PUTTING THE BRAKES ON POLLUTION

-Brakes awarded ISO50001 standard-

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has been awarded the ISO50001 Energy Management Standard in recognition of its continuing commitment to reducing overall energy usage.

The award is made to companies who have not only achieved certain standards, but also are committed to continuing to review and reduce their impact on the environment.

Ian Hunt, Director of Engineering and Environment at Brakes, said:  “In recent years, Brakes has tried to set a positive example for the foodservice industry with initiatives, such as our 2ZERO20 campaign to eliminate hard black plastics, as well as being the first foodservice wholesaler to sign up for WRAP’s UK Plastics Pact and joining the WRAP/IGD initiative to reduce waste across the industry.

“The award of ISO50001 follows a huge amount of work in understanding and eliminating unnecessary energy usage.”

Brakes has invested heavily in its transport infrastructure and more than half of its delivery vehicles now meet the latest EURO 6 standards for engine emissions.  The newer vehicles also have better economy and this, coupled with the roll-out of new route-planning software to reduce mileage across Brakes’ business, has made a significant difference to the fuel required to run the network.

The company is also continuing to use GTL fuel, which has significantly lower (almost 50%) nitrous oxide emissions, for deliveries from its London depot in Park Royal.

To support the new standard, Brakes has rolled out training for all staff on how to reduce energy wastage.

Major infrastructure projects are also being planned, including using alternative energy at depots, as well as plans to upgrade facilities to create significant CO2 savings.  These will build on incremental savings across the rest of the business, including reduction of gas and electricity usage by up to 2% and utilising more energy efficient methods, for example additional LED lighting across its estates.

Hunt added: “We’ve written the opening of our environmental story, with initiatives like 2ZERO20, zero waste to landfill since 2016 and industry-leading recycling rates of 81%, but we’re already busy working on the next chapters, which is what the continuous improvement under ISO50001 is all about.”