Duo UK overhauls packaging of North West-based businesses to curb carbon footprint

Following Manchester City Council’s formal declaration of a ‘climate emergency’ in July, businesses across Greater Manchester are coming together to find new ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

As part of this, one of the city’s environmental targets is to ensure sustainability is part of every businesses’ procurement policy, along with encouraging sustainable consumption and production, ultimately resulting in a circular economy and thus reducing the amount of waste Manchester produces.

Duo UK is one of the businesses that has pledged to continue its commitment to a greener future for Greater Manchester, bringing together like-minded businesses in the process. Duo UK has united North West-based businesses including Character World, Couture Club, and Joanie, to slash their carbon footprint too.

In the first nine months of the year, the North West-based business has saved 4,249 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (TCO2 Eq), a sum comparable to the output produced driving 36,012,203 kilometers in a car, the equivalent to driving 898 times around the world.

This has been achieved rapidly by more of Duo’s clients adopting GreenPE, a sustainable plastic alternative derived from sugarcane or recycled polythene for their packaging products.

This year Duo UK has seen an increase in the number of clients implementing its closed-loop recycling process. This has resulted in an increase in the volume of waste polythene material that is collected, recycled and reused to make new products, thus reducing reliance on virgin finite material.

Without this system, this valuable and recyclable resource could end up in landfills and increase demand for the production of new, virgin polythene. Since 2018, Duo UK has seen a 387 percent increase in the volume of waste material being collected and recycled, saving over 200 tonnes of plastic since the start of this year.

Anthony Brimelow, Commercial Director at Duo UK, said “We announced plans to reduce our customers’ reliance and usage of virgin finite material, at the 2018 GM Green Summit, instead manufacturing packaging made from GreenPE and recycled polythene and we couldn’t be prouder of the result.

“The number of Manchester businesses putting a strong emphasis on their eco-credentials is a true reflection of the current social and political focus on sustainability. Consumers are more aware of what they are purchasing and how it was made, and businesses are working hard to implement changes that improve the eco-credentials of their businesses too.”

Scott Shashua, Director of Couture Club, gives his perspective on the changing landscape: “”Here at the Couture Club, we are continually adapting our business practices to ensure we meet our sustainable objectives for 2019 and moving into 2020, this is to match the increasing consumer demand for sustainability and to educate our customers to put the environment at the forefront of their minds through every purchase they make with us.”

The Manchester ‘climate emergency’ motion, which states that climate change poses a serious risk to the city’s future, was initially put forward to the council by groups of young activists, concerned that the city’s existing climate policy was not strong enough. Earlier in the year, the council announced plans to become carbon neutral by 2038, but the new motion aims to bring forward the zero-carbon target.

Other focuses for the city include a better transport system, air quality improvement and more investment in planting trees.

Duo UK recently partnered with the Greater Manchester City of Trees initiative to transform the underused grounds of the city and help address complex environmental problems, including flooding, air quality, and global warming.

The Greater Manchester City of Trees initiative has so far planted almost 460,000 trees in the region and transformed over 264 hectares of woodland. Duo UK took the first steps to re-invigorate the landscape surrounding Abbotts Community Primary School in Collyhurst, Manchester, an area close to the Duo UK premises, by clearing dense brambles on the grounds. The space will be planted with a small orchard, plus trees and shrubs to provide a barrier from the adjacent footpath in the coming months.