GOLD
In Kind Direct: Ensuring no usable product goes to waste
Every year, usable products are wasted and sent to landfill by companies, due to factors such as manufacturing errors, supply chain issues and surplus stock. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of families are going without essentials to help them keep clean and well. In Kind Direct was formed to fill that gap, and be the bridge between corporates with usable surplus products, and the charitable organisations who need them to support their communities. Since inception, In Kind Direct have diverted 37,500 tonnes of usable products from landfill and in doing so, simultaneously supporting 445,000 people each week. Today, In Kind Direct have strategies in place to help tackle environmental issues, resulting in 78,000kg of Co2e saved in less than a year with a refurbished tech scheme, 20,000 deliveries using a carbon-neutral logistics partner and the charity becoming a voice for circular economy and educating its stakeholders, including its charitable network of over 6000 organisations. In Kind Direct are fostering a zero-waste culture, believing no usable product should go to waste, and improving lives shouldn’t cost the Earth.
SILVER
Clean the World: From discarded hotel amenities, to life-saving supplies
Clean the World’s Global Hospitality Recycling Programme has diverted over 12.1million kilograms of bottled amenities and soap waste in 8,300+ hotels from going to landfill. This waste has simultaneously been recycled and used to form 84 million new bars of soap which have been donated to children and families around the world with no access to basic hygiene.
The concept seeks to help two growing problems at the same time – the huge amount of waste generated through hospitality (289,700 tonnes each year from UK hotels alone), and the devastating number of unnecessary child deaths caused by poor sanitation (around 400,000 a year under the age of five).
BRONZE
August Race Worldwide: Turning The Tide On Marine Consumables Plastics
At August Race Worldwide Ltd we haven’t just adjusted or reduced our carbon footprint we have turned our entire commercial production on it’s head in order to achieve the most ambitious of targets to slash our manufacturing waste by 90%. To achieve this we have invested heavily in our infrastructure and processes certain that this commitment to the natural world is no longer optional as essentially a PR exercise but an essential company-wide conscience to off-set our commercial production. We now have 100% of our production in-house so we can track in minute detail our plastic waste and continue to work on reducing it. This is in stark contrast to the greenwashing ‘eco’ marine cleaning brands who do not have their production in-house and consequently have no idea or concept of their products true carbon footprint. In addition the August Race products themselves boast market-leading honest eco stats and we have gone further still as a company and partnered with Clean-Hub to help set up recycling plants in Indonesia pledging a huge 2 tonne target for August Race for 2024.
BRONZE
Recorra & National Theatre: Post-Covid project to boost recycling rates and reduce waste
Recorra works with the National Theatre (NT) to enhance their waste management practices, contributing to the NT’s net zero emissions strategy. Founded by Friends of the Earth in 1988, Recorra was built with sustainability at its core; we thereby help our customers reduce their impact on the planet through proper waste management and recycling practices.
Through comprehensive waste audits and analyses, Recorra identified opportunities for improvement at the NT, designing a waste reduction solution tailored specifically to their needs.
Our engagement work provided educational sessions and facility tours to raise awareness and promote recycling initiatives among NT staff. Improved internal communications and efficient help desk services have addressed logistical challenges. Additionally, Recorra’s successes with NT serves as a model for scalability and replicability, with plans to advise NT on implementing similar strategies at their new site in Bermondsey.