The Importance of Sustainability in Business

As we begin a new year, a fresh start, with climate change talks still creating a buzz from the COP26 summit, and people’s desire to do better by the world really shining through. There is no better time for businesses to reflect on their activities over the past year. For a period of time that has brought so much uncertainty throughout, it can be a refreshing prospect to gather your thoughts and see how far your business has come; however big or small the steps may be.

CP Cases Ltd is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year which is a milestone achievement in itself. We are proud of what CP Cases has achieved in the past half-century, having worked hard to get to where it is today. This meant keeping up with the everchanging trends in the different industries that we supply to; keeping above the curve when it comes to our manufacturing processes, innovation of products and the most important (and prevalent) trends – our social values and sustainability goals.

Social values and sustainability goals are the encouraging end result of a business strategy and the motivating factors to achieving them. Working in the manufacturing industry comes with its challenges when setting the focus areas for being an actively sustainable business. However big or small, all goals are part of a robust strategy working towards sustaining our planet and its resources. At CP Cases, we have contributed significantly (especially in the past year) to becoming a more sustainable manufacturer. Keep reading to find out what steps we have taken.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability has been a predominant trend over the last couple of years and we feel it is going to become even more prevalent. This focused importance is crossing over into different industries more and more with the message that we are the first generation to see our effects on the plant but the last generation that can do something about it. Whether individually or through your business, there is an increased awareness on activities that will impact the planet.

Sustainability is becoming more of a focal point for companies across all industries with 62% of directors taking into consideration a sustainability strategy needed to be competitive in today’s markets. Another 22% predict this type of planning will be the future.

With this in mind, we took the entrepreneurial step to hold our own rotational moulding machine in-house for the manufacture of our range of Amazon Cases and Amazon Racks.

RECYCLING

Rotational Moulding is a manufacturing process used widely in the automotive industry to produce weight-efficient, immensely durable and recyclable plastic containers and is an integral part of CP Cases flagship product line, Amazon Cases and Racks.

As mentioned, our London HQ is home to our brand-new Rotational Moulding plant which enables us to increase capacity and reduce manufacturing waste, our Amazon Cases & Racks are 100% recyclable.

Although there are many thermoplastics available the most commonly used for rotational moulding is polyethylene. This is because it has good processing characteristics, is relatively inexpensive and has satisfactory engineering performance combined with resistance to environmental conditions. It can be coloured for corporate requirements (even mottled!) and can improve UV resistance. The polyethylene we use biodegrades naturally, albeit over a long period of time. Methods are available to make it more degradable under certain conditions.

Manufacturers often create high volumes of multiple manufacturing waste materials in fast-moving environments. We endeavour to recycle most of our used materials including aluminium, polyethylene, general waste, plywood and more.

Most companies will share the same sustainability goal of reducing their carbon footprint in any way they can. Over the years we have been working hard to bring the majority of our production and manufacturing in-house. We are also in the planning stages of installing solar panels on the roof of the factory for a greener and more sustainable power source for our office space and machinery. Small steps definitely can make the biggest difference and we as a company are supporting this as much as we can.

COMPANY SOCIAL VALUES

Along with helping the environment with steps towards sustainable manufacturing, in any business, it is important to have social values in place. These are essential in maintaining a healthy relationship between all employees, the company and society.

CP Cases have many processes in place, adapting to the times over the last 50-years. Being a factory, a lot of our values are centred around adhering to a safe working environment for all of our employees and visitors which is paramount.

We have an active ‘always on’ value that demonstrates action to support the health and wellbeing, including the physical and mental health of our employees. We provide equal opportunities for all of our staff and demonstrate action to identify and tackle inequality.

We promote interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and are part of the KTP programme to encourage collaboration between businesses and universities within the UK – with our current KTP Associate helping to digitise our manufacturing processes.

We create opportunities within our surrounding areas by employing locally and continue to support our local supply chain to deliver lower cost and higher quality goods and services.

More recently all staff members have been taking lateral flow tests twice a week which we still follow and have continued mandatory face coverings and social distancing practises around the factory to keep our employees and any visitors safe.

SPEAK TO OUR TEAM ABOUT OUR RANGE OF PRODUCTS

We are honoured to be building on our foundations to create the company’s next phase of growth and evolution, keeping up with the changing environments and working towards a more sustainable way of working. Here is to the next 50!

At CP Cases we pride ourselves on meeting the exact needs of clients across a huge range of industries, and we’ve been developing and improving our products for over 50 years. Contact us today to talk about your requirements and our friendly team will be glad to hear from you.