Coorporate social responsibility and the environment

Suma is an IPS, a workers’ cooperative collectively owned and managed by its workers. Since first
becoming established in the 1970s, the cooperative has founded its operations on a commitment to
ethical trading and environmentally sound practice.

As the cooperative and its business have grown, so has the demand for resources and energy but Suma
has never lost sight of its original principles.

Suma members tree planting

Cleaning the river Calder

Suma workers planting a roadside garden

As a responsible business we have always been aware of the impact commerce can have on the
environment. The recently renewed interest among major corporations in mitigating the effects of
climate change is a cause to which we have always subscribed. We have for some considerable time
taken steps to limit our energy consumption through making improvements in efficiency. And we have
actively offset impact which we are unable to control at source.

We are further committed to reducing our emissions and energy consumption by implementing
stringent resource efficiency programmes. As collective owners and managers of the business, all
members of the coop will be involved in assessing and reducing wherever possible their demands on
resources, re-using materials whenever practicable and engaging in recycling wherever there is a
demonstrable need.

We have worked hard to reduce our energy profile to its current level, which is well below the industry
average. Our aim is to reduce the CO2 intensity of our operations a further 6% in the coming year with
additional incremental savings thereafter.

Our warehousing and office facilities make use of 100% renewable electricity.

By supplying goods to outlying groups and communities, we are actively enabling significant reductions in supermarket shopping mileage.

As our distribution fleet is renewed, our dependence on mineral fuels will be reduced as we make use of bio-mass and other alternatives such as CNG.

Responding to the Challenge of Using Less

Our stationery and our catalogue are all made from recycled paper.

We clean up and protect the river and riverbank adjacent to our premises.

We take back cartons, cardboard and plastic containers from our customers for re-use and recycling.

Our lighting voltage management system has so far cut our electricity use by over 17%.

Our response to the problems we face concerning the degradation of our environment is a priori
focused on our need as individuals to come to terms with using and consuming fewer resources.
From this jumping-off point, we achieve a more concerted effort at the corporate level in the
knowledge that we are all collectively pulling in the same direction. Direct action means we also adopt
a hands-on approach to helping repair some of the damage that commerce at large has caused.

As a business our statistics already measure up well against industry standards. Our per capita water
consumption is currently more than 25% lower than average for a comparable commercial site and
would be lower if we could take advantage of rainwater harvesting. Regrettably the design of the
building and local planning constraints mean this is not open to us.

Our consumption of paper is only about 70% of the industry average for a concern of our size.
We limit its use wherever possible but are obliged as a business to keep records and archives of
essential documentation and the vast majority of our customers are in a similar position .

The upward trend in our mineral diesel consumption marks an increase in the fleet from 12 heavy
goods vehicles to 15 in 2006. In addition, distribution mileage has increased as efficiency measures
have been implemented to minimise idle vehicle days. Our gas consumption is stable and reflects
climatic fluctuations as the majority of it is used for heating. Our consumption figures equate to about
three average family homes, which, with an on-site working population of 100+ workers at any given
time, is relatively modest.

Environmental Data – Emissions

Suma has worked for the past five years in a match funding capacity with a local environmental group,
Treesponsibility. An average of 5 hectares of nascent woodland has been planted every year since the
project started in 2000, which already constitutes a carbon sink capable of absorbing several thousand
tonnes of CO2 over the next 50 years.

All necessary care is taken to ensure the planting does not adversely affect birds or native plant species.
Beyond that, soil chemistry is also taken into consideration. No planting takes place on peat bogs or
moorland where heather thrives. Such landscapes serve important functions in providing habitats,
storing carbon and absorbing water.

Native broadleaf species such as alder, birch, rowan, oak, willow and ash are planted in lean soils
where the ultimate aim is to lock carbon into the soil at the same time as providing a sustainable
resource by means of coppicing the plantation as it matures. This is in contrast to many ‘economic
forestry’ projects where coniferous soft woods are planted in quite unsuitable regions, and run the risk
of adversely affecting the planet’s albedo. Suma’s current total average CO2 emissions are 850 – 900
tonnes annually largely due to the need to burn mineral diesel in our distribution fleet.

Popularity: 3% [?]