Aura Stationery – Reporting
Client name: Aura Stationery
Sector: Office Supplies
Project: So Go Eco: Carbon Smart Gold Certification
When: Since 2008
Summary
Established in 1998, Aura Stationery is an independent office products dealer based in Reading, supplying the commercial market with office equipment. Aura uses its own vehicles to deliver to its customers who are based all over the country, with the majority of these in Berkshire. The organisation is privately owned; it has a total of 9 employees and operates in an office with a floor area of 350 square metres. Aura engaged with the Carbon Smart So Go Eco Programme in 2008 and has now achieved the Gold level of the certification programme.
Client’s Objectives
- To integrate sustainability into the day to day activities of the business
- To reduce the impact of its fleet on the environment
- To gain a competitive advantage by becoming an environmental leader in its industry
Process
As part of its engagement with Aura, Carbon Smart delivered a yearly business resource review starting in 2008 and identified electricity and fleet as the key activities responsible for CO2e emissions as well as opportunities for financial and other resource savings. Following each assessment our team prepared a bespoke report and action plan highlighting progress, areas for improvement and provided guidance on how to achieve reduction targets. As a result of the initial engagement, Aura attended an interactive workshop, specifically designed for SMEs to help them develop a robust environmental strategy.
Our team provided follow up support which resulted in the formulation of both an environmental policy and later a Green Fleet Management Policy, an initiative viewed as an exceptional environmental action with the aim to improve the energy efficiency of company vehicles and manage fuel consumption. The year by year progress monitoring provided by our team allowed Aura to set measurable targets to improve its data collection and monitoring system. As a result of this Aura has been scoring all ‘green’ on data quality (the best rating) for two years in a row by providing primary data of high accuracy. The action plan presented to Aura illustrated possible actions to ensure effective staff engagement. As a result, all Aura employees are actively engaged in the programme and participate in regular environmental meetings. Furthermore, Aura promotes its involvement with Carbon Smart to both clients and other stakeholders through their website and marketing materials.
Success
In 2011 Aura Stationery became Carbon Smart gold certified as a result of many successful initiatives. Since joining the programme in 2008, Aura achieved a 9% CO2e reduction, with its emissions per employee dropping from 4.8 tonnes CO2e to 4.4 tonnes CO2e this year, with a further target of 3.8 tonnes CO2e for 2011. The business has also achieved a 13% reduction in the emissions associated with its fleet and reduced its landfill waste by 50%.
Aura was the first office supplies company in Berkshire to become Carbon Smart accredited. With Carbon Smart’s support, Aura aims to maintain the Gold certification year on year and to ensure the continuous environmental performance of its operations. They are so enthusiastic about the programme that they are now actively promoting the Carbon Smart certification programme to their clients.