Plastic Bags Charges & Environmental Good Causes

Responsibly managing their environmental impact is a key concern for proactive retailers. They realise their actions directly impact how their business brand is perceived by customers and can significantly impact purchase choice.
Carbon Footprint has particular expertise within the Retail sector, providing a full range of carbon, energy, health & safety services and also software tools. We provide solutions, whether you are just starting out on your sustainability journey or you have a mature/leading edge programme in place.
In England, retailers of all sizes must charge at least 10p for qualifying single-use plastic carrier bags, subject to exemptions. See government guidance on carrier-bag charges for exemptions and reporting duties. Rules differ across the UK.
Legislation has been in place since October 2015 with an objective to reduce waste and environmental damage and has already seen a great reduction in bag demand and waste associated with it.
Retailers must donate the proceeds of the scheme to good causes, but it is you to decide what initiatives you wish to support - these may include environmental projects, such as Carbon Offsetting programmes.
Your will need to report to the UK government what they do with the money from the charge and this information will be published annually
Manage your environmental impact and engage with your customer via UK & International social impact projects
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 - The 2015 standard is now here and you will need to make the transition before end 2018 - dependent on your recertification date! You can get the new standard ahead of your recertification date - and benefit from differentiation.
The process is straightforward and because these ISOs now share a common structure ( so-called 'Annex SL' - also shared by ISO 50001 and ISO 27001 (IT Security)) it will soon become very familiar and provides an ideal time and opportunity to integrate into an Integrated Management System (IMS).
ISO14001:2015 on-line Gap Test
Leading retail businesses now produce a formal Sustainability or Environmental report - often to support/complement their Annual Report & Accounts.
Join the organisations that measure, reduce and credibly communicate their climate action with us.