Unipart again ranked amongst UK’s best companies for Corporate Responsibility

by Press Release on 2011-07-26

For a second time Unipart Group, one of Europe’s leading private logistics and consultancy companies, has achieved the platinum band in the Business in the Community’s 2011 Corporate Responsibility Index - the UK’s leading benchmark of responsible business. This achievement rates Unipart amongst the top companies in the world for best environmental, community, workplace and business practices.

Companies that achieve platinum in the BITC index have demonstrated their deep commitment to corporate responsibility through improving their performance continually over a number of years.

Unipart has been taking part in the BITC Index since its launch and has consistently improved its rating over the years. The Unipart Way - the company’s business philosophy and business system for delivering continuous improvement – has enabled the company to integrate and embed corporate responsibility activity into every area of its business processes and has accelerated the company’s ability to engage people in dozens of improvement programmes in every part of the company. 

Commenting on the platinum award, John Neill, Unipart’s Group Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to have achieved platinum for a second time.  Across our organisation, Unipart people are working to make a difference in the community, in creating responsible supply chains and in environmental programmes.

”“This platinum award is a great tribute to their efforts and our shared commitment to develop our people to excel in everything they do through training, coaching and the strong philosophy of continuous improvement that our people bring to life everyday.”

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said: “I congratulate Unipart on achieving Platinum in the 2011 BITC Corporate Responsibility Index. It is a challenging time, but the results of this year’s Index demonstrate that companies are still focused on transforming their businesses in order to have a positive impact on society. All the companies who participated this year are at different stages in their responsible business journey, but they are all taking these issues seriously and are prepared to lead by example.”

Outlined below are some examples of the work Unipart has undertaken to create CR improvements across the supply chain. 

Managing our environmental impact
One of the ways businesses can improve their environmental impact is to make the services they offer their clients more environmentally friendly. This year Unipart has expanded its range of environmentally responsible services by taking on a contract to repair set top boxes for BSkyB, creating 300 new jobs. By closely integrating repair facilities with fulfilment and inbound logistics, Unipart has helped Sky take more than 610 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of its annual distributions emissions. The new reverse logistics operation also incorporates field recycling, which enables all set top boxes to be tested, screened and either repaired and refurbished for re-use or broken down into parts for recycling. 

By committing to a ‘zero landfill policy’, Unipart and Sky are working together to ensure there is a valuable use for all waste, which supports a joint commitment to reduce the impact that their supply chain business has on the environment.  

Unipart has also looked at its environmental impact in a wider context. This year the company has worked with a number of local stakeholders to create a vision for a low carbon Oxford as part of county-wide programme. Employees from Unipart have set up key projects with other local businesses and stakeholders to look at how carbon reductions can be realised across Oxfordshire. The company has used its project planning and creative problems solving expertise to help plan how these can be realised. 

Improving the workplace for employees
Government research has indicated the importance of employee engagement as a lever in productivity improvement. Unipart has a long history of engaging employees and customers, and has recently developed a series of measures to evaluate employee engagement at all levels of the business. Recent surveys at Unipart sites across the UK indicate that those sites that have excelled in their application of The Unipart Way also demonstrate the highest levels of employee engagement. 

The Unipart Way provides all employees with the opportunity to have their views heard through the use of a daily two-way communication process. It also encourages employees to solve problems 'at the right level' by training and equipping people with a range of problem solving tools and programmes. Unipart is now working with Tomorrow's Company, the not for profit research and agenda setting organisation, to create a case study in employee engagement that is focused on the development of 'employee voice'.

About The Unipart Group
The Unipart Group employs more than 10,000 personnel worldwide and has an annual turnover of more than £1billion. It is a leading full service logistics provider and consultant in operational excellence.Operating across a range of market sectors, including automotive, leisure, marine, manufacturing, mobile telecoms, rail, retail and technology, Unipart offers a breadth of services from third party logistics to expert consultancy. All Unipart sites operate according to the Group’s proprietary version of Lean known as The Unipart Way. This is a philosophy of working underpinned by tools and techniques that inspires efficiency, flexibility and outstanding customer service in any process.  

Unipart also offers expert consultancy in implementing Lean principles and in supply chain management across a variety of industry sectors. 

http://www.unipartlogistics.com