The 2022 winner of WCoBM’s Caring for the Environment Award in the Supplier Member category was Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation.
This award acknowledges companies or individuals in the Livery whose efforts in areas of waste management, manufacturing processes, packaging or product development have resulted in greater sustainability or resource efficiency.
Polypipe was presented with the award at our annual City & Awards Luncheon in March 2022, presented by the Guest of Honour Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman.
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Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation has established a pioneering approach to sustainability, creating products from recycled plastics to create a new generation of rainwater reuse and green asset technologies that have the ability to transform the resilience and biodiversity richness of the urban environment.
The company’s environmental work is focused on ethical gain and helping to grow a greater understanding amongst trade audiences and the general public of how water management is vital to creating a future which better sustains the environment.
To achieve this, Polypipe’s objectives centre on three pillars: Improve, Innovate and Inform:
- Improve: Reducing CO2 emissions through energy efficiency and exploring new renewable solutions; achieving zero waste to landfill by understanding waste streams and creating new reuse solutions; investing in high-speed manufacturing to reduce energy consumption per unit of product, and reducing overall distribution mileage; switching the company fleet to electric vehicles; installing electric charging points and increasing biodiesel lorries use; offsetting the carbon footprint of its external marketing activities.
- Innovate: Developed a recycling facility to reprocess and repurpose post-consumer and post-production waste; joined the Operation Clean Sweep initiative to ensure zero plastic enters the environment; trialling a closed loop recycling pledge, where Polypipe collects end-of-life materials, cleans and processes it to reuse in manufacturing.
- Inform: Educating schoolchildren on the importance of household plastic recycling via its Wash & Squash initiative; working with consumers/engineers/architects/public realm owners/developers/contractors/merchants to raise awareness of Green Urbanisation and how water management and sustainable reuse technologies create more durable, biodiverse landscapes.
Achievements:
- Zero waste to landfill targets in 2021, resulting in carbon benefit of 360.63 tCO2e vs 2020;
- Recycled content used in products: 79.45% (75% 2020);
- Wash & Squash: 10,000 milk bottles donated (6,000 in 2020);
- 14,298 tonnes of UK waste reprocessed (8,710 in 2020);
- Ground-breaking climate and water resilience research roof installed in Manchester to discover how new construction and data technologies can help cities mitigate impacts of climate change and population growth, while enhancing biodiversity.
What the judges said:
“We were extremely impressed with Polypipe’s pioneering lead in sustainability, underpinned by its Green Urbanisation approach and creating products from recycled plastics. The business works with stakeholders across the supply chain to raise awareness of Green Urbanisation and how water management and sustainable reuse technologies create more durable, biodiverse landscapes. Its hybrid approach to water management combines green infrastructure such as roofs, gardens and trees with water storage in cities and other dense urban environments.
“It was also very impressive that Polypipe’s strong environmental focus was encompassed across the group, starting from the top and cascading to every level from senior management to the newest recruits.”
