The three-year deal will see Exel brought in to calculate and minimise costs faced by the health and beauty giant in meeting the UK producer responsibility regulations, and thereby Europe's Packaging Directive.
” We were finding it increasingly difficult to collect the necessary data and perform the calculation ourselves.“
– John Fox, Boots
The environmental compliance unit of Exel, the global logistics company, will use its extensive database of consumer products to show how much packaging Boots places on the market and how much recycling it must therefore fund.
Exel will also help identify where packaging weight reductions – and therefore cost savings – can be made.
Paul James, general manager of Exel's environmental compliance solutions, said: “We are extremely pleased to be awarded this significant contract. The deal cements Exel's position as the leading provider of compliance data solutions for businesses.”
The Boots Group has been a member of the packaging waste compliance scheme Onyxpak, and organisation that makes sure sufficient recycling is carried out on Boots' behalf to meet the regulations. It is understood that Boots will continue to be a member of Onyxpak.
Regulations
Under the UK producer responsibility regulations, companies that are above the threshold size and whose activities involve packaging must pay for their share of UK recovery and recycling.
Since Boots has a turnover above 2 million a year, and handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year through its health and beauty products, it must pay accredited reprocessors to recycle packaging waste. The exact amount it must pay to meet its obligations – through the purchase of packaging waste recovery notes – is what Exel will be involved in calculating. The amount is directly related to business recovery targets set by Defra (see letsrecycle.com legislation section).
John Fox, technical and compliance manager at Boots said: “We were finding it increasingly difficult to collect the necessary data and perform the calculation ourselves. We considered a number of options for taking the pain out of achieving compliance and Exel was able to demonstrate significant technical capability and experience to provide the most cost-effective solution.
“Ensuring continued environmental compliance and performance improvement is the backbone of our corporate social responsibility ethos, and a key area of interest for our green consumers and shareholders. I'm confident that we have chosen the right partner in Exel to help us deliver these important business objectives,” he added.
As well as the packaging regulations, Exel will also be advising Boots on upcoming Directives for electronic waste and hazardous substances, the company said.
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