At Future Shop, over the last few years, we have built Environmental Consciousness into our Company Values and hope to take several steps to reduce our carbon footprint. They may be small, but we consider them to be just the beginning of an ongoing and increasingly pervasive endeavour.

 

Ecologi - Carbon Offsetting & Planting Trees

Since 2021 Future Shop's team members have been enrolled in a monthly climate-friendly subscription through Ecologi. Ecologi is a UK based environmental organisation facilitating the funding of carbon offset projects and tree planting worldwide. Its mission is to reduce 50% of global CO2 emissions by 2040 and responsibly plant billions of trees annually.

Our subscription plants 60 trees and offsets 4.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year. It is widely known that planting trees is the best way to tackle the climate crisis and help to prevent our temperatures from rising above 1.5C.

Here at Future Shop, we are taking action on building a greener future by partnering with Ecologi.

 

 

 

 

Waste Metal and Cable Recycling

In the context of waste management, our goal is to progress towards a circular economy. This is a state where waste is completely minimised and ultimately ceases to exist. Although we make an exerted effort to reduce or reuse in the preliminary stages of dealing with waste, there are cases where these options are no longer practical. Therefore, the best solution for these worn products is to recycle them.

We have established a relationship with a local metal recycling company, Apex Metal Recycling Ltd. We deliver batches of used metal and worn cables to Apex Metal, who process this scrap metal, safely strip the cables, and extract the metal within the cables. Recycling the business's waste metal and unwanted cables brings plentiful benefits. Here are just some examples:

• Ensures the overall human health risk of waste cables is minimised.

• Recycling the waste cables containing PVC and copper constitutes less demand for the production of virgin PVC and mining of copper from copper ore.

• Decreases landfill solid waste.

• Conserves energy and water sources.

• Reduces GHG emissions to the environment.

• Reduces the negative ecological impacts from improperly disposed of waste.

 

Introduction of Recycling-Focused Collections

At Future Shop, we are committed to minimising our environmental impact through proactive recycling efforts. We have established a comprehensive recycling-focused system encouraging our employees to segregate waste effectively into designated bins for metals, plastics, and paper. This structured approach ensures maximum recycling of materials.

Moreover, we have invested in a cardboard corrugator, a significant step in our sustainability journey. This innovative machine repurposes cardboard boxes from supplier deliveries, transforming them into recyclable packaging materials for customer use. This investment bolsters our recycling capabilities and aligns us more closely with our environmental goals.

 

Bio-degradable Bin Liners

We have purchased biodegradable bin liners for all office bins to reduce our contribution to the increasing amount of plastic in landfills and the oceans.

 

Environment-Friendly Toilet Paper

Did you know that 26,000 trees are cut down worldwide daily to make toilet paper? To avoid contributing to this, we have engaged with a new supplier: a family-run business based in the UK.

The benefits of this product are as follows:

• Made from 100% converted recycled paper (paper from recycling bins and shredding companies).

• 100% Plastic-free paper rolls and packaging.

• They are packaged in 100% recycled cardboard boxes.

• Manufactured entirely in the UK, thus purchasing from them strengthens our economy.

• Shipped to Borehamwood from within the UK, so no long-haul shipping from China.

Unfortunately, environmentally friendly products are still more expensive than those made from "virgin pulp"- from newly felled trees. We pay three times the usual wholesale price, but as a company, we have decided to pay the difference to help lead the way to a Zero Net Carbon future. We hope our efforts, along with other environmentally conscious people, will reduce the costs of these products.

 

Reducing Paper Waste with Hand Dryers:

Furthering our commitment to reducing paper usage, we've installed hand dryers in our office lavatories. This initiative eliminates the need for paper towels, further reducing our paper consumption and waste. This move is a vital part of our ongoing efforts to make our office operations more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

 

Reduction of Plastic Bottles

Drinking water dispensers have been installed to reduce the purchase of water in plastic bottles.

We are looking for other ways to reduce our carbon footprint:

• Companies who can reuse the cable drums,

• We encourage employees who live close to work to walk or cycle a few days each week.

• We encourage employees to either bring lunch from home or choose products that are not packaged in plastic from the supermarket.

• We encourage everyone to bring water bottles from home and fill them with the drinking water from the dispenser to reduce the demand for water in plastic bottles.