Our purpose is to create a better way for our customers to live. We do this by creating thriving communities with nature at their heart and building responsibly with a strong focus on energy efficient homes. Our forward-thinking leadership team also values people and provides a working culture in which colleagues feel included and can progress and thrive.
But our commitment to sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion goes beyond informing our own activities. It also impacts who we choose to work with.
We look to partner with suppliers who are as committed as we are to sustainable decision making and equal opportunities. A supplier who is leading the way is Commercial – who we’ve worked with for over 20 years.
Commercial assist us with supplying the following to our divisional and head offices with:
• Printing services
• Office supplies
• Interior supplies
Their team is bound by a desire to make a positive impact environmentally, socially and ethically and their portfolio of products and services have been designed to just this.
Steve Horridge, our head of procurement, said: “Our business can only truly be sustainable if we work with suppliers who have the same environmental aspirations and standards of responsibility and ethical conduct as us. Our Supply Chain Policy is in place to ensure we procure materials from responsible suppliers and remain on track with our net zero carbon strategy, as well as laying out how we support our supply chain to achieve their own goals, for example, through our partnership with Supply Chain Sustainability School.”
“We have sustainability clauses in our contracts with suppliers and moving forward, we are mapping supply chain impacts on nature, starting with priority suppliers and materials.
“Commercial has several initiatives that align with our own goals and we’re proud to have a long-standing partnership with the company.”
Committed to finding ways to protect the biodiversity of our planet, Commercial has developed and launched its own range of business essentials, called Products with Purpose, that have been hand-picked by their CSR and procurement experts because they create a positive environmental, social and / or ethical impact.
Steve added: “We rely on people both within and outside our business to deliver our business objectives. We use products from Commercial’s Products with Purposerange as all packaging is recyclable and from sustainable sources and Commercial are working to eliminate their use of single use plastics.”
In 2015 Commercial launched The Commercial Foundation, a social enterprise that creates positive social impact on young adults, while providing high-quality print materials for a growing list of clients. The Foundation offers life-changing opportunities to young adults between the ages of 16 and 25, who have previously experienced barriers to work or education.
The #NoLimits employability programme at WE.DO. Print generates a 351%* social value return on investment – meaning that for every £1 spent, £3.51 in social value to the wider economy is created.
All energy used at Commercial is from Ecotricity, who provide 100% certified renewable energy and have converted all office lighting to energy saving LEDs.
Commercial works with EcoVadis, the world’s largest provider of business sustainability ratings. Commercial holds EcoVadis Gold standard, as one of the top 5% of organisations, worldwide.
The company has taken part in Commercial’s Green Audit campaign to identify exactly what is achievable in terms of rationalising energy use, reducing energy bills and minimising our Scope 3 emissions.
Commercial has been recognised for its commitment to sustainability and were the first ever winners of the European Office Products Award (EOPA) for Sustainability Excellence for resellers. The EOPAs are billed as the ‘ultimate accolade for business products companies in Europe’.
