Brambles receives overall “A” rating from Circulytics, has achieved excellent circular economy performance

Analysis tool “Circulytics” from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation certifies Brambles, the parent company of CHEP, as top rating

London, May 26, 2020 – Everyone is talking about climate protection. In the current situation, companies are challenged more than ever to reduce their ecological footprint. The circular economy offers solutions to implement more resource efficiency and thus climate protection. In January 2020, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched “Circulytics”, the first analysis tool that enables companies to precisely measure their fitness and performance. Brambles Group, a pioneer in the circular economy, was involved in the development and testing of the instrument. Now the company itself has achieved the overall rating “A” from Circulytics.

The circular economy is climate protection

The fight against climate change has dominated the public debate for months. By trying to eliminate waste and pollution, reusing products and materials while regenerating natural systems, the circular economy is actively contributing to more climate protection. The “Circulytics” assessment instrument goes beyond measuring material flows; it gives clear insights into all circular processes, shows areas for improvement and opportunities for strategic innovations. Basically, the tool contrasts the advantages of reusing materials in a circular model with the conventional linear economic model. The measuring system is divided into so-called “enablers” and “outcomes”. The “enablers” include elements of the company itself, such as strategy, personnel, systems and processes, innovation and external engagement with customers and suppliers.

Brambles consistently achieved full scores in this category across topics. The principle of ‘share and reuse’ was decisive for this top rating, which Brambles uses according to the circular economy model for its 330 million delivery assets. But the self-developed, advanced IT systems and solutions for tracking and recovering assets also helped Brambles to do so well in the rating. Brambles also scored in the area of ​​”Outcomes”. This includes the input – in the form of material and energy – and then analyzes how the output – in the form of products or services – contributes to the circular economy. The evaluation team honored Brambles’ sustainable procurement and identified development areas for its future strategy.

“Brambles was involved in the development phase of Circulytics,” commented Jarkko Havas, director of the data and metrics initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “We are pleased that the company is now benefiting from the use of Circulytics. Brambles is actively working on the transition to one Circular economy and is making great progress here, which we hope we will continue to observe through the development of Circulytics.”

Circularity is further strengthened

Juan José Freijo, VP Global Head of Sustainability at Brambles, welcomes the participation in Circulytics, which also provides feedback in the form of tailored insights and comments from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “Circulytics supports us on our way to becoming more and more circular in our business model,” he said. “The excellent result encourages us to continue increasing the share of renewable energies. One of our primary goals is to continue our regeneration strategy for natural systems that we can influence The analysis tool is also very helpful for working together in our worldwide Zero Waste World program because we can precisely measure our progress.”

“In discussions with our customers, we find that our circular model based on the ‘share and reuse’ principle is very well received. Many of our customers are currently working intensively on how they can reduce their ecological footprint. By using our pooling services, they make a contribution to this,” added Kai Derda, Managing Director of CHEP Deutschland GmbH.