Unipart stories for Recycle Week


September 2021 – Back in June on World Environment Day, teams across Unipart got together to generate ideas to reduce energy use, cut waste, and recycle more.

‘Green Friday’ was an embodiment of Unipart’s values, using the tools and techniques of The Unipart Way to look at problems through a digital lens with a green tint.

More than 600 ideas were put forward, many of which looked to improve processes with digital technology.

Fast forward to Recycle Week in September, three of the many Green Friday ideas now a reality at Unipart sites are featured in this video.

Unipart Logistics – NHS Supply Chain Normanton

The Unipart Logistics team at NHS Supply Chain Normanton identified a wide-range of opportunities to ‘take the paper out of paperwork’. After focusing on operational processes with a dependency on paper, they spotted both quick wins and potential longer-term solutions to increase recycling and reuse. 

Across 32 different projects, new digital solutions led to estimated savings of 500 reams of paper per month. The money saved by taking paper out of various operations more than paid for the digital technology needed in its place, with more than three tonnes of waste being taken out of compacting and recycling processes. Employees are currently working on the next tier of improvements.

Unipart Logistics – Nuneaton

There was a similar story at the Nuneaton site, with staff buying into the Green Friday initiative to come up with some inspired solutions around reusing and recycling packaging. For example, on one major contract, reuse targets were easily surpassed and new targets set to achieve a £57,000 saving in June, equivalent to just under 6.5 tonnes of packaging. 

Such savings are win-win for Unipart customers because they offer financial savings as well as environmental benefits.  

A Unipart employee recycling a box in a warehouse during Recycle WeekUnipart Logistics – Cowley

The Unipart team in Cowley identified issues where packaging / cardboard was being wasted and opportunities for materials to be used again. Working together, each contract was told to keep hold of their waste cardboard and packaging so other contracts could take what they needed. This resulted in 250 kilos of waste being reused in a month.

Working with the Carbon Trust, Unipart has made a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030 by removing carbon emissions from all operations.

Unipart has a strong environmental track record with 15 years of environmental ISO standard accreditation and eight Globe of Honour awards for environmental performance, more than any other organisation in the world. Achieving significant benefits from embedding environmental strategy into core business processes, Unipart’s customers, people, industry partners and the communities in which it operates are best served when everyone’s long-term prosperity and sustainability is intertwined.

Read more about Unipart’s sustainability agenda in Corporate Responsibility The Unipart Way 2019/20.