The annual review from WRAP has been published looking at its successes over 2015/16.
In this report, WRAP looked at its four priority areas, which are food and drink, clothing and textiles, electricals and electronics and resource management.
In food and drink, WRAP highlighted its success in launching and getting 103 organisations signed up to its Courtauld Commitment 2025. Its Food Futures report also outlined the opportunities that developing a flexible, intelligent and transparent (FIT) supply chain will open to the food supply chain. While signatories to its Hospitality and Food Service Agreement reported a reduction in CO2e emissions of 3.6% in 2014 relative to the 2012 baseline and an increase in the recycling rate of food and packaging waste by 12% to 57%.
On textiles and clothing, it reported a 3.5% cut on carbon impact per tonne against a 15% reduction target by 2020 as part of its Sustainable Clothing Action Plan – with 84 organisations representing half of UK retail sales now signed up. The European Clothing Action Plan, which is a €3.6 billion EU Life-funded project, aims to reduce the impact of clothing across the supply chain.
Over the past year, the number of organisations signed up to WRAP’s Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sustainability Action Plan increased to 81. WRAP also worked with Argos on creating a new trade-in service for customers to recycle unwanted electronics.
In its work on resource management, WRAP convened an advisory group to look at the request from then Environment Minister Rory Stewart to bring greater consistency to waste and recycling collections in England. A refresh of Recycle Now was launched to coincide with Recycle Week 2015. While a report, Job Creation in the Circular Economy from WRAP and the ReNEW network revealed 5,500 jobs would be created in Northern Ireland by 2030 as a result of the circular economy. In December, WRAP also published a report that showed reuse, remanufacture, repair and an increase in product rental could create more than 40,000 new low- to mid-skilled jobs in London by 2030.
The full report can be viewed at http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/annual-review-2015-16-1
