Best Foot Forward

Crown Paints is a leading UK producer of paints and coatings, and the company commissioned BFF to develop an integrated sustainability strategy to maximise the eco-efficiency of its operations. BFF worked closely with the R&D team at Crown Paints to investigate the full product lifecycle and identify opportunities for reducing the carbon and ecological footprints of its leading products. Our study considered emissions across the production process including raw materials, energy, packaging, and transport, as well as how paint use by consumers can be optimized. The results from the study are forming the basis to Crown Paints’ future approach to sustainability.

The carbon dioxide emissions from paper production and distribution are well known, but how do these compare with emissions from the electronic delivery of scientific journals? BFF worked with Reed Elsevier to compare delivery channels for 'Fuel' journal and help inform the company's future publishing strategies. One of the findings was that end user behaviour is critical to the overall impact, but as yet very limited data exists on this aspect of publishing.

The Centre for Reuse & Remanufacturing commissioned us to compare the carbon footprints of refilling cartridges compared to replacement with new equivalents. We looked at the full lifecycle, and found that refilling is the better option. The full report is available by contacting the Centre directly.

There has been significant interest and debate in the process of remanufacturing - or 'retreading' - vehicle tyres. We were commissioned by the government-funded Centre for Reuse & Remanufacturing to analyse the retreading of light commercial vehicle tyres. The study considered material inputs, manufacturing energy, distribution and end-of-life for both tyre types. The results showed retreading is more carbon efficient. The full report is available by contacting the Centre directly.

The Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion has test emissions of 99g/CO₂ per km. BFF calculated the emission savings from driving the Polo Bluemotion over a year instead of the average car in its class, and compared the figure to savings from recycling paper, drinks cans and plastic bags. Advertising campaigns were run in print, online and on television.