With the launch of GLARE and the recent Sustainability Open
Day, The TSA continues its green agenda for 2025. David Stevens, CEO of the association,
looks at how collaboration and data can drive sustainability in the commercial
laundry sector.
At the Textile Services Association’s (TSA) Autumn Conference
last year keynote speaker Benita Matofska defined sustainability as “the
ability to continue into the future.” As a trade association, we wouldn’t argue
with this, the difficulty lies in finding the practical steps our industry can take
to make that continuation a reality.
This is a huge task, and with the government’s introduction
of Scope 1-3 emissions, legislation is making the topic of sustainability more
than just the right idea, but a legal requirement. Members are more than
clocking on to this, and the TSA’s recent Sustainability Open Day on 12th
March 2025 attracted over 60 attendees. Environmental journalist Anna Turns was
the guest speaker, and it was encouraging to see many of our members not only
expand their knowledge but open up about the challenges we all face in
future-proofing this sector. The day itself was a key part of the TSA’s green
agenda for 2025, which at its core is all about data and collaboration.
“What really became apparent over the day was the importance
of data – both to ensure we have baseline measurements to chart the industry’s
progress, but also to be able to back up any statements on progress or targets
we set,” says David Stevens, CEO of TSA. “We want provable results, we’re not
interested in greenwashing.”
The data required is largely accessible but there’s a lot of
it and it can be overwhelming. Providing help is where the TSA comes in. Collaboration
with our members will help us understand our collective goals and how we
continue on the path towards net zero.
Our recently launched GLARE platform embodies both principles
of collaboration and data. The platform helps our members know what data they
need to collect to understand the carbon emissions of their business, and how
these compare with the sector at large. Each Scope from 1-3 is covered, so members
can see what aspects of their operation fall into which Scope. GLARE also
offers guidance on where to look to find the data and how to record it, too, through
shared data platforms, helper tools, and the support network managed by the TSA.
It is a resource that the majority of our members will now be using, from big
corporations to smaller scale operations, GLARE creates a level playing field
in terms of the results, reducing the risk of miss-reporting.
GLARE will also give our members an opportunity to discuss
their findings, which we hope will lead to greater collaboration. The platform
is also being rolled out to other national associations, with the vision that
GLARE will be seen as the go to platform for the commercial laundry sector
globally. As Benita told the conference, “the challenges we face in the future require us to work together.” It's
up to our members what they chose to share, but at the very least we should see
patterns emerging. Recognising that common ground is surely a positive step
towards tackling the challenges we all face.
Looking beyond GLARE, commercial laundries have been at the
forefront of creating the circular economy. Our Infinite Textiles scheme is
built on this principle. When we started this it was all about recycling, an
end to end certification process. We then realised the industry had a lot of
gaps in terms of managing assets in the beginning. Now we’re looking at that
scheme to include all the supply chain both up and down stream. That said, while bed linen is relatively
straightforward to recycle, clothing with zips and surgical textiles, for
example, is far more difficult. The technology to do this is out there, but
there’s no industrial scale recycling in the UK. Switzerland has committed to
create a National Recycling Department but as it stands, the bulk of the UK
industry’s recycling is sent overseas. Clearly we need something that can make recycling
textiles scalable here too, a topic the TSA is discussing with the Department
for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Lobbying with government is a slow process, but it’s a vital
part of what we do on behalf of our members and the industry at large. Thankfully,
the message is getting heard. The UK government has put together a circular
economy task force, and in a recent report both the TSA and our Infinite
Textiles scheme were highlighted*. The collaboration between our industry and
the government could fundamentally change the recycling process for textiles,
both nationally and beyond.
Since 2012 the commercial laundry industry has reduced energy
use overall by 30%. While we’re making progress,
the reality is that the industry currently burns 2.89TWh of energy a year. That
is enough energy to power up Liverpool, Oxford and Cambridge. We have to keep pushing
a greener agenda. Another key sustainability factor is increased
electrification in commercial laundry facilities, which could be a gamechanger.
Providing our members with more environment focused events, like the
Sustainability Open Day, is part of this. Training the sector about Scope 3
emissions within the supply chain is another incentive in introducing GLARE.
The TSA will continue to be a catalyst to encourage sustainability.
Over 80% of our members have already signed up to GLARE, and many of our
industry events, from the Sustainability Open Day to the Autumn Conference,
regularly sell out. All this underlines our members’ commitment to work
together and keep reducing our energy and overall carbon footprint. It’s a long
journey, but we’re moving in an encouraging direction.
The next important step in the journey will be the meeting
between the TSA and representatives of UK Hospitality scheduled for June 25th
2025. This will aim to bring the sustainability programs of the two sectors
into alignment, ensuring that they are complementing each other.
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.
*https://ce-hub.org/knowledge-hub/circular-economy-hospitality/
Press
Enquiries:
The
Publicity Works: 01263 761000; teaboy@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
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