World first for North West recycling giant
Warrington-based global metal and plastic recycler, European Metal Recycling (EMR), has become the first recycling business in the world to become a member of the Climate Group’s RE100, EV100 and EP100 business initiatives.
It says this demonstrates its commitment to sustainability and reducing emissions.
The Climate Group, an international non-profit body, created these initiatives to bring together businesses to take collective, high-impact action on climate change with the shortest possible timeline.
The three initiatives have strict joining conditions that require members to make a public commitment to driving the transition to renewable energy (RE100) and electric vehicles (EV100) as well as creating an industrial step change in energy productivity (EP100).
As a condition of its RE100 membership, which is run in partnership with CDP, a global carbon disclosure project, EMR has committed to 100% renewable electricity across its sites worldwide.
Through the EV100 initiative, EMR will switch 100% of its car and light commercial vehicle fleet and 50% of small heavy goods vehicles to electric vehicles, and will deliver a 10% energy productivity improvement for total kWh per tonne of material handled under EP100.
EMR has set an ambitious deadline of 2030 for achieving its commitments under the three initiatives.
The Climate Group commitments form a set of significant steps on EMR’s journey to Net Zero by 2040, which is outlined in the business’s sustainability strategy – Our Decade of Action.
Helen Clarkson, CEO at The Climate Group, said: “EMR are the first recycling company to join all three of our business initiatives.
“As a metal recycling company they have the potential to make a big impact on corporate climate leadership.
“EU figures indicate that using recycled raw materials, including metals, cuts CO2 emissions by some 200 million tonnes every year.
“By converting their fleet to electric and switching to renewable and efficient power, EMR are setting a strong example for others in their industry.”
Chris Sheppard, EMR chief executive, said: “We’re proud to be the first recycler and one of only eight companies globally to have a triple membership of The Climate Group’s game-changing initiatives.
“As we rebuild our businesses and economies after COVID-19, we have an opportunity to build back better.
“We can respond to the future threat of climate change by reducing emissions, minimising environmental impact and contributing to the creation of a more resilient, circular economy.
“We want to show leadership in the face of the global climate challenge, and The Climate Group’s strict membership requirements demonstrate our commitment to making an authentic contribution and have shaped our pathway to net zero emissions by 2040.”
