Innovating for a Sustainable Future

July 23rd, 2021

Recyclable cardboard pallets enhance BIL Group’s environmental focus

We believe that small things matter when it comes to big improvements. We are always striving to do things better, whether this is through our internal processes and structures, our quality control or our commitment to outstanding customer service.

An area that is constantly at the forefront of our thinking right now is sustainability.

Throughout the company, we are hugely aware that lots of small changes can ultimately have a major positive impact on our external environment. We have investigated (and are continuing to do so) many ways to improve our daily processes and one area we made a point of specifically looking at was how we transport our products, in this instance our Skoots moving systems.

Our Skoots moving system has almost always been despatched on standard wooden pallets which, although more environmentally friendly than plastic, we felt could still be improved further. As a consequence we decided to team up with Pallite a specialist in the design and manufacture of strong, clean and recyclable paper pallets.

Our initial concern was obvious, how could a cardboard pallet stand up to the weight of a Skoots moving system which averages well over a 100kgs?

We met up with the Pallite team at our head office where they assessed our transportation requirements; a commitment to safe handling of products, no reduction in quality or customer service.

Initial concerns about using cardboard pallets were quickly quashed when we gained a full understanding of their manufacturing process and quality control systems and saw just what these pallets can handle. Much like ourselves, Pallite pride themselves on these principles – and the message of sustainability was also a key driving force to forming our ongoing relationship.

Once convinced that the idea would work we collaborated with Pallite on a unique design for the Skoots which now includes a base pallet with location holes to keep the Skoots positioned correctly along with side packing to protect the Skoots when in transit. So overall not just a straight swap in packaging but a much improved bespoke design with a professional finish.

Our new pallets and the environment

The Pallite packaging is 100% recyclable which was one of the main factors in us considering using the product. Across 2016 data shows that over 40 million wooden pallets were manufactured in the UK which used more than 680,000 tonnes of virgin timber. To imagine that better – it’s a forest around 17 times larger than the city of London!

By using Pallite just on our Skoots alone, we are contributing to a much more sustainable future as after around three rounds of use nearly half of Pallite pallets are still in use – as opposed to 97% wastage of wooden pallets, which are then most likely burned, adding to general carbon emissions.

With continued efforts across the company we are starting to implement many new initiatives to become more sustainable as a group – striving each and every day to be just that little bit better.

For more information about our Skoots Moving Systems or our efforts to help the planet please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to hear from you.

For information about these amazing paper pallets contact our friends at Pallite.

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