Willerby Celebrated for Sustainable Holiday Homes Manufacture
Willerby celebrated as green pioneer with the manufacture of sustainable holiday homes, at event marking success of clean energy drive. Major holiday homes manufacturer Willerby joined senior government and media figures recently for a summit in Hull on how to drive forward the sustainability agenda.
Willerby’s chief financial officer Sue Allan and project manager Duncan Collins were among a panel of green champions speaking at the event in Hull’s Truck Theatre.
Also addressing delegates were former Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, and former BBC science editor David Shukman.
Ground-breaking Initiative to Reduce Carbon Emissions
The summit was held on the first anniversary of a ground-breaking initiative to reduce Hull’s carbon emissions, called “Oh Yes! Net Zero”.
It’s supported by 150 regional organisations who together employ almost 50,000 people.
As a major employer in Hull and market leader in the UK holiday homes industry, Willerby has invested significantly as it pursues environmental excellence across all its operations.
The company’s Sue Allan said: “Every business, large or small, must play their part in meeting the challenges of climate change, but for many it can be difficult to know where to begin when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint.
“At Willerby, we started the process by understanding the impact of all of our operations, and examined our supply chain and from where we source materials and products.
Renewable, Clean Energy for Caravan Manufacture
“We’ve made strong progress so far on converting our sites in Hull to run on renewable, clean energy, and we have also encouraged our staff to consider their own actions and how they can play their part.
“If every person starts by making simple, small changes to the way they travel to work, the products they consume, and their behaviours, then it adds up to making a significant difference,” said Sue.
Willerby, she added, is leading the holiday home sector in its drive to decarbonise its operations.
The company invested £1.25m in 2020 to install two new biomass boilers to heat its manufacturing facilities in Hull, saving 1,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and avoiding hundreds of truck trips to remove this waste.
Last year Willerby also introduced its new Willerby GreEN Standard specification across its range, aimed at reducing the energy consumption and carbon emissions of its models by over a quarter.
It has also installed electric vehicle charging points on its two sites in the city, and offers an incentivised scheme to upgrade company vehicles to electric and hybrid cars and vans.
In addition, Willerby has operated a cycle to work scheme for several years, providing a way for hundreds of staff members to own a bicycle for their daily commute..
Sustainable End-to-end Supply Chain
As well as prioritising sustainability across its own operations, Willerby has worked with partners to create a sustainable end-to-end supply chain, using local suppliers and recycled materials wherever possible.
For more information on the Oh Yes! Net Zero campaign and how Hull and the Humber can lead the UK to a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous future, visit www.ohyesnetzero.co.uk
To discover more about Willerby’s work around sustainable holiday homes manufacture, go to https://www.willerby.com/green-standard
