By signing up to Weaver, we have committed to a 2-year programme that sets a transparent route to become a sustainable business. The programme creates an opportunity to demonstrate sustainable initiatives and progress across various sustainability issues. It's designed to help all stakeholders assess the company’s behaviour and policies across five key sustainability areas:
- Carbon footprint
- Waste management
- Single-use packaging
- Sustainable products
- Social responsibility
Through the Weaver programme, we will be committing business resources through our Sustainability Champion, Kerry Parry, to form a sustainability strategy to express our passion for contributing to wider social issues, beyond basic business interests. The programme also allows the business to be in touch with the latest government legislation and SBTI’s (science based target inititatives), always keeping plans and policies relevant.
The Weaver certification will allow us to recognise our impact across the committed five key sustainability areas and provides a framework towards real action, tangible impact, and measurable results, by demonstrating the following:
- Show intent through a robust plan
- Measure to manage
- Focus through SMART KPI’s, Policies & Strategies
- Report annually and take action, setting realistic measurable goals
- Help to communicate internally and to stakeholders and customers showcasing responsibility, commitment and our sustainability aspirations and successes
- Futureproof our business through resource and cost savings
- Improve employee engagement and retention through the involvement of staff on our journey
- Differentiate our brand from competitors through leveraging marketing benefits
- Quantify our environmental and social impact
- Improve sustainability management
Carbon Footprint
On Weaver, our business must report its carbon footprint on an annual basis. We will reduce our carbon footprint, through intentional action (compared to key business metrics) on an annual basis.
To achieve the Weaver sustainability certification in carbon footprint, we must demonstrate setting intent, taking action and measuring success in this area.
The business carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly by our business, expressed as tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Calculating carbon footprint is vital to understand where we should take priority action to remove and reduce the carbon emissions of the business.
Single-Use Packaging
Through the Weaver programme, we must actively reduce our single-use packaging, accounting for in-office items, product distribution packaging, and packaging from suppliers. Single-use is defined as all packaging, containers and disposable items that are intended to be used only once, or for less than a week from the start of product use before it is disposed of (to landfill or recycled).
Measuring the amount of single-use packaging waste that we produce is vital to understand where we need to take action to reduce our single-use packaging and to track progress over time.
Meeting targets set by the European Commission is key to ensuring that our business is in line with the national targets up to 2030.
Through the Weaver programme, we will be setting single-use packaging reduction targets for the next year which will enable us to work towards a set goal and track progress over time. Setting realistic targets, that can be measured, will enable us to achieve our goals
Waste Management
On the Weaver programme, a business must actively recycle, recover, reuse and reduce business waste. This includes office and production waste, as well as considering customer product waste and procurement decisions where appropriate.
As part of the process of removing and reducing business waste, it is essential we measure the amount of waste that our business generates.
Measuring the recycling rate and setting realistic reduction targets will allow our business to track how much waste we are recycling compared to our general waste, and how this will change over time and help us to achieve our set targets and goals.
Sustainable Products
On Weaver, a business must actively procure sustainable products, and promote sustainable products as alternatives to its customers. A sustainable product is defined as one that, for example, has an environmental certification, is made from sustainable materials, contains recycled content or is recyclable.
As a business, measuring the number of sustainable products that our business sells to its customers is vital to understand where we need to take action to improve the sales of sustainable products, and to track progress over time.
Setting sustainable products targets for the next year enables the business to work towards a set goal and track progress over time. Setting realistic targets and working towards achieving our goal of extending our range of sustainable products.
Social Responsibility
Weaver requires that a business must actively take responsibility for its employees’ well-being and career development. Also it should support and engage with its local and wider community on a regular basis.
To achieve the Weaver social sustainability certification in social responsibility, we must demonstrate setting intent, taking action and measuring success in this area.
Measuring our business’s contribution to social responsibility, both internally and externally, will be vital to understanding where we need to take action to improve the social responsibility of our business, and to track our progress over time.
Reviewing our success and identifying priority areas for improvement will be vital to taking action in the right areas and having a material impact. As part of Weaver these priority focus areas will be incorporated into our social responsibility strategy.
