The Home Improvement Sector Commitment
The Home Improvement Sector Commitment is a voluntary agreement between WRAP and the UK Home Improvement sector which aims to reduce the environmental impact of home improvement products through optimising packaging. By working together, the Commitment’s objectives will be achieved by reducing:
- the amount of resources required;
- packaging and product waste produced; and
- the amount of associated carbon dioxide emissions.
Signatories have agreed to work together for the first time to achieve a 15% packaging reduction and a 50% reduction in waste to landfill by the end of 2012, against a 2007 baseline. They will also look at ways of helping consumers to recycle more.
What is the commitment?
It is a Courtauld Commitment-style agreement, which was agreed in September 2009 at a Ministerial meeting between senior representatives from Government, WRAP and the Home Improvement sector.
Signatories have agreed the following targets:
- To reduce packaging by 15% by the end of 2012, from a 2007 baseline – this covers all packaging on own-label and direct sourced products;
- To reduce waste to landfill from operations by 50% by the end of 2012, based on a 2007 baseline; and
- To help consumers to recycle more.
The Commitment also provides a forum through which difficult issues can be tackled – particularly those that are unlikely to be resolved by a single company or a single supply chain.
How can I join?
The Commitment is open to all retailers, brands and manufacturers of home improvement products. Trade associations representing suppliers within the Home Improvement sector can play a significant role to enable collective action.
Companies wanting to join or find out more should contact Nikki Sully, Project Manager, WRAP
nikki.sully@wrap.org.uk 01295 817877.
See the good work already being done
WRAP has supported a number of activities in the Home Improvement sector already and further initiatives will be informed by the emerging shared priorities of the signatories and by research and analysis to identify hotspots where change can deliver substantial improvements. Details are below:
Reusable packaging
B&Q and Argos have run two trials of reusable transit packaging for the home delivery of bulky items prone to product damage: kitchen worktops with B&Q sofas with Argos. The trials demonstrated the commercial and environmental benefits that can be realised through reusable transit packaging and identified the variables that need effective management control to maximise cost-effectiveness.
Clam shell packaging
Commitment signatories have identified clam shell packaging as an area where redesign could deliver significant commercial, consumer and environmental benefits. Whilst recognising the benefits clam shells provide in collating components and helping to reduce theft, the problems that this initiative is seeking to overcome include: bulkiness in distribution and display in-store; glare reducing product visibility; difficulty opening the packaging; difficulty resealing packaging on product returns leading to product waste and poor recyclability.
WRAP is working with signatories to review current formats across a number of product categories with the aim of creating new packaging formats that tackle the identified problems.
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