What is Project Terravita?

A few years ago, the word ‘sustainability’ was merely a buzzword, thrown around offices all over the world.  Yes, businesses would ask us for quotes for sustainable, environmentally friendly products, but as soon as longer lead times and higher costs were mentioned, the subject would quickly change and the word ‘sustainability’ would become just that.  A word rather than an action.

Now fast forward a couple of years.  More and more companies in the drinks industry have changed their way of working and are now doing their bit to reduce their carbon footprint.  We at Beaumont PPS have also upped the ante on sustainability, to not only help our customers, but to completely change our way of working.

To become eco-efficient, one step at a time, we have introduced Project Terravita; a series of foundational ‘pillars’ Beaumont PPS will follow over the coming years as our contribution towards a greener way of working.  We’re working to a realistic timeline and have big, ambitious plans for the next couple of years.

Our Timeline

2020:  Our objective was to have 100% of new projects adopt eco-design principles and a circular mindset.  We proudly achieved this and now approach every enquiry and project in this way.

2021:  Our goals for this year include reducing the plastic used in our packaging with a sustainable solution; every enquiry we receive from our customers will be quoted with an eco-friendly, sustainable option or alternative.  We also aim to successfully attain and implement the ISO14001 Quality Management System.

2022:  EcoVadis is an independent sustainability assessment platform which allows us to evaluate both ours, and our suppliers Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) levels.  Beaumont PPS currently has a Bronze EcoVadis CSR Rating.  We are confident that 2022 will be the year we are awarded a Silver EcoVadis Medal.  A silver medal would show that we are demonstrating ongoing sustainability in the company.  We are also aiming to completely eliminate all plastic in our packaging.

2023:  With a large proportion of our spend going through suppliers in the Far East, our carbon footprint is greatly impacted by the amount of shipping that we do.  We aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 30% in 2023 by looking to alternative suppliers across the world and reducing the amount that we ship from the Far East.

 

Project Terravita – How We Are Going To Reach Our Goal

Broken down in Latin, ‘terra’ translates to ‘earth’ or ‘land’, and ‘vita’ means ‘life’.  For us this means “Living in Harmony with the Land”. Project Terravita is built on 5 ‘pillars’; our five R’s:

Rethink

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Respect

But what do they all mean?  Let’s break it down…

 

Rethink
When should we ‘rethink’?  At the time of conceptualisation of the project!  We will analyse the need for each requested product, assess and, if need be, advise our client how it can be done differently.  This will minimise our carbon footprint by conserving resources and avoiding wastefulness.

 

Reduce
We want to remove plastic and increase the use of recycled material wherever we can, from all of our packaging, and from the production of the products we supply.  We will use materials wisely to reduce both size and weight which will lead to a reduction in waste.  Reducing waste will reduce our impact on the environment.

 

Reuse
We want to say goodbye to single use POS.  Our aim is to have all of our POS options designed to be used more than once.  Did you know that 79% of plastic ends up in landfill?*  For example, we, at Beaumont PPS, want to encourage our customers to choose metal straws rather than single use plastic ones; fabric tote bags rather than plastic bags.  We want to change our customers’ mindset and encourage them to avoid campaign branded POS in order to increase the lifespan of an item; rather than having a brand logo alongside the name of a festival / event printed onto a t-shirt, simply just have the logo.  Voila.  A t-shirt that can be worn for a number of events rather than just one.

 

Recycle
We want to choose recyclables when sourcing POS for our customers, ideally mono materials to make recycling easier.  If it isn’t possible to find a recyclable product, we would opt for a compostable one.

 

Respect
We want to ensure that the POS we offer is responsibly designed.  We will monitor the journey of materials and the impact they have on the environment; how they are sourced, manufactured and delivered.  We want to be certain that waste, chemicals, materials, water and energy are minimised from concept through to execution of each order.

 

Our progress so far…

Our journey to reach 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable POS has already begun.

When developing new products for customers, we are eliminating the use of many non-sustainable materials including crystal glass, porcelain, and PVC.  We strive to no longer use toxic or petrol based inks for decoration.  By July 2021 we will no longer supply polybags, and will have significantly reduced the supply of products with single use batteries, or electronics / batteries in any single use item.  With regard to transportation, we will reduce the usage of air freight, instead we will opt for sea freight.

We are continuously developing our portfolio of suppliers who share our vision and who will work together with us in Living in Harmony with the Land for a more sustainable future.

For more information about Project Terravita, or to find alternative eco-friendly solutions to POS, contact us today.

*Statistic taken from Financial Times