6 01732 759725 NEWS ...continued First children’s book made from recycled coffee cups In a world first, UK businesses that recycle their used paper coffee cups have played an essential role in the publication of a new children’s book printed on paper made from the waste material. Made entirely from UK waste, processed and printed at James Cropper’s Burneside Mill in Cumbria, each copy of Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise by Hayley Slack contains 13 used coffee cups, turning everyday waste into a hands-on sustainability lesson for kids aged 3-7. James Cropper’s CupCycling system strips (and separately recycles) the plastic barrier lining from paper cups before pulping the cups and turning them into high-quality paper and moulded fibre products. In the last year, James Cropper has diverted 58 million used coffee cups from landfill and now has the capacity to upcycle 700 million coffee cups per year. WRAP, the environmental NGO, estimates that 3.2 billion single-use cups are used annually in the UK. https://jamescropper.com/coffeecup-recycling/ … Health and efficiency Health insurer provider Vitality is encouraging businesses to motivate staff to be more active by setting up team-based challenges using a new Employee Challenges feature in the Vitality UK App. This enables businesses to set fourweek challenges, each with different themes, like a virtual walk across the country, supported by a variety of features to boost participation. These include milestones, to break the challenge into smaller segments; individual and team leaderboards; virtual badges and trophies; highlights which can be seen on a team feed, weekly wrap-ups and in a final summary at the end of the challenge; and the ability to fund and award prizes. Last year, Vitality reported that inactive employees lose 28% more productive time than those who regularly exercise (source: 10 years of Britain’s Healthiest Workplace: The changing face of the UK at work) Pippa Andrews, Director of Corporate Business at Vitality Health, said: “We know that increasing physical activity, even by a small amount, can make a difference to a person’s health, and by challenging employees to push themselves that little bit further, employers can expect to see a healthier, happier and more productive workforce.” www.vitality.co.uk … What CBAM means for you Tunley Environmental has published a new guide to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which requires organisations trading with the EU to report embedded emissions in key imported goods. Developed for sustainability leaders, compliance professionals and import managers, the CBAM Guide provides an essential overview of what’s required under the legislation (including emissions reporting, data collection processes and sector-specific considerations); a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for CBAM compliance; and a detailed checklist to determine if your company will need to comply with CBAM. www.tunley-environmental.com Openreach celebrates 5,000 EVs on the road Openreach, the wholesale network broadband provider, has added a 5,000th electric vehicle (EV) to its fleet of 23,000 vans – the UK’s second largest commercial van fleet. As part of its Let’s Reach Zero strategy to reduce carbon emissions, cut waste, improve air quality and protect nature, OpenReach has pledged to upgrade the vast majority of its fleet to EVs, with a further 2,000 EVs due to be introduced by the end of March 2026. The 5,000 EVs it already has are expected to save more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to taking over 7,000 petrol cars off the road. To make the transition to EV charging easier for its engineers, Openreach has installed over 2,500 charging points at operational sites and engineers’ homes and come to an agreement with First Bus that will enable engineers to charge their vans at First Bus depots. This month, Openreach is advancing another Let’s Reach Zero commitment (to reduce its use of single use plastics) by introducing a new recycled range of Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) – wallmounted ‘modems’ that connect home broadband customers to the company’s full fibre network. The use of casings made from 85% recycled plastic is expected to remove 100 tonnes of new plastic from Openreach’s supply chain every year. Last year, engineers installed around two million ONTs and Openreach expects to install even more this year as more customers upgrade to Full fibre broadband. Working with Nokia, Openreach has also re-designed the packaging that ONTs arrive in, reducing the amount of cardboard used by 30% and allowing 40% more ONTs to be delivered in every shipping container. www.openreach.com
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