Planet
Sustainability
Innovating to reduce our footprint
We believe we have a responsibility to protect and preserve our planet and its environment. The global climate change threat is a result of many years of unsustainable activity by the world’s growing population. We have the ambition to reduce our impact on our surroundings to promote the well being of our planet for future generations.
Planting Trees in UK Woodland
We have invested in the Woodland Trust ‘Woodland Carbon Project’ to mitigate the impact of our business activities on the environment as part of our carbon management programme.
We annually fund the planting of 29,250m2 new native woodland in the UK to ensure that the CO2 emissions we create from our Domestic sea freight are absorbed from the atmosphere and stored by trees as they grow.
We have also mitigated 300 tonnes of emissions resulting from the production of all Eco Nature products, which will help make the Eco Nature Collection carbon neutral.
Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions
We follow the GHG Protocol standards and guidance in the preparation of our GHG emissions inventory, in order to manage GHG risks and identify reduction opportunities.
AIM: Achieve net-zero emissions for our UK operations by 2035 (Scope 1 and 2)
GHG Emissions Management – Process
1. Determine our organisational boundaries in terms of the operations that we own or control, then categorise them as direct and indirect emissions
2. Select base year – this may need to be re-calculated to allow for significant changes to the business to ensure a like for like comparison year on year
3. Identify GHG emissions sources across Scope 1, 2 and 3
4. Utilise pre-agreed calculation tools to determine emissions
5. Manage the quality of inventory data via an Inventory Quality Management system
6. Report complete, consistent, accurate and transparent data
7. Verify our data
Direct Operations
Our manufacturing & operations teams are focused on putting into effect changes in our sites which will reduce our carbon emissions.
Direct Operations Key Performance
Indicators:
• % reduction in CO2 emissions
• % reduction in total waste to landfill from our sites.
• % locally manufactured product
Renewable energy sources
We ensure 100% of our electricity used to power our manufacturing site and warehouses is purchased from renewable sources.
Environmental management system
We have implemented an environmental management system at our manufacturing site in Wales which satisfies the requirements of BS ENISO 14001:2015.
Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme
We have implemented our ESOS activity (Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme) to actively reduce waste, promote recycling and sustainability.
Investment
We continue to consider investment in new machinery to improve our efficiency and capacity to have a positive effect on the environment by lowering wastage, reducing importing from overseas and focusing on local suppliers for raw materials and services.
LED lighting
We have continued to transition to LED lighting, as well as high speed doors to segregate the different areas of the factory to improve temperature regulation. Both of these reduce inefficiencies and therefore improve our carbon footprint.
Zero landfill
We ensure none of our Manufacturing waste goes to Landfill.
Reduced printing
We minimise the amount of printing taking place working with virtual files where possible.
Supporting sustainable choices
We support our employees to make sustainable choices, including offering segregated recycling points throughout all sites and providing electric car charging points on site.
Removal of single use plastic cups
We have removed all single use plastic cups from our coffee machines. We also changed from plastic water bottles to refillable glass decanters and gave all our employees their own re-usable water bottle.
We take guidance from Ben Kellard, Director of Business Strategy at the Cambridge University Institute for Sustainability Leadership, to help shape our sustainable business strategy.
Ben draws on over twenty years of experience as an organisational consultant to involve a range of stakeholders in developing responses to complex and ambiguous sustainability challenges. This shared passion and invaluable insight complements our ambitions and helps us prepare for the future.
Sustainability Case Studies
Case Study: Reducing Single Use Plastics
We are actively removing single use plastic from our packaging to create more sustainable Celebrations, Gifting, Stationery, and Creative Play categories.
Lucy Regan, Supply Chain Controller and Sustainability Ambassador at DGUK, shares the journey taken by the teams across the UK offices.
Case Study: Eco Nature Collection
We have leveraged our design and innovation skills to develop new, sustainable product ranges that are created with the environment in mind.
Emily Thomas-Hey, Manufacturing & Operations Director and Sustainability Ambassador at DGUK, introduces the new ECO Nature Collection.
Case Study: Building a Sustainable Culture
We strive to create a working environment where our employees feel supported and valued, with their achievements recognised and rewarded.
Melanie Jenkins, HR Director and Sustainability Ambassador at DGUK, shares our vision for our talented and dedicated teams.