Representatives from Boots the Chemists’ Nottingham head office will this week join firms from across the UK at the 2005 ‘Retail Therapy’ Awards in London.
Taking place on 21 April at Harrods, the event will be hosted by the British Retail Consortium and Envirowise – the Government funded initiative to improve the competitiveness of UK industry by advising on practical ways to increase profits, minimise waste and reduce environmental impact.
The presentation dinner is being held to celebrate the significant savings made by firms who have taken part in the Supply Chain Partnership Forum called ‘Retail Therapy’ – which sees companies working closely with their suppliers to implement environmental improvements and reduce costs.
Nationally, this unique project estimates cost savings last year alone of more than £1.4 million.
During 2004, Boots worked with its suppliers - including Labelsco - to identify a range of measures to cut costs and reduce landfill; in particular the recycling of paper, collection of pallets, installation of a timer on a heating system and a ‘switch off’ energy saving campaign.
Robert Brown of Boots’ Nottingham head office says: “This is the third year that Boots and its suppliers have taken part in the Retail Therapy programme, and we have continued to be impressed by the cost savings achieved.
“The programme was especially beneficial in forging stronger links between our smaller suppliers. Its ‘hands-on’ format also meant that they were able to identify which environmental changes could be made immediately, and which would take more effort to implement.
“This means that our suppliers now have a much better understanding of where Boots stands on environmental issues. It has also helped reinforce the maxim that good environmental practice makes good business sense.
“Retail Therapy offered high-quality advice from an independent source, which ensured that it was taken seriously. We look forward to taking part again next year.”
Envirowise programme director Martin Gibson said: “Our experience has shown that the retail sector can reduce waste costs by up to 1 per cent of turnover simply by putting in place simple, no cost or low cost measures.
“This programme encourages and equips companies to work together to find solutions to problems such as re-usable transport packaging, better delivery logistics or smarter product packaging design.
“We ask those involved to take a different look at the way they operate. Both customers and suppliers can achieve cost savings and other benefits from sharing experiences and taking a closer look at how they interact with others.”
Retail Therapy helps companies achieve this by working through a four-stage programme: introductory workshop, FastTrack waste review, targeted training and impact assessment – which normally takes around six months. It also offers free support and practical assistance under the Envirowise programme.
More information can be found at http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/ by choosing ‘Retail’ under ‘Select Your Industry’ or call The Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794.
Note to Editors
1. Envirowise is funded by DTI and DEFRA and works in partnership with the British Retail Consortium to run the Supply Chain Partnership Forum – ‘Retail Therapy’. To date, the project has been run over three consecutive years and identified more than £5.3 million of potential savings - £3.8 million of which have already been achieved.
2. Since, 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save in excess of £1 billion by offering advice to help companies identify where waste production can be minimised and cost-savings made. Envirowise services are free of charge and are completely confidential. Companies can contact Envirowise at www.envirowise.gov.uk or by calling The Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794.