Green practices will support
healthcare industry’s net zero carbon objectives
The Textile Services Association (TSA) is
putting together a Sustainability Pact that’s designed to support commercial laundries in their drive
to deliver a more sustainable future.
The Pact will also support the healthcare industry’s net zero carbon
objectives, but, as Shyju Skariah, technical services manager at the TSA, points out, “We just don’t want to focus on net
zero carbon. We also need to be tackling
water quality, reducing waste – this is so much more than a simple net zero
tag.’’
The TSA has set up a Sustainability Steering Group made up of
representatives from laundry operators, machinery and textiles manufacturers, and
end-users – the TSA will approach government agencies and other industry bodies
such as NHSI and CQC to participate in these discussions. The objective for the group is to ensure that
an holistic approach is taken, whether it is considering the complex end of
life textiles recycling project, which will save millions of tonnes of textiles
from landfill, or looking into simple measures, such as using low
energy light bulbs.
“The laundry industry has
already come a long way in optimising and fine-tuning its processes and
operations in a more sustainable way,” says Skariah. “We have seen water usage
slashed, from 20 litres a kilo down to 2 litres, and energy usage halved. But
we want to go much further. Nothing is
off agenda with this steering group.”
The Steering Group’s first
task is to set up the initial Sustainability Pact, which the laundry industry will
sign up to. “We’ll run training
workshops with experts so TSA members really understand what net zero means and
how it can be achieved,” says Skariah.
“We’ll create tools for individual companies to track progress. Each
company will set their own roadmap, enabling the TSA to compile an industrywide
pathway.”
The Pact will be added to as
new sustainability ideas and concepts are developed, along with the practical
means to initiate them.
David Stevens is CEO of the
TSA. He says, “Following COP26 and with
the climate change issues being addressed at every level, there has never been
a better time to set the most challenging sustainability objectives for the UK
commercial laundry industry.”
The TSA continues to work
closely with government bodies to support the delivery of the UK’s net zero
carbon commitments. “We believe the
laundry industry can surpass the current targets,” says Stevens. “The Sustainability Pact, and the support we
are putting in place around it, will be especially useful in helping SME
laundry operators achieve their green objectives.
“The Pact shows our industry
is driving for a sustainable solution.
It’s also a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the benefits commercial
laundries can bring to so many sectors of the economy, particularly healthcare.”
The TSA is the trade association for the textile care
services industry. The TSA represents commercial laundry and textile
rental businesses. Membership ranges from family-run operations through to
large, multi-national companies. Visit www.tsa-uk.org
for more information.
Press Enquiries:
The
Publicity Works: 01263 761000; tim@publicityworks.biz
David Stevens, CEO, Textile Services Association,
T: +44 (0)20 3151 5600 M:
+44 (0)7966 531954 E:
david.stevens@tsa-uk.org