Middleton's Vita Group surpasses sustainability targets ahead of schedule

A Middleton-based provider of flexible polyurethane foam has achieved its own environmental targets ahead of schedule.

The Vita Group's second sustainability report, Enhancing Everyday Life, reveals that the company has made significant progress on the ambitious targets it set out in its inaugural report last year.

It verifies that Vita has achieved a 43% reduction in both its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, while its greenhouse gas intensity figures have decreased by the same percentage since the 2019 baseline.

Scope 1 carbon emissions are direct emissions from sources that a company owns or controls directly, such as non-electric vehicles, whilst Scope 2 are indirect emissions originating from energy production.

Other achievements include diverting 25,422 tonnes of excess material (trim) from landfill in 2022 and repurposing it, and 31 sites sent zero production waste to landfill, representing a 98% group diversion.

Last year Vita made met its initial target to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030 – eight years ahead of schedule.

These accomplishments have been made possible by working closely with life cycle analysis (LCA) experts, to build product-focused environmental data, using both primary and secondary source data.

Vita’s LCA methodology will give full transparency to its customers on the environmental impact of its products and will assist them in achieving their own targets or ambitions, as well as allowing them to make trade off decisions such as CO2 reduction or percentage of sustainable content versus price.

Last year, Vita became the first flexible polyurethane manufacturer to be validated by independent climate scientists through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Additionally, it achieved a gold medal from EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, ranking it in the top 3% of assessed organisations worldwide.

 

 

Ian Robb, CEO, The Vita Group, said: “The second year of our sustainability report reflects the incredible progress our company has made in a relatively short period of time. This has been possible through our work with leaders in other fields such as academia and the chemicals industry, as well as collaborating closely with our suppliers and customers. All of us share a common goal in using the tools at our disposal to innovate and help protect the planet for future generations.

“While our progress is pleasing, we will not rest on our laurels – our achievements so far only provide us with more motivation to go even further. Therefore, we will continue to use our R&D capabilities to create products that marry commercial imperatives with sustainability, allowing clients and consumers to be assured Vita is the ethical foam manufacturer of choice.”

Vita has also committed to incorporating the principles of the UN Global Compact into its strategy, culture, and daily operations. The company will work in collaboration with projects that promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with the aim of achieving broader development goals. This includes implementing practices to tackle poverty and inequality and striving to create a better world for future generations.