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Packaging and Waste
The three most significant areas for consideration here are:
- Unsold product
- Packaging
- Office waste
Unsold product
We sell a variety of products. Most of our products are paper-based in the form of books and newspapers. Less than 1% of our sales are products such as CDs and DVDs. Sales of magazines are also very small. We are committed to recycle as much of our unsold product as possible. Sometimes this happens through industry-wide agreements - as is the case for newspapers in the UK - whilst other initiatives are specific to Pearson.
Avoiding unsold product is a key business objective. Improvements in stock control and sales forecasting contribute significantly to reducing the amount of unsold product. Responsible disposal of unsold product is a significant environmental responsibility for us.
|
Recycling |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
%age change |
|
Unsold product |
99% |
98.3% |
96.8% |
-1.5% |
Our target is maintain our reuse/recycle rate for all unsold books and newsprint in excess of 95%. This was achieved and we are committed to ensuring recycling rates of unsold product remain high.
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Case Study 501 Boylston Street, Boston, MA During 2005, the Prentice Hall School business moved to new premises in Boston. A member of the Production Department proposed that Pearson use the move to identify school books no longer needed for donation to charity. Nearly 900 boxes containing over 7000 books were collected under the initiative by Pearson employees. Hands Across the Water, a charity that distributes books to schools and libraries in need, shipped the books to Kenya and Ghana. Through this initiative, employees helped make a difference in enriching the lives of children and adults as well as the environmental benefits. |
Packaging
We use a variety of packaging materials in the distribution of our products worldwide: cardboard, plastic, shrink-wrap and foamfill (a void filler).
|
Packaging |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
%age change |
|
|
tonnes |
tonnes |
tonnes |
|
|
Cardboard |
2,983 |
3,208 |
4,737 |
64.16% |
|
Shrink-wrap |
72 |
78 |
254 |
224.97% |
|
Plastic |
213 |
129 |
56 |
-54.45% |
|
Foamfill |
221 |
54 |
37 |
-10.61% |
Packaging was highlighted last year as an area for further study. This has been reflected in improved data collection for both cardboard and shrinkwrap. A particular objective for us has been to phase out the use of plastic and foamfill in favour of packaging based on natural materials. Further progress on this has been achieved. Our use of foamfill has reduced by over 80% in the last two years.
Pearson has a number of distribution centres around the world that use and receive packaging and we encourage sharing of good practice. For example, Penguin has adopted the environmentally-friendly carton packing system pioneered by Pearson Education in the US as an alternative to plastic popcorn packing. Penguin has also worked with the printers to redesign cartons to reduce the amount of corrugation used. As an example of how learning is being shared, see the case study example below:
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Case Study Rugby Distribution Centre Based on US experience, the distribution centre at Rugby was designed with motion detectors to shut off unneeded lighting and passive measures such as window tinting have been installed. Hand dryers are used in washrooms in lieu of paper towels. Used corrugation and discarded books are reused where possible or shredded and the material recycled. In 2005, scanners using radio frequencies were introduced to the Rugby distribution centre eliminating paper packing lists. Most recently Pearson Education has negotiated with one of the printers to improve the quality of the cartons. Prior to this, some cartons received from the printer were of adequate strength to ship books on a pallet but not to ship individually. Improving the quality of the cartons from the bindery eliminates the need for a second carton. We are also exploring ways to reduce the number of cartons we use by better merging of orders and increasing the number of carton sizes in order to better fit the carton to the order. Our current efforts are in the area of packaging. We presently use two forms of packing material. When cartons are packed manually, we use air bags which offer a good ratio of material to space. Automatic packing shrinks a plastic wrap around the books. Last year this was done with a heavy black plastic wrap and ultraviolet ray bulbs. In 2006, our target is to replace the bulbs with hot air which allows us to use a lighter, clear wrap. The lighter wrap requires less plastic, which reduces costs and the environmental impact, and improves customer satisfaction since the customer can now see the product and avoid damaging it when removing the wrap. |
Packaging continues to be a priority for us.
Office waste
Our offices use resources and equipment, some of which are consumables and some of which have a longer lifespan. Nevertheless, both result in waste. We have a responsibility to minimise the use of resources and to ensure the most environmentally benign methods of disposal.
|
Recycling rates |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
|
%age |
%age |
%age |
|
Office paper |
81% |
84% |
86% |
|
IT equipment |
91% |
82% |
87% |
|
Toners |
86% |
95% |
88% |
Recycling rates fluctuate. We have a series of targets to promote recycling across the business.
In 2004 we had a target to ensure that paper recycling facilities are in place for our top 50 buildings. 46 of the top 50 buildings by number of employees have recycling policies in place. Of the remaining four buildings, three are new to the survey process this year and one was closed during 2005. Our objective will be to ensure that recycling policies are in place for the top 50 buildings for 2006.
|
Paper - UK and US |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 | |
|
|
kg |
kg |
kg |
% change |
|
Bought |
440,948 |
457,569 |
553,662 |
21.00% |
|
Per employee |
19.97 |
20.11 |
21.03 |
4.60.% |
Using 2003 as the base year, we aim to achieve a 5% reduction in consumption of paper per head by 2006. For the UK, we achieved a 12% reduction per head and a 4.7% absolute reduction in paper used. The US figures increased substantially this year. This was due to an increase in use of the preferred office paper supplier. As the scope of coverage has significantly changed in the US, year-on-year comparisons are not meaningful.
We had a target for 2005 to achieve a minimum re-use rate of redundant electrical and electronic equipment within the company of 75%. Reuse can either be by Pearson or by third parties. For the 49 out of 100 sites that this was relevant in 2005, we had a recycling rate for redundant PCs and IT equipment of 87% in 2005.
We had a target to achieve a 90% recycle rate of redundant toner cartridges in 2005. For the 74 out of 100 sites that replied to this survey, we had a recycling rate for toner cartridges of 88% in 2005.
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Case Study Recycling at One Southwark Bridge, FT Highlights from recycling initiatives at the FT in 2005 include:
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