Our sustainability staff interviews have kicked off again this week with Grant Gordon, Stores Manager based in our Auckland site;

You have been a real champion in getting your team involved in our packaging waste management and bin audit initiatives;  
Overall, I have had positive and engaging action from the team in this regard. Our team have known from the start of our journey, my involvement with the sustainability project and some of the initiatives we are looking at, not just environmental, but people focused as well. We have all been very much focused in ensuring that we are recycling our waste correctly. We have individual bins in the packaging area to facilitate this further, which are clearly labelled. There have been times where the incorrect bin has been used as we are all still learning. Both myself and Clinton have extracted this out and placed in the correct bins, leading our team by example. I have had regular tool box meetings regarding the strategy and clarity on what we can recycle, removing all ambiguity. The team are very receptive to what we are trying to achieve as unit. How are you planning on keeping this going? We will keep it simple as we can, streamlining the management of waste, using long term clear signage to minimise confusion and clearly communicating with the whole team.

If you had the chance to completely reimagine sustainability in your department, what would your dream vision look like?
Envisioning a greener future is something I'm passionate about. I have actively worked on proposals to transition our fleet from LPG gas counterbalance forklifts to electric ones. Currently, we have three trucks running on LPG, and we have identified several compelling reasons to make the switch.

First off, the cost of LPG has skyrocketed, nearly doubling in price. In contrast, operating an electric truck is only about 30% of the cost of running an LPG truck, and it comes with the added benefit of zero emissions. Our existing fleet is quite old, which means they emit more CO2 compared to newer LPG models. We've also noticed that our LPG consumption has increased. Additionally, the repair and maintenance costs have been escalating due to the age of our current fleet.

Recently, we made a significant step forward by purchasing a brand-new electric forklift truck, and we've set aside funds in our budget for another one. We have shown that we can efficiently operate with just two counterbalance trucks instead of three. We mothballed the oldest truck and encouraged the team to use the electric truck more frequently than the remaining LPG truck to maximize cost savings and sustainability benefits.

Looking ahead, my hope is that, we can purchase another electric truck and trade in the two remaining LPG trucks. My vision has always been to transition to an all-electric fleet.

Challenges and Opportunities
There are some challenges as we share our facility and space with our sister companies. However we have a good relationship with the guys and have been able to tell each other when we are getting things wrong like incorrectly discarding waste etc. It would be good to have a Group - wide agreement and push on the shared items like waste management. It is an opportunity to work together more synergistically.
How are you keeping the team motivated and upbeat during these economic times?
We are taking a collective approach to address the downturn and we are all helping each other. We are also using the time to get projects done and in readiness for when business picks up again. Another great thing in our team is humour, we keep our humour up and it helps alot. Working on the Sustainability goals have also given us something positive and meaningful to achieve together. 

We have so many nationalities at RTL, it would be good to know based on your background in Scotland, what recycling or sustainability practices are going on there and what we could learn from it?
Scotland is leading the way in Europe in transitioning to a green economy. It was the first country in the UK to close all coal fired power stations down.  I have noticed over the years the number of wind turbines on land and out to sea. We are also using tidal power in the Orkney Islands. From my understanding Scotland is the only country in Europe that generates power from fully renewable energy. We have two nuclear power stations operational but the plan is to phase these out so all energy will be generated from wind and tidal energy. We also generate so much power, we export a significant amount down to England. They are quite far behind but are following our lead. Also the rest of Europe is looking at Scotland’s example. Recently the UK changed governments. The previous Conservative Govt were looking at issuing more oil licences in the North Sea, but the Labour Government has shelved these plans to invest in more wind / tidal energy.

Grant also spoke with his Dad, Grant Gordon Snr who took took this photo for us, showing the various bins they have set up in Fife Council in Scotland. Big thank you to Grant's Dad getting involved all the way from Scotland! 

• Bin 1 – Blue bin – for general waste
• Bin 2 – Green bin – for plastic waste
• Bin 3 – Brown bin – for garden waste
• Bin 4 – Black bin – for paper / cardboard waste