufacturing process prevent millions of tonnes of plastic waste being buried int he Earth which can take up to 500 years to break down, it saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions too. In fact it takes around 16 bottles to create enough recycled fabric to make one Eco-uniform jacket. Multiply that by the number of School children that could be wearing an Eco-jacket and that's a heck of a lot of bottle!
Download our info leaflet for further information.
