By Sarah Walker
When your clients are some of the world’s largest car manufacturers on a mission to create safer, lighter and more-fuel efficient vehicles, it’s important to set an example when it comes to maintaining your own green credentials.
That’s why Gestamp is proud of its actions towards achieving Net Zero, from educating staff on how they can do their bit both at home and work, to achieving ISO 14001 certification (the international standard for Environmental Management Systems).
And for the Aycliffe operation of the global car components manufacturer, it’s not just about paying lip service to a set of corporate objectives, as Sara Wilkinson, environmental and business systems engineer explains.
“The environmental actions that we are taking around the sustainability of the business are extremely varied,” she says.
“They range from our work with the Woodland Trust around carbon credits and our ISO14001 certification, to empowering and supporting our employees to not only reduce their impact on the environment, but also save themselves money.
“We recently held a Net Zero week campaign for staff, demonstrating everyday things we can do around our lifestyle, transport and home.
“We want Gestamp to be seen, not just as the company that follows its responsibilities around ESG (Environmental Social Governance), but that we are genuinely concerned about our efforts and our local community.”
Sara adds that because Gestamp is a large, multinational organisation, there is an expectation on the company globally to make swift and significant changes towards achieving Net Zero.
The company is also driven by its customers, big name car manufacturers, “who are very hot on carbon reduction and know it’s the future”.
However, Gestamp in Aycliffe’s main driving force around its environmental responsibilities is its reputation in the local area.
Graham Moore, plant press and site services manager, says: “The current cost of living crisis that’s hit people in their own homes and pockets has definitely made staff think more about what they do.
“Each week, we do a report to show them the energy which is being used as well as where it is being used within their areas of responsibility and what changes they need to make or for instances whereby there are opportunities for improvement.
“We’re quite proud of the way staff are really taking this on board and acting on it.”
Both Sara and Graham know that every action the company takes, from introducing a cycle to work scheme which has been hugely popular amongst staff, to installing solar panels on the roofs of one of its Aycliffe plants, all add up to creating a significant positive impact.
“Gestamp uses the equivalent energy of 77 per cent of the homes in Aycliffe, so we are using huge amounts of energy, but we are aware of that and we are taking action on it,” Graham says.
The Aycliffe operation has also worked with the Woodland Trust to support the planting of 480 native UK trees, to remove 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
As an AENOR Zero waste certified organisation, all its waste is also either treated or recycled, with nothing going into landfill.
“That’s quite an achievement for a company of this size,” Graham says.
“One of our further plans is to move away from LPG gas driven vehicles to a fully electric forklift truck and logistics fleet.”
Gestamp in Aycliffe also recently secured government funding to work on a kinetic energy recovery project, to see how it can recover and reuse excess energy from systems and equipment.
“We’re always looking at ways to save on costs and also how we can make our production processes less environmentally damaging,” Graham says.
“Lots of little things and some big things are going on in the background that add up to us doing our bit and making a significant difference – both locally and internationally.”
For more information on Gestamp’s commitment to sustainability, visit gestamp.com/Sustainability.