Baildon based group announces £250,000 sustainability investment

Baildon-based office services and supplies company ACS Group has announced it is investing £250,000 in sustainable initiatives with the aim of becoming net zero by 2030.

The £26m turnover company has already invested £190,000 in a range of environmentally responsible schemes.

These include the installation of 220 solar panels on its head office roof to generate energy and ensuring the use of 100 per cent recycled filler cardboard in all orders from its distribution centre.

The company worked closely with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to achieve the PAS 2060 standard in June last year, which is an internationally recognised standard for carbon neutrality.

In addition, ACS Group is transitioning to a 100 per cent electric company vehicle fleet and creating an onsite recycling centre in collaboration with Terracycle. The company will invest the balance of the £250,000 by 2024.

Group sustainability manager, Tom Taylor, said: “We are totally committed to reducing our impact on the environment and helping our customers to do the same.

“Net zero by 2030 is extremely ambitious and requires radical innovation within our supply chain. All of us at ACS Group hope to influence our stakeholders into making the required changes to ensure a more sustainable future for our industry and our customers.

“We are also committed to reporting openly and honestly as we navigate the ongoing requirements for our PAS2060 accreditation with the ultimate aim of achieving net zero by 2030.”

ACS Group, which employs 112 people, is helping enable the delivery of its customers’ sustainability targets through several initiatives.

These include removing single-use plastic products in its catalogues and creating a ‘green’ product list which have a minimum of 75 per cent recyclable content. This year will also be the first that the company does not print catalogues and will instead direct customers to an online version.

The firm has been awarded carbon neutral status since 2016 and in 2022 offset its carbon emissions through the Woodland Carbon Code. This is the quality assurance standard for woodland creation projects in the UK and generates independently verified carbon units.