A bite of the apple

The prestigious Green Apple Awards recognises, rewards and promotes environmental best practise around the world. At a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament, Berendsen was presented a Silver award for its accomplishments in reducing the environmental impacts associated with its operations.

This was achieved thanks to a strong investment by the company in energy and water saving equipment and processes, as well as efforts to improve transport efficiency and to reduce the use and disposal of detergents across its linen and laundry operations. As a result of its actions, Berendsen has significantly reduced its energy consumption and carbon emissions since 2008, as well as cutting its water usage by almost 30%.

A major focus for the business has been on implementing changes to its industrial capacity washing and drying processes, including the installation of technology to recover heat energy and water. One of the benefits has been a reduction in the energy and time required to dry textile products, which has also increased the company’s production rates.

Further efforts have included the installation of LED energy-saving lighting, cutting down on electricity consumption and costs; conversion to gas in sites previously using fuel oil, reducing CO2 emissions and costs; and investing in industrial systems and equipment, such as flue gas economisers, that reduce utility consumption, resulting in further energy and cost savings.

Peter Woolstenholmes, energy manager at Berendsen, said: "We’re proud and delighted to be recognised for our continuing efforts to reduce our environmental impacts. The nature of our services mean that inevitably, water and energy consumption has historically been high. However, the process changes that we have put in place are already providing significant reductions in energy use, with the additional benefits of generating cost savings."