Plymouth business takes pro-active steps towards its goal of becoming the UK’s leading sustainable plastics moulder...
With nearly thirty years of technical moulding and assembly history behind them, Magma Moulding has been manufacturing its iconic Trunki ride-on suitcases from its factory in Plymouth since 2012. This innovative business has a mission; to support the revival of UK manufacturing by making and assembling products in the UK for a diverse customer base. Magma Moulding realised that utilising its local supply chain and reinforcing the trend for on-shoring would be a key feature as it progressed its net zero journey.
Net zero ambitions...
Reaching net zero by 2050 features in Magma Moulding’s strategic plans. As an energy and material intensive business, the directors are keen to forge ahead to become the leading sustainable plastics moulder in the UK.
Magma Moulding’s net zero journey with SWMAS…
SWMAS has worked closely with this company for over 10 years, offering continuous business support and guidance as and when it was required.
Following this long and trusted relationship, the management were keen to access support through the Make it Net Zero Programme to help them progress their net zero journey. They were particularly interested in quantifying their carbon footprint with a recognised accreditation in order to create a strategic road map towards their 2050 goal.
As a machine intensive business, the materials for manufactured products make up a large proportion of its carbon footprint. The team were concerned about the time commitment needed to calculate this, and the complexity of the process it required. After an initial business review with their SWMAS net zero specialist, they realised this support offered a straightforward solution that would help them overcome these barriers.
The business was given a simple data collection tool to record the key sources of emissions across its operations. This data was then converted to develop a detailed carbon footprint analysis and action plan which highlighted a range of improvements...
Zoning the factory lighting into smaller sections to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.
Optimised factory layout for heightened efficiency.
Switched to 100% renewable electricity tariff.
Investigating a number of alternative sustainable plastics.
Future net zero plans...
Short to medium-term actions identifiied as part of Magma Moulding's Action Plan:
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Engage and train employees in sustainability and Net Zero.
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Switch to renewable energy for gas
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Measure and incorporate all relevant scope 1 and scope 3* activities. |
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Investigate on-site
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Plan to decarbonise heat and eradicate the use of all fossil fuels in operations.
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Encourage entire supply chain to decarbonise their own operations.
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Once a full impact measurement is established across all scopes, and emissions have been reduced as much as possible, the residual should be neutralised with a certified carbon offsetting scheme.
*scope 1, 2, and 3...click here for an explanation of this terminology.
“This is a great example of how the Make it Net Zero Programme uses a clear approach and good access to energy data to help businesses simplify carbon footprinting and achieve measurable improvements. Magma Moulding had already made some great progress to reduce its impact, and now has some exciting projects for the future. We look forward to supporting them as they continue their net zero journey.”
Paul Gilbert
SWMAS Make it Net Zero Programme Lead
This support was delivered by SWMAS, through Make it Net Zero (Plymouth), which is funded by Plymouth City Council for small and medium-sized businesses based in Plymouth.
