Brambles successfully completes its five-year sustainability programme

Brambles Limited, parent company of CHEP and one of the world’s most sustainable logistics companies, pioneer of the circular economy, has released its 2020 Sustainability Review. 

This review details Brambles’ achievements since the launch of its ambitious ‘2020 Sustainability Goals’ in 2015 and outlines its vision for the next phase of its sustainability journey – to pioneer truly regenerative supply chains for the benefit of future generations.

Significant 2020 sustainability achievements

In 2015, Brambles launched its ‘Better Plant, Better Business and Better Communities’ sustainability strategy and ‘2020 Sustainability Goals’ which sought to harness the power of its circular ‘share and reuse’ business model to reduce the negative impacts of its operations and customers’ supply chains around the world.

Since 2015, Brambles has made considerable progress. Through the Better Planet pillar, Brambles has significantly reduced the environmental footprint of global supply chains, successfully eliminating: 

• 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 – equivalent to the CO2 emitted by 1,950,560 homes[1] in one year;
• 34.3 gigalitres of water – or approximately 13,720 Olympic sized pools; and
• 8 million cubic metres of wood, 5.8 million tonnes of solid waste and saving 8 million trees.

In line with its 2015 zero-deforestation commitment, Brambles has achieved its 2020 target to source 100% of the wood from sustainably managed forests globally, with 62.7% of wood also covered by the stringent 
Chain of Custody certification.

And it’s not just about wood. Brambles also increased the contribution of renewable electricity to 70% this year, helping to achieve a 33% reduction in CO2, exceeding the 20% reduction goal set in 2015.

Through the Better Business pillar and its Better Collaboration goal, Brambles has successfully launched collaboration programmes with its customers such as the Zero Waste World initiative. Aimed at creating partnerships with manufacturers and retailers to build more sustainable supply chains, this initiative includes Collaborative Transport Solutions that in a single year saved 75 million kilometres and prevented over 
86,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Through its Better Workplace goal, Brambles has improved its safety performance and achieved it’s 2020 female-representation goal with over 30% of leadership positions now held by women.

The Better Communities programme continues to build bridges between Brambles’ and local communities through food relief efforts, volunteering initiatives and increased financial donations.  

2025 sustainability commitment to pioneer regenerative supply chains 

As one sustainable development strategy draws to a successful close, another ambitious strategy takes shape.  The next five years are not just about being “better” and achieving zero environmental impact. The company’s new sustainability vision is about taking the circular approach to its full potential by moving away from degenerative systems, to a regenerative model that not only replenishes the resources but creates more positive value for nature and society.

For Brambles, a regenerative approach means growing two trees for every tree used, adding millions of new trees by 2030. It means helping customers and society address the single-use plastic problem by using recycled or upcycled plastic waste for its long-life, circular products. It also means taking meaningful action on climate change, which is why Brambles has committed to a 1.5ºC climate future, agreed by the world’s leading climate scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as the scenario that avoids the worst impacts of climate change. 

Commenting on the 2025 sustainability vision, Brambles’ Head of Global Sustainability, Juan José Freijo said: “While many have been raising the alarm for years, 2020 has uncovered the fragility of supply chains and inequities of our society. Unchecked, runaway climate change and ecosystem loss could be even more devastating. That’s why, moving forward, we are setting ourselves the ambition to pioneer truly regenerative supply chains”. 

More details about Brambles’ 2025 Targets will be shared in October.