Boxer’s efforts to create a cleaner future for generations can be seen through the many initiatives under the Going Green banner. From unique recycling projects to energy savings practices, Boxer is determined to make a difference.
Boxer’s efforts to create a cleaner future for generations can be seen through the many initiatives under the Going Green banner. From unique recycling projects to energy savings practices, Boxer is determined to make a difference.
Boxer’s ‘Abahlengi Bemvelo’ project, a Zulu term meaning ‘Rescuers of the Environment’, is a recycling initiative with two main goals: the creation of meaningful jobs through enterprise development and environmental sustainability. Boxer creates income for local community recyclers who sell the recyclable materials which Boxer collects from each store.
The Abahlengi Bemvelo project involves the buying and installing of waste balers to Superstores across the country. These balers are run by the existing small businesses which collect the paper and plastic objects and compress them into 40kg bales. The balers have been installed in branches served by Boxer’s Distribution Centres allowing the bales to be collected and returned to the DC through reverse logistics following the delivery of goods to the store. A waste company then collects the bales from the DC and each ‘Rescuer of the Environment’ business is paid directly by that waste company for the number of bales produced.
Thanks to the light-emitting diode (LED) Lighting System installed in various Boxer Superstores, energy consumption has been reduced and the strain on the country’s electricity supply has been lessened. This successful project has also been carried over into Boxer Distribution Centres where the world class lighting systems have seen a dramatic reduction in wasted energy in the Distribution Centres which operate twenty four hours a day.
In addition to this the Distribution Centres have also created a system where natural lighting is utilised to reduce extra ‘bulb’ costs and energy needed at the Distribution Centres. Boxer’s Head Office runs on the LED lighting system which uses motion sensor based technology which further cuts down the energy used on a daily basis.
Boxer Superstores made a decision to reduce the levels of energy used in stores through a number of projects. These projects, although initially quite costly, are important ‘stepping stones’ to reducing the impact from day to day trade in the retail sector.
The Boxer Meat Factory in KwaZulu-Natal has a number of green initiatives which reduce the amount of waste and add to Boxer’s overall endeavours to find greener ways to work.
The Meat Factory works in conjunction with a local waste centre to recycle all plastic waste from the factory. The waste centre cleans and recycles all the plastic in exchange for free supply of all used plastic. More than 4000kg are recycled each month.
The need to conserve water is a major priority for Boxer. Through the management of recycling depots at the many Superstores country wide, Boxer has managed to cut down water consumption and save millions of litres over the years. On average over 73 million litres of water has been saved per year on the recycling initiatives and the figure continues to grow through in store and head office water conservation campaigns. At the Boxer Meat Factory, hand taps are powered by foot pedals to prevent excess water wastage.
Going Green
