Andron Facilities Management, one of the UK’s leading facilities management companies, has won a 2022 International Green Apple Environment Award from The Green Organisation – an international, independent, non-profit, non-political environment group founded in 1994 to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practices around the world.
The accolade was awarded to Andron in the Helping the Environment category for its environmental achievements in 2021, including an ambitious UK net zero carbon commitment; reducing chemicals, energy, and water consumption across its operations; and its work on waste management and circular economy principles.
Taking urgent action on carbon
With the built environment currently accounting for 40% of carbon emissions worldwide, Andron took urgent action on decarbonisation and measured its carbon footprint, including scope 3 emissions, and subsequently set an ambitious net zero strategy aligned to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
By taking a science-based approach and following the intensity metric pathway to net zero, Andron will firstly, aim for a short-term 7% year-on-year emissions reduction in line with SBTi guidelines, before moving on to its long-term target of reducing emissions by 97%. Andron has set an initial target of 2040 across all areas of its operations – 10 years ahead of the UK government and the Paris Agreement.
Through this commitment, Andron also took the first step towards the transition to a fully electric fleet by introducing two electric vehicles to its fleet. Currently, the remainder of the fleet is either low emission or hybrid.
Sourcing sustainable products and equipment
Andron continued its commitment to protecting the planet’s natural resources by sourcing sustainable products and equipment. Through a revolutionary cleaning product made up of 100% organic ingredients, Andron eliminated over 360,000 chemicals from its operations. Even the packaging is made from recycled materials and manufactured using renewable energy sources and as a concentrated product, the reduction in the packaging size leads to more efficient deliveries and fewer lorries on the road transporting orders.
Andron’s workwear, made from 100% recycled fabrics and at least 15 recycled plastic bottles, even helped to divert over 12,500 plastic bottles from landfill.
Andron also began a closed-loop recycling initiative to collect, refill, and return empty 5-litre cleaning product containers to sites for reuse. All end-of-life equipment and uniform are now collected and recycled too, which means less pollution, packaging waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Zero waste to landfill
Working with its dedicated waste management partner, Bagnall and Morris, Andron supported its customers with sustainable waste management services, ensuring zero waste to landfill and recycling rates upwards of 85%, with the remaining waste being sent for energy recovery or turned into Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF). And because B&M is PAS2060 accredited, the waste service is Carbon Neutral, too.
Consumable delivery reduction
Working with Bunzl, Andron calculated and projected the associated carbon emissions per delivery to customer sites and optimised delivery schedules to reduce visits. With one client, we have reduced deliveries by 30%, resulting in a huge saving of 1,074kg of CO2e annually.
A family business on a mission to make a difference
As a family-owned and run business, Andron is passionate about longevity, sustainability, and climate change and continues to be a leading voice within the Facilities Management industry, working collaboratively with a diverse supply chain, clients, and other service providers to minimise their collective impact on the planet.
Andron competed against more than 500 other nominations in the International Green Apple Awards and will be presented with their trophy and certificate at a ceremony in the Houses of Parliament, London, on November 21.