Member Article

Transport firm drives green message

A transport firm is predicting its drive to become more energy efficient will soon deliver significant financial and environmental benefits.

Nicholson’s Transport has revved up a series of green efficiency projects which will not only reduce emissions, but also realise additional revenues for the Teesside business.

A special bailing machine has been bought to compact waste packaging which goes through Nicholson’s warehouse while fuel bills are on course to be cut by 5% thanks to a series of fuel efficient driving techniques.

Keisha Cox, Head of Project Development at Billingham-based Nicholson’s Transport, said: “For years we have had the message that all businesses need to be more energy efficient.

“So rather than pay lip service to that, we have put in place a series of measures that will make us more ‘green’. If we can encourage our customers and other businesses to do likewise, then all the better.

“With a cautious eye on high costs, one area where we can seek to reduce our expenditure is to look at being more ‘green’ efficient; recycling waste, saving on fuel and utilities, or little things within the office such as double-sided printing.”

As a clear statement of intent, Nicholson’s Transport has bought a compacting machine which bails waste packaging such as cardboard and shrink-wrap and is then sold on to waste re-processors to produce a revenue stream. The business is also recycling any wooden pallets that come through its warehouse and passing these back to customers free of charge.

Older and worn tyres from its fleet are recycled and an e-invoicing and customer record system has been introduced in the office to reduce paper usage. Electronic invoicing has already saved Nicholson’s a minimum of one ream of paper per day.

Nicholson’s has also rolled out its Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) programme to improve fuel economy and reduce the carbon footprint of its fleet of 10 vehicles. Measures include fuel efficient driving; reducing driver idling time; lorries carrying no excess weight; and mapping and planning delivery and collection routes correctly.

Keisha added: “The last thing we want is for two of our vehicles to be passing each other on the road because that means we have not got the routing correct.

“We expect that by the end of the year there will be clear financial benefits and have targeted a reduction in fuel bills of 5%, which equates to £17,000 based on £340,000 expected fuel usage this financial year. The revenues from the waste recycling will be re-invested into the business to improve our services.”

Managing Director David Nicholson said: “For so many years, there was a culture – particularly in this industry - to just send all waste to landfill. We know this is inefficient as the vast majority can be recycled.

“When we looked at our green efficiency, we realised there was far more we could do. It got to a stage where we thought: ‘what can we actually do and what impact will it have for our business?’

“We want to take our customers on that journey with us and even if they can start thinking about the waste they produce and how it could be re-used, then that’s far better than doing nothing.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Melanie Taylor .