Reducing our carbon footprint

So we might not win any awards for it but we are certainly trying to reduce our carbon footprint.

With a global focus on reducing waste and in particular the amount of plastic going into landfill or ending up in our oceans, we at Agility World have been setting ourselves a challenge to reduce our carbon footprint in 2020 and we have set ourselves some targets for the coming years.

The reduced number of shows this year has actually helped us reduce our miles travelled and allowed us to focus on our mail order business in more detail.  In doing so we recognised that although many of our toys and training aids contain plastics (we try to limit this or use environmentally friendly materials wherever it is safe to do so) we still had a long way to go in improving our packaging and distribution.

So we decided to take action and find a better way of getting an increased number of products to you securely whilst being kinder to our environment.  So since March 2020 we have:

• Reduced the number of plastic packing materials we've used in 2020 by 50%.
• Ensured all our paper wrapping and bags are made from recycled paper.
• Sourced bio-degradable parcel tape - this was hard and we had to try a few before we found one that was sticky enough.
• Offered special discounts and incentives to encourage customers to purchase in bulk and help reduce our miles to and from the post office, therefore helping to reduce the amount of packaging and fuel per item.
• We have also been looking at our suppliers to try and find ones that can deliver in bulk directly to us and that have similar environmental credentials and aspirations.  Our supply chain is now better than it has ever been.
• We also try to purchase from UK companies wherever possible and are proud to say over 80% of items purchased in 2020 were from UK companies.

So all of this has been great, but there is still more we want to do, so watch this space for more about our 2021 goals in the coming weeks.  And of course, we are only one part of the chain so we now ask you to help us further by doing these very simple things:

• If you receive an order from us in a cardboard box please try to reuse it! but if all else fails please place it in the recycling, don't let it go to landfill.
• If we use a plastic bag as sometimes it's the best way to get your order to you out to you please recycle it as you would all your other plastics.
• Please try and take advantage of our bulk offers and reduce the number of trips to the post office.
• If we can bring an item to a show (we hope they will recommence soon) help us reduce the carbon footprint (and your postage) just email us and we will let you know where we will be.

If we all work together we will make a difference and help protect our environment.

Thank you!