European polymer companies looking to cut their carbon footprint can now find out how much they can save in a matter of seconds, thanks to the launch of an innovative online tool.
PRS Pooling has created the tool to show companies how many tonnes of CO2 they could save and how many trees they could prevent being cut down by using its pool pallets, instead of their single-use equivalent.
The easy-to-use online calculator will work out a figure by users simply entering where they want PRS to ship pallets, how many pallets are needed annually, what type of products are shipped and the percentage of pallets exported outside Europe.
PRS, which is Europe’s only pooler of sustainable wooden pallets for the polymer industry, has launched the tool as part of its ongoing work to push the widespread adoption of a circular model across the sector.
The calculator is the work of Zishan Khan, a developer and industrial engineering graduate, who started developing it during his internship with PRS.
Innovative work
Zishan, who will start a master’s degree in global supply chain management in September, stated, “The calculator took around four to five months to complete – there was lots of data collection and travel to different countries required.
“There are two versions of the finished product – a simple, interactive version and a calculator which is around 80 percent more complex,” he continued. “It dives into the current supply chain logistics of PRS to give a much more accurate result.
“It is very much in line with the concept of PRS. We are not just relying on word of mouth – this tool calculates everything we say we can do accurately. It’s definitely something I’m proud of, especially as I was studying at the time. My teachers and PRS were both happy for me to travel to different countries to carry out the research needed.”
Circularity
Rinus de Kok, commercial director of PRS Pooling, tasked Zishan with creating the tool and is delighted with the results. “We promote ourselves as not just another pallet supplier – circularity is the magic word,” he said.
“Customers are always looking for concepts to help them balance their environmental impact and we could tell them that with every seven pallets, you save a tree. But they can say ‘OK, prove it!’. They want to see data about how much CO2 they can save, so we figured we needed to create something which shows what we can do versus a single-use pallet.”
Based on your distribution profile, de Kok continued, this tool will now show you what your CO2 advantage is. “It is the first tool of its kind in our industry where we can look at the benefits of pooling against a single-use pallet.”
The interactive calculator can be found on the PRS Pooling website homepage at www.prs-pooling.com.