At Sterling, we understand the importance of taking action to minimise our impact on the environment. We continually work to reduce our environmental impact and improve the sustainability of our processing, with the aim of achieving full carbon neutrality in the future.
This is not a short-term project, so key to our progress is ensuring we fully understand our impact, so we can work to minimise it over time. This involves focus, time and investment, from incremental on-site changes to more substantial long-term investments.
It also involves empowering our employees and encouraging innovation in developing more sustainable way of working, so working differently becomes second nature to everyone. Our employees also participate in community volunteer activities to support the biodiversity in the areas local to our sites.
Global targets
- 50% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions against 2023 baseline by FY28
- Aspire to net zero by 2045
- Commitment to SBTi: target development by FY25
- Zero waste to landfill
- All facilities to be ISO14001 and ISO45001 certified by FY28
- Complete Global Sustainable Procurement Policy
- Develop additional renewable generation opportunities at Cork and Wisconsin by FY27
- Report to CDP by FY25
- Pilot participation in My Green Labs initiative by FY25
- Train all employees on Sterling’s Sustainable Future Programme
Our global targets cascade to our facilities, who have their own KPIs, which adhere to our environmental policy. Every year we complete carbon footprints for each of our facilities, and we are fully transparent with our customers to allow for Life Cycle Assessments.
Our Cramlington facility is a pioneer for environmental sustainability, and we have taken many of the things we have learnt to develop best practice with our other five facilities. Below are some of our achievements:
- We have achieved a 40% reduction in carbon emissions intensity on site, and now only 10% of electricity is drawn from the national grid. A combined heat and power (CHP) plant powers our manufacturing, lab and office facilities.
- The site treats significant quantities of process waste through onsite aerobic and anaerobic waste treatment facilities. The anaerobic digestion (AD) plant uses waste solvents as feedsock, converting them to biomethane, which is injected into the national gas grid, providing enough energy to power the equivalent of 4,000 homes per annum.
- The biodiversity programme on site, has seen huge success; our wetlands are home to wading and nesting birds, our grasslands home to rare and native flora and fauna, and our bee hives produce honey for our employees to enjoy.
To inform our policies, plans and actions we work with a number of global organisations, including:
Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) is a framework that supports companies to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions targets in line with what is needed to keep global heating below catastrophic levels and reach net-zero by 2050 at latest. We have committed to developing these targets by the end of 2024.
Manufacture2030 (M2030) is a global digital collaboration platform which brings retailers, brands and their manufacturing suppliers together to cut costs, risks and environmental impacts through cross-industry collaboration.
