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Sustainability or Greenwashing?

Always keen to keep up with regulatory changes, our Managing Director Marc Kemp and Office Manager Andy Hills, recently attended an event hosted by the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with their Patrons Borenius and Metsä Group.

Held at the Leonardo Royal London St Pauls, the event consisted of two keynote speeches, as well as a panel discussion moderated by Lord Justice Snowden.

Sustainability and associated topics are top-trending subjects, on all platforms, across all organisations. However, what does sustainability really mean? What is required, legally or ethically, how is it achieved and how do you sort out the “buzz” from the reality?

Aksu Tuominen from Borenius gave an insight into the Green Claims Directive, the Proposal for Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste, and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

The second keynote speech was provided by Maija Pohjakallio and Kalle Ikonen from Futures Supplies’ partner Metsä Group. They focused on the practical experiences against the background of recent regulations, also shedding light on current EU deforestation regulation and nature restoration laws.

The insightful speeches lead to an interesting and insightful panel discussion on how the topics affect the ongoing concerns of businesses with panellists were Kalle Ikonen and Maija Pohjakallio from Metsä Group, Casper Herler from Borenius, and Andrew Griffiths from Planet Mark.

You can find out more about out sustainability initiatives on our website at www.futures-supplies.co.uk

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Launching the UK’s First Biological Soluble Paper Cleaning Sachets

Futures Supplies, in partnership with BioHygiene, are delighted to launch THE cleaning sachet to help businesses of all sizes create safe, clean, healthy spaces and reduce their environmental impact.

BioHygiene’s market-leading cleaning products harness the power of microbes, enzymes and natural plant derivatives that work deep into surfaces to quickly break down and remove dirt, grime and grease.

The new generation Biotechnology and Ecotechnology targets dirt, grime, grease and odours for a superior cleaning performance. Water-soluble paper sachets & recyclable packaging eliminates plastic waste and low-hazardous formulas protect staff from injury and ill-health.

Kinder ingredients protect our aquatic ecosystem and biodiversity. Smart dosing reduces storage and costs to streamline operations and sustainable, renewable raw materials reduce CO2 by up to 80%.

Try them now www.futures-supplies.co.uk/product.asp?p_part_code=007%2E702W

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Amazing Trip to The Metsa Paper Mill in Finland

Marc and Andy braved temperatures reaching an incredible -31 degrees in a four-day extravaganza trip to visit the Paper Mills and HQ of Metsa Tissue in Mantta in Finland.

Wow what an experience! Not only to see the live production environment at the mill but to get the opportunity to drive snowmobiles on the ice, ride on the sledges pulled by a team of huskies and enjoy the food and culture in nearby Helsinki.

We cannot thank Mark Dewick, Jo Long and Vicky Anslow of Metsa enough for their fabulous hospitality. A truly memorable, informative and fabulous time was had by all.

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Stunning Tallow Chandlers Hall!

A great day on the 7th February attending The Worshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners Election Court Luncheon at the stunning Tallow Chandlers Hall in the City of London.

Its always a pleasure to meet with fellow industry partners, both familiar and new faces. Sharing and exchanging knowledge along with celebrating the newly elected to the livery movement. It was a privilege to support this WCEC event and of course enjoy a fabulous lunch!

Thank you to our partner Louis Beaumont, Hive Cleaning for your invitation and hospitality.

You can find out more about the WCEC and its great work here https://wc-ec.com/the-company/

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Making a Real Difference, Right Here Right Now!

Futures Supplies were delighted, on 22nd January 2024, to be awarded the Green Mark Level 1 accreditation for our environmental performance and commitment to sustainability.

The Green Mark Sustainability certification process assesses, audits and certifies a business’ impact on the environment and wider community. It provides an internationally recognised environmental certification, endorsing a company’s environmental credentials through a journey of independent certification.

Futures Supplies have been able to demonstrate through this certification process, to both our clients and employees that we are conducting business, to a recognised international environmental standard.

Mariana Kit, Green Mark’s Customer Support Executive commented ‘I would like to say a big congratulations on achieving Green Mark Level 1! You had a fantastic submission and scored 100% across the board which is an amazing achievement’.

Congratulations to Andrew Hills our Office Manager for his work on this exciting project and to all the  team at Futures Supplies who work tirelessly on improving our environmental credentials to help provide a better and more sustainable future for us all.

You can find out more about the Green Mark Certification here – greenmark.co.uk/our-approach/

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The Real Living Wage

With as many as 1 in 6 individuals earning below ‘The Real Living Wage’ and inflation intensifying the squeeze on low-income families, we were delighted to attend the recent round table breakfast event at The Globe Theatre. co- hosted by Cleanology and The Living Wage Foundation, it was both thought provoking and engaging.

We were delighted to share our thoughts and experiences with a group of like-minded business colleagues who whole heartedly agree that paying people ‘The Real Living Wage’ makes both business and crucially community sense.

Lets spread the word and continue to work together to spread this important message.

https://www.livingwage.org.uk/

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Cleaning Up Hygiene Poverty

As a headline sponsor, Futures Supplies Managing Director, Marc Kemp and Office Manager, Andrew Hills were delighted to support Cleanology ’s third annual charity evening at The Globe, in support of The Hygiene Bank.

Raising over £30,000 for the charity in cash and product donations, it is fast becoming one of the cleaning industry’s biggest annual flagship events.

The Hygiene Bank believe that basic hygiene is not a privilege and their vision is that one day everyone living in the UK will have access to essential hygiene products. With a mission to bring communities, businesses and thought leaders together they hope to tackle hygiene poverty providing access to products and being a voice for change.

We would like to extend our thanks to Dominic and the fabulous team at Cleanology for all their hard work in pulling off such a successful event. We look forward to continuing our support of this worthy cause.

Find out more about The Hygiene Bank here www.thehygienebank.com

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Bee Kind!

Our Managing Director, Marc Kemp was delighted to be invited to visit the beehives at the Bee Urban site in Kennington Park by Hive Cleaning who we have been in collaboration with, though their sponsorship program, to support this worthy project.

Bee Urban is a social enterprise that aims to work with communities to improve the environment for the benefit of us all. Focusing on responsible urban beekeeping, horticulture and community growing. It’s not just about bees, people are vital to Bee Urban.

Community engagement and volunteering is important to the project, providing opportunities to contribute to the locality, be creative and reduce social isolation.

Our friends at Hive Cleaning are a B Corp certified, ethical office cleaning company who are committed to making a positive impact on the environment. As part of their efforts, Hive Cleaning have pledged to sponsor a beehive for every new cleaning contract they are awarded. 

Futures Supplies are delighted to sponsor this worthy project as of one of our key sustainability initiatives.

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Saving The Planet Since 2006

Scientific consensus states that carbon emissions must be reduced to avoid catastrophic climate change. Businesses have an important and essential role to play in meeting reduction targets. By reducing CO² emissions and carbon offsetting, businesses like ours are able to play their part in the climate change battle. 

Futures Supplies is delighted to have partnered with Carbon Neutral Britain to ensure it continues to maintain its Carbon Neutral for the 16th successive year. This accreditation positions us as an industry leader with one of the strongest and most credible approaches to climate change. 

Since 2006 we have demonstrated our commitment to reducing our CO² emissions in accordance with leading edge quality assurance standards including independent certification to BS EN ISO 14001.

We are proud to be taking a net zero position on emissions by measuring the carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions associated with our business, reducing them at source, and then offsetting any unavoidable emissions by purchasing carbon credits. 

To ‘balance out’ our emissions, we use our carbon credits to support projects throughout the world. We are currently supporting the Carbon Neutral Britain Climate Fund™. 

Projects selected within the Carbon Neutral Britain Climate Fund™ are based on their direct and indirect impact around the world – not just in offsetting, but also in supporting education, employment and clean water, as well as having net positive impact on the local wildlife and ecology. 

As a result of this reduction process coupled with offsetting the unavoidable emissions associated with our business, our carbon footprint is reduced to net zero.

You can find out more about our Commitment to the environment here https://www.futures-supplies.co.uk/environment.asp

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Action Against Fake Reviews

Did you know that 97% of UK consumers read online reviews before buying! It’s therefore vital that people can trust the comments they read. Futures Supplies prides itself on delivering high levels of customer satisfaction so its crucial it can gather accurate insights on which to continue to improve its customers experience.

The UK Government has recently published its proposals for new legislation. This takes aim at fake review practices, as a part of the Digital markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. The legislation will likely come into force next year, following a consultation period.

Current draft provisions propose making it illegal to commission someone to write or submit a fake review, to post consumer reviews without taking reasonable steps to check that they’re genuine and to offer, or advertise, to submit, commission or facilitate fake reviews.

As the first bill of its kind, it gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) greater powers to take ‘swift and decisive action’ against lawbreakers on behalf of UK consumers.

Futures Supplies chosen review platform Feefo, the world-leading review platform, ensures that only verified buyers are asked to leave a review freeing Futures Supplies valued customers from the fear of fake reviews.

You can be confident the Feefo platform guarantees to provide real feedback and genuine insights from our confirmed customer experiences.