Sustainable and ethical wherever possible

Here at Westbury Packaging we don’t only produce sustainable packaging, we also produce packaging sustainably. We’ve also gone one step further than most by achieving Carbon Neutrality.

Carbon Neutrality is achieved by calculating your carbon footprint and reducing it to zero through a combination of in-house efficiency measures and supporting external emission reduction projects.

Part of the process involved setting up a robust environmental policy, covers everything from energy, recycling, fuel, vehicles, lighting, office/factory temperatures, travel, employee behaviour, and much much more.

We’ve implemented a number of changes to achieve Carbon Neutrality:

  • Energy – all our power comes from sustainable sources.
  • Vehicles – we’ve been using hybrid vehicles for the last three years and are now updating our fleet to electric. We also installed electric vehicle charging points in 2019.
  • Lighting – our factory is lit by LED lighting.
  • Environment – fast close doors on the factory mean that is it more efficient to maintain temperatures within our facility.
  • Recycling – all waste from the manufacturing processes are baled in-house and are recycled back into the supply chain.
  • Mindset – carbon neutrality needs full support from the whole team. A combination of training, policies and procedures means that everyone is right behind our initiative.

According to research by edie, 68% of UK shoppers say the environmental impact of a product’s packaging affects their purchasing choice. Since our certification we are working to move all our customers over to using only FSC® certified cardboard. This means that we are helping secure a long-term source of paper and therefore packaging whilst also meeting our customers’ needs.

We’ve also invested in two schemes to offset any vehicle fuel we are using whilst we transition our fleet to electric vehicles. The schemes are tree planting in the UK and supporting a project which prevents deforestation in Uganda.

We don’t plan to rest on our laurels now though. We’re always planning and designing more ways of improving our workplace so that it reduces the impact on the environment.

Environmentally friendly packaging

As a packaging manufacturer we have an important ecological role to play. We also feel we have a responsibility to try and help our clients reduce the impact that their packaging has on the environment, both in terms of materials used and carbon footprint. To this end, we offer a wide range of environmentally friendly packaging.

Recycling

On average, our corrugated boxes are approximately 2/3 recycled fibre and 1/3 virgin material. Corrugated cardboard has a recycling rate of 91% in the UK. This is the highest recycling rate of any type of packaging in the UK. As a direct result, every four months an area the size of Greater London is saved from landfill.

In our factory, every off-cut is fed, via a conveyor belt system, into an efficient semi-automatic baler for recycling. All our finished boxes are recyclable and our pallet exchange service allows us to cut down on wood wastage.

Forests

Trees feed our business so we like to look after them. We are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council ®. The FSC helps take care of forests and the people and wildlife who call them home.

All of our paper-based raw materials are purchased from suppliers that are FSC approved. As such we are helping to ensure that forests worldwide are well managed and sustainable, with trees being replanted and not depleted.

Plastics

When stocking up on packaging supplies, shrink-wrap and other raw materials, we try to buy from manufacturers who have their own ecological policies. Materials available include recyclable, degradeable and biodegradable plastics, please just ask us for details.

CO2 Emissions

When renewing company vehicles including our delivery fleet, CO2 emissions are a deciding factor in our choice. Working together as partners, we also aim to make your supply chain more efficient thereby reducing your carbon footprint.