The supply chain solutions company meets its “zero deforestation” target set in 2015
Sydney, Australia – September 9th, 2020 – Brambles, the global supply chain solutions company with its CHEP brand in nearly 60 countries, has reached another milestone in the field of environmental protection: “Zero Deforestation”. In 2015 it was added to the catalog for its sustainability goals for 2020, the careful use of the raw material wood is a central point on the Brambles sustainability agenda. The basis for this is the corporate program Better Business, Better Planet, Better Communities, which was created on the basis of the sustainable development goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Pointing the way to resource efficiency
In line with its commitment to zero deforestation, Brambles has achieved its goal of sourcing 100 percent of the wood it uses from sustainably managed forests worldwide. These forests must be certified by either the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) or the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC ™). The two non-profit organizations only certify forest operations that work according to international guidelines for best practices, both in terms of planting new trees to replace those that have been felled, as well as having a positive impact on surrounding communities and local wildlife.
According to Fernando Martinez, Vice President, Global Procurement at Brambles, this important achievement has multiple implications. “With zero deforestation, we are not only addressing the problem of our planet’s scarce natural resources and eliminating deforestation in our supply chains,” he said. “Thanks to a program geared towards sustainability, we are also making global supply chains, our suppliers and our customers more efficient and competitive. ”
“When we started the overall project, many of our suppliers were still working according to their own different procedures when purchasing wood,” explained Kai Derda, Managing Director of CHEP Deutschland GmbH. “With all of the wood used for our pallets now from certified sources, the entire supply chain has been simplified. We have shown that the widespread saying that sustainability has its price no longer applies. I very much hope that we will be a role model and that other companies will also take this path.”
In order to contribute to a better planet, Brambles has, among other things, studied the environmental impact of its own business. Although the Brambles model of reusing wooden pallets saves an estimated 1.7 million trees each year, the company knew it could go one step further. So the decision was made to deal with the material procurement policy for new pallets and for the wood that is needed annually for repair.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), forests are the largest terrestrial store of carbon and deforestation is the third largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions after coal and oil. Certified forests ensure that the procedures are in accordance with a recognized management standard, according to which biomass is conserved and increased, the renaturation of land is ensured and soil and water resources are protected. The programs also have a positive social and economic impact on local communities in terms of human and labor rights.
Brambles was named the most sustainable company in the world by Barron’s Magazine this year and was given an A rating by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Circulytics” circular economy assessment tool. In Europe, CHEP achieved EcoVadis gold status for the fifth year in a row.
For more information on the achievements in Brambles’ Sustainability Goals 2020, see: Brambles 2020 Goals Achievements.
Source: CHEP Germany