Green pallets move puts zip in Highland Spring

Last year, the owner of brands such as Highland Spring, Speyside Glenlivet and Hydr8, signed a three-year contract renewal with CHEP. Under this new contract, CHEP supplies an estimated 500,000 of its industry standard B1210A pooled pallets (1200mm x 1000mm) per year, using a combination of one-way trip and managed recovery services.

Several other initiatives are also included under the terms of a Joint Business Plan, targeted at delivering a range of supply chain efficiencies that benefit both parties. Less than twelve months into the new agreement, this strategic partnership with CHEP is already delivering significant environmental savings for Highland Spring Group when compared to using white wood pallets, including:

• Reducing CO₂ emissions by 56% or 660,687 kg; the equivalent of 15 truck trips around the world.
• Saving wood resources by 476,067 dm^3, a reduction of 69%: the equivalent of 582,000 books.
• Reducing waste by 77% or 46,031kg; the equivalent of 11 truck loads of waste. 

A Highland Spring Group spokesperson said: “Our core purpose is providing healthy hydration made in a sustainable way. It’s our focus, our specialism. So we take our responsibilities and commitment to the environment incredibly seriously, and the positive environmental benefits that we’re able to achieve through the use of CHEP pallets are fantastic!”

To compare the impact its pooled pallets have on the environment, CHEP commissioned a third-party independent study to evaluate the use of its pallets versus white wood pallets if these were used within Highland Spring Group’s supply chain as an alternative platform. This Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) study considers all environmental impacts through the product life-cycle and follows ISO-14044 methodology. 

CHEP UK & Ireland Managing Director, Helen Lane is delighted with this latest set of savings being realised by the Highland Spring Group: “More and more of our customers are starting to realise the environmental benefits of using CHEP pooled pallets. In the case of Highland Spring, I’m delighted with the size of the benefits we’re able to deliver. We’ve been working together for many years now, so to see our relationship develop over this time is fantastic, and these savings demonstrate the synergies that exist between our two businesses. Environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.”