So, what has Lyreco implemented to become a trusted partner in terms of sustainability?

Here is a flavour of some of the initiatives and working practices they have implemented, aimed at reducing its environmental impact, while offering sustainable products and solutions to its customers.

Solar Panel/Battery Storage

In December 2015, solar panels were installed at the Company’s National Distribution Centre followed, in 2017, with the installation of a half Megawatt Tesla battery. In doing this, Lyreco became the first commercial and industrial site in the UK to use large scale battery storage in conjunction with a rooftop solar panel electricity system.

Bee Hives

Lyreco installed one beehive in 2016 outside the Telford head office to support and maintain Telford’s ecosystem and bee population. Since then 5 more beehives have been added to the site, with one of their employees taking on the role of head beekeeper. The bees create an average of 95lb of honey a year which is then sold back to employees, with more than 140lb produced in 2019

Eco-Garden

A sustainable eco-garden was created, in partnership with Shropshire Wildlife Trust and the Business Environmental Support Scheme for Telford (BESST), at Lyreco’s head office in Telford. The garden path membrane is composed of old conveyor belts and the path itself is Welsh plum slate, sourced from a nearby quarry. Additionally, the wood for the path borders were donated by Northern Case Supplies, who collect, re-use and recycle pallets from the site.

A bark seating area composed of natural wood was installed and local green hay distributed to encourage wildflower growth. The most recent addition is a 10 pallet high insect hotel, made from locally sourced wood, pinecones, bark, stones and bricks from around the site, as well as pallets and cardboard from Lyreco’s operations.

Environment and the Community

An internal employee charity scheme helps local charities and community groups.  Lyreco also regularly takes part in litter picking campaigns and has also been tackling single-use plastic in the community and has sponsored the “Love Your River Severn” campaign for the last 2 years. In addition they have donated aluminium bottles to local walking groups to encourage the use of reusable bottles and the reduction of single-use plastic in the Telford environment.

The company is one of the vice chairs of the Business Environmental Support Scheme for Telford (BESST) which helps support local businesses in their sustainable endeavours

Environmentally Preferred Product Offering

Lyreco has deployed a number of recycling services and a range of products that emphasise a lifecycle approach for customers, becoming the first business-to-business company to officially assess the environmental footprint of its own brand products through the EU Product Environmental Footprint (EU PEF).

It has developed tools which raise customer awareness and help businesses reduce their environmental impact when buying office supplies, by calculating the footprint of orders placed so customers can see the impact their purchases will have on the environment.

Green Van commitment

Lyreco UK signed up to Global Action Plans Clean Van Commitment in 2019 which sets out the goal of zero emission vans in all cities by 2028.  108 eco-friendly vans were introduced into the Global Lyreco fleet with electric and gas powered fuels, while eco-driver training and optimised tour planning have been implemented for consolidated deliveries to minimise carbon emissions.

They have partnered with innovative passenger and cargo cycle delivery service, Pedal Me, to trial a new initiative being rolled out in London in an effort to minimise its carbon emissions.