CHEP New Zealand: a Toitū carbonreduce case study
CHEP is a global supply chain solutions partner, with more than 300 million industry platforms including pallets, crates and containers, shared and reused worldwide.
CHEP’s service increases efficiency for its customers while reducing operating risk and product damage. Their focus on environmental sustainability led them to seek Toitū carbonreduce (formerly known as CEMARS) certification from Toitū Envirocare. Toitū Envirocare and CHEP have worked together since 2012 to measure and formulate a programme to reduce CHEP’s carbon emissions; their goal was a 10% reduction in CHEP’s emissions intensity (the amount of carbon emissions by revenue) within five years.
CHEP has now achieved Toitū carbonreduce certification for the sixth year running and the process has provided opportunities for improvements in the company’s supply chain.
In the 2018 financial year, CHEP reduced its carbon emissions by 3 per cent; since 2012, CHEP has achieved a total reduction of 12 per cent.
The main factors contributing to this improvement include moving equipment around its network by sea and rail instead of by road where possible; upgrading service centres with more efficient power equipment including energy efficient lighting; and installing a centrifugal dryer.
CHEP team members pride themselves on helping their customers to become more efficient and sustainable. The external assurance from Toitū Envirocare enables CHEP employees to be transparent and open when speaking with customers about how they are managing their own supply chain.
Richard Dunn, CHEP’s Safety, Health and Environment Manager, stated that generating data around transport movements was the most challenging aspect of achieving Toitū carbonreduce certification, but the results were more than worth the effort.
“If sustainability is part of how you do business, then you need a robust system for measuring emissions—plus you need to have the confidence of its quality,” said Richard. “We didn’t look at anything else; we wanted a reputable programme and we knew Toitū carbonreduce certification would provide that.”
About Toitū Envirocare, Richard says “The team are passionate and supportive – I can’t speak highly enough of them. They are responsive and willing to help.
“When you are audited, you know they are coming in to help you, and not to find fault. They are there to give advice on how to do things better.”
CHEP’s parent company, Brambles, has set 2020 sustainability goals which are based on the company’s Better Business, Better Communities, Better Planet sustainability framework, aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In 2017, CHEP New Zealand won the Brambles Global Sustainable Business Award—a direct link to its accurate recording of emissions verified by Toitū carbonreduce certification.
CHEP New Zealand
CHEP is a service company that provides managed reusable and reusable supply chain packaging solutions for customers in the consumer goods, fresh, retail and bulk liquid and dry. CHEP help customers to store, protect and move their products through the supply chain from point of production to point of consumption in a cost-effective, safe & environmentally sound way. CHEP operates globally in 50 countries across 6 continents.
Sustainability is a priority for CHEP – with a business model, based on the shared use of reusable packaging resources, is inherently sustainable. As the leader in pallet and RPC pooling solutions, CHEP has a more than 50-year history of helping customers minimise use of one-way packaging and 'reducing and reusing’ resources. At the heart of CHEP New Zealand's sustainability approach is a commitment to being a responsible supply chain partner, delivering sustainability value by 'doing the right thing' for the environment, people, community and our customer.
CHEP is committed to achieving Zero Harm. It considers the environment in all decisions concerning the development of projects, the selection of commercial partners and suppliers and the launch of new products and services. CHEP is committed to using resources more efficiently and encouraging the sustainable use of its products and services.
Toitū carbonreduce certified organisations
(formerly known as CEMARS)
This certification is awarded to companies that are actively working to measure and manage their carbon footprint.
To achieve Toitū carbonreduce certification, an organisation must measure their organisation’s full greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (also known as a carbon footprint) so they understand what their impact is on the global climate. They measure all operational emissions required under the international standard for carbon footprints, ISO 14064, including vehicles, business travel, fuel and electricity, paper, and waste. The emissions are measured annually and the inventory is independently verified to ensure it is accurate and complete. Once they have measured their footprint, the organisation must develop plans to manage and reduce their emissions continually. As part of achieving Toitū carbonreduce certification, the organisation needs to achieve emissions reductions on a five year cycle.