With over 40 years of experience, wholesale packaging supplier Swiftpak has taken a new step forward Business News

Green is the new black

With over 40 years of experience, Swiftpak, a wholesale packaging supplier based in Reading, has taken it to the next level. Last year, Swiftpak was thrilled to achieve its B Corporation accreditation, which reflects its passion for creating a positive impact.

It was obvious to Swiftpak to take a step forward to join the global movement of people using business as a force for good. Undertaking Impact Assessment B has put on paper the great things Swiftpak is already doing and will continue to do, while helping to put corporate social responsibility high on its agenda.

Craig Gulley, Managing Director, is thrilled to be part of the movement. “We realize that we are not only having an impact on our team members and our customers, but also on the environment and the community at large,” he says. “We may not have all the answers, but we take responsibility and aim to create a positive impact on all stakeholders, which we call the Swiftpak Impact.”

This is not just an empty statement, but a real promise that Swiftpak is responsible for through the B Corporation certificate. It meant continuing to put more ideas into practice. It started by establishing a partnership with Ecologi, allowing customers to offset their paper packaging waste and reduce their carbon footprint by planting trees. If you speak to speak you have to walk, and Swiftpak has now been a climate positive workforce for a full year and has planted nearly 2,000 trees.

With the popular theme of sustainability, Swiftpak is continually on the lookout for new innovative sustainable packaging alternatives. She recently hired a new chief innovation officer to help bring new, sustainable products to life faster.

Innovation is not only seen in the product line, but also digitally. The company recently launched an online stretch film calculator, where businesses can enter their existing stretch film figures and find out if a reduction in plastic use is possible. Previous experience has shown that this can result in up to 74% less plastic waste.

Along with sustainability, helping the community through charitable giving and volunteering has always been part of Swiftpak’s philosophy. Swiftpak believes in the concept of giving back, which is why they actively encourage team members to get involved by supporting a charity of their choice with a paid day of work. In 2020, Swiftpak supported the community at large by providing hand sanitizers, masks and antibacterial sprays to care homes and a school with residential care for children with disabilities.

As a family business that truly cares, Swiftpak closely monitors the well-being of its staff and has found that the impact of the lockdown is affecting team members in different ways. Mental health awareness has become a hot topic, especially over the past year or so, and Swiftpak has now trained four team members as Certified Mental Health Rescuers.

Packaging is not often in the spotlight, but during the pandemic it played a vital role. Swiftpak has been able to maintain consistent packaging supplies to major pharmaceutical companies to help deploy the large amount of Covid testing. During the closures, a surge in the number of people ordering food at their doorstep could be seen and while meal delivery companies struggled to keep up with demand, Swiftpak ensured that the packaging did not not part of their worries.

Swiftpak has always given its packaging a personal touch thanks to its dedicated team of industry experts. There are no bots answering the phone or the chat on the website, and there never will be – Swiftpak believes that personal relationships are essential and that human touch is what customers value, this which is reflected in its Trustpilot score of 4.9.

As a member of the B Corporation community, Swiftpak has now forged closer relationships with other like-minded companies and hopes to encourage more companies to join in on the adventure. By building a more inclusive and sustainable economy, we can build a better future.

To learn more about Swiftpak, visit www.swiftpak.co.uk

Originally posted on Business Reporter