COVER STORY JUNE 2019
Coventry manufacturer tackles litter
Senior managers joined shopfloor operators on the streets of Coventry as part of
a litter-pick organised by leading automotive supplier, Brose. The event saw over
95 Brose staff clear the roads around the company’s sites at Colliery Lane and
Courtaulds Way, as well as a local park.
The one-hour session saw over 50 bags of litter collected, including a giant
plastic toy car that had been discarded.
Brose MD, Steve Wilkins, explains that the litter-pick was designed to give
something back to the city the company calls home. “We are very proud of our
Coventry roots, having been based in and around the city for more than 30 years.
We wanted to give something back, so galvanised the team to spend an hour of
their time removing all the litter from our facilities, nearby roads and, importantly,
tidying up a great open space for local people.
“This will become an annual event and is part of our new approach to corporate
social responsibility that will see us use our skills, expertise and resources more
effectively to make a difference to the communities we operate in.”
It recently opened a new, £54
million plant in the city, which
produces over 100 million bricks
per year – enough to make
around 15,000 houses. The
factory is also the most energyefficient
of its kind in the world,
using 70% less energy than a
similar plant built in the 1970s
and a third less than one built a
decade ago. Ibstock’s shopfloor
staff have been the driving force
behind a lot of the day-today
efficiency gains, explains
the company’s sustainability
manager, Michael McGowan
(pictured, right). “We identified
the significantly energy-intensive
processes on-site and gave the
people who work on them some
training on energy savings. We
can monitor how much energy
the machines and kilns use, but
it’s the people who operate them
that can make the real difference
in terms of reducing that.
“If you look at the external
pressures facing any business, a
growing one is that people are
more aware of sustainability and
their impact on the environment
than ever before,” McGowan
continues. “Employees want to
work for responsible companies,
meaning organisations like ours
have to be aware of this when
hiring staff.”
Don’t do it alone
A key part of Cranswick’s success
is its collaboration with both
customers and suppliers. “We
can limit the amount of plastic that leaves the
factory and goes to supermarkets and consumers,”
says Mayer. “There’s still a lot of plastic that’s used
in the supply chain, though. Our suppliers use
plastic in their processes and send it to us. Once it
reaches us, we have to consider what we do with
it. It’s end-to-end that we have to consider our
sustainability message. Our challenges are exactly
the same as our supply chain’s. We’ve worked
with our customers and suppliers to remove a
lot of the plastic from our processes. A lot of the
sustainability work we’ve done on-site has also
been shared with our suppliers.”
Manufacturers should also be looking to work
as locally as possible. Ibstock currently sources
98% of its raw materials from the UK – something
McGowan says more should be doing. “Over 400
million bricks come into the UK every year from
Europe and beyond. That obviously has a higher
carbon footprint than if they were all made here.
Much more needs to be done to encourage UK
supply chains. To be a truly sustainable business,
you should be looking to do as much as possible
close to home.”
Not coming at a cost
Cranswick employees have instigated a number
of on-site activities to promote sustainability. The
factory’s energy-savings-focused day, for example,
saw staff use exercise bikes connected to smoothie
makers to make healthy drinks for their colleagues.
To combat waste, the company’s in-house chefs
used surplus ingredients to create simple and
affordable meals for local residents.
“We’ve not made any changes that will become
unviable for the long-term success of the business,”
stresses Mayer. “None of the Second Nature
initiative will hit the bottom line or drive waste.
We have to do things in the right way.”
Because of this, continues Mayer, there is no
excuse for manufacturers, large or small, to pick
up the baton of sustainability. “Being sustainable
doesn’t need to include any great outlay,” he says.
“If it’s done right, you should see end-to-end cost
reduction. How successful your scheme is boils
down to engagement. Speak to your team – I’d
be very surprised if they don’t want to do things
to make a difference. It’s imperative that your
sustainability push starts with your people. Having
a vision is also important. At Cranswick we are
lucky that the board has set a clear strategy that
we are able to engage with.”
One thing is certain, however – now is the
time to act. Mayer has a stark warning for any
manufacturer currently resting on its laurels
when it comes to sustainability. “There’s
definitely an opportunity for the whole industry
to move forward at a faster pace,” he says. “If
we’re not careful, there will be a significant
consumer backlash, which will hurt us more than
getting on with it now. For me, it’s not so much
about improving the industry’s image around
sustainability, it’s about being sustainable first
and foremost. If we get that right, the improved
perception will come naturally. The companies
“To be truly sustainable,
you need to do as much as
possible close to home.”
Michael McGowan, sustainability manager, Ibstock
20 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
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