Creating a nature positive economy

Think of an economy no longer reliant on raw materials. An economy without waste and with full dedication to renewable energy, renewable resources, and recycling. This is the circular economy.

At CHEP, our circular business model facilitates the ‘share and reuse’ of the world’s largest pool of reusable pallets and containers. This enables CHEP to serve its customers while minimising the impact on the environment and improving the efficiency and safety of supply chains around the world. In a resource-constrained world, circular business models like those operated by CHEP are recognised as a practical business solution enabling the world to trade more responsibly. By replenishing what it extracts and providing its products via a service, CHEP helps reduce both the constant pressure on natural resources and the waste production typical of conventional linear business models.

 We are working to help create a nature-positive economy with re-use, resilience, and regeneration at its core. It’s how we can create more natural and social value than we take while bringing emissions down to zero as soon as possible. We’re setting the ambition to pioneer truly regenerative supply chains. It means breaking the link between consumption and harm to the environment and society. And it means moving from degenerative systems that waste resources to regenerative models that restore nature and strengthen society, in other words, putting back in more than we take from the world.

 Resource efficiency is central to both CHEP’s business model and products. Resource efficiency involves recovering products and extending their life by repairing or reconditioning and reusing products. It’s even better if the products can be reused by many participants reducing the need for new materials for new products.

 CHEP’s ‘share and reuse’ model also ensures responsible end use at end-of-life (EOL). Our zero waste commitments mean our product materials have useful secondary purposes, avoiding landfills.

 Our circular business model is underpinned by sustainable sourcing of renewable and recyclable materials. Our plastic products are maintained as a functional product far longer than single use alternatives before being recycled into either new CHEP products or other plastic products. For timber, globally CHEP maintained 100% sustainably sourced timber and has enabled the transformation of more forestry markets to Chain of Custody (CoC) certification. This means the forests we source from are constantly regenerated while maintaining ecological functions.

 The future of supply chains is really exciting because CHEP’s circular business model functions by sharing physical assets through an ecosystem of customers, facilities and partnerships - and we aim to digitize these flows. This unique position presents an opportunity to harness data from our assets and illuminate, re-imagine, and transform global supply chains. As we develop data driven solutions that integrate with our reusable platforms, we aim to provide customers with near real time feedback and the ability to monitor and analyse goods through the supply chain. This will increase the effectiveness of our circular systems by minimising waste, maximising efficiencies, leading to a smaller environmental footprint.

 For CHEP, our products provide customers a service which combines access to our platforms and an extensive system comprising a physical network and supply chain knowledge unrivalled anywhere in the world.

CHEP also connects the sustainability story directly to customers through our unique Sustainability Certificate. Our robust Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to back up our environmental claims. The LCA compares our ‘share and reuse’ solutions to single use, or one way packaging alternatives. LCA is fundamentally about making better decisions, decisions that consider the often-overlooked environmental impacts and resources constraints. LCA helps make decisions that consider long term value creation. CHEP issues sustainability certificates to customers, recognising their contribution to creating more sustainable supply chains. We also link our customers to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are most connected to CHEP’s business model SDG 12- Responsible Production and Consumption, which, is another name for the circular economy and SDG 15 – Sustainable use of the world’s forests.

 It’s critical that we engage our customers in the sustainability narrative because it’s our customers that make CHEP’s model more sustainable. CHEP is a global provider of supply chain solutions serving the consumer goods, fresh food, beverage, manufacturing and retail sectors in more than 60 countries. Each time customers choose CHEP’s share and reuse solutions instead of one way or single use packaging, carbon emissions are reduced, waste is avoided, and raw materials are saved. By promoting the reuse of platforms among multiple parties in the supply chain, CHEP offers customers a more efficient and sustainable alternative to the use of disposable products or managing their own proprietary platforms, thereby reducing operating costs and demand on natural resources. Using its network advantage and asset management expertise, CHEP can seamlessly connect supply chain participants, facilitating collaboration and ensuring a more efficient flow of goods through the supply chain.

 By deciding to partner and share resources, in the last year, we have helped our customers achieve the following savings[1]:

·        2.4 million metric tonnes of CO2 - equivalent to the CO2 emitted by 454,500 homes1 in one year;

·        3,160 megalitres of water - or approximately 1,240 Olympic sized pools;

·        3.1 million cubic metres of wood;

·        3.2 million trees; and

·        1.4 million tonnes of waste.

 These are the results of our collaborative work throughout the world and the emerging supply chains we support and help to modernise. This is circularity, at a global scale.

[1] Equivalence provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.