Walpole: How long have you served in this role?
Ellie Marks: I joined Freight Brokers in 2020 to head-up the company's sustainability department. When I joined, the company was already 100% carbon-neutral, thanks to its carbon-offsetting programme. This appealed to my passion for sustainability and bettering our world. Soon after joining I had the idea of offsetting more carbon than our clients’ shipping emits, enabling us to achieve climate-positive status. Currently we offset clients’ shipping carbon emissions by 200%. Our goal for 2024 is to increase that level to 250%. As part of our ambitious sustainability strategy, Freight Brokers became a certified B Corporation in late 2022.
What’s your background specifically in sustainability?
Freight Brokers has given me the opportunity to turn my personal interest about sustainability into something worthwhile that stands for change and encourages others to do the same. I am personally passionate about sustainability rather than being hugely experienced in the field. I have long been interested in helping move the world towards an environmentally-friendly future. For several years I have been conscious of where I buy my clothes and I promote circular fashion wherever possible. The world is so beautiful and precious. It is down to us all to enable the earth to flourish rather than crumble.
Why is sustainability such an important topic for Freight Brokers?
Sustainability is an important topic for Freight Brokers, but it should be an important topic for everyone. As sales partners for global shippers, we do what we can. This involves taking responsibility for all of our clients’ carbon emissions. They therefore ship sustainably whilst we handle the stress of offsetting. It may seem a small thing, but our 300-plus clients are shipping hundreds of thousands of parcels each year. At Freight Brokers, we truly believe everyone has a responsibility to do better and we want to lead by example. At Freight Brokers we place sustainability at the forefront of our opporations, simply because we care.
What are your sustainability priorities for the coming year?
By 2024, we intend to offset all the CO2 emissions caused by our clients’ shipments by 250%. This is an exciting target we originally set ourselves at the end of 2019. The team at Freight Brokers has worked so hard over the years to make this happen. Next year we will need a new goal. Our next project is to create the FB Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to transforming the fashion industry into a sustainable and environmentally-friendly sector. More to come on this soon.
What is the biggest achievement when it comes to sustainability that you have achieved since joining the company?
It’s been a team effort to earn our B Corp accreditation. This is a badge of honour for Freight Brokers and we wear it with pride. Our B Corp status underlines Freight Brokers commitment to using its commercial activities as a force for good.
What is the biggest challenge for Freight Brokers when it comes to sustainability? How are you working towards a solution to this?
The fashion industry relies on a global supply chain that is dependent on existing transport technology. It is not possible to ship a parcel internationally without creating a carbon footprint. As international couriers, we have to work with the tools we have, hence our commitment to offsetting all the carbon emissions created by our clients’ shipments. From our current level of 200% offsetting, we intend to move up to 250% in 2024. In addition, taking us beyond logistics, the FB Foundation will be unveiled in 2024, spreading awareness, providing resources across the entire fashion industry, and supporting research into SAF (sustainable aviation fuel), sustainable dyeing practices, sustainable packing, waste management and circular fashion as a whole.
How does sustainability play into the working relationships you have with other companies?
Interest in sustainability is growing among consumers, which is putting pressure on fashion brands and companies to be more conscious. At Freight Brokers we take on the responsibility for improving our clients’ sustainable shipping performance. We select the most transparent projects globally through the United Nations offset platform. On our website we display the appropriate carbon certificates and retrieve carbon reports from our shipping partners to show how much carbon our clients’ shipping has created. We cover the cost, in the shipping area at least, our clients can leave it all to us.
What’s one thing the British luxury sector doesn’t talk about enough when it comes to sustainability?
The ease of choice when it comes to sustainability. There is no big answer to the sustainability question, just lots of small ways of doing good practice, like offsetting the carbon from courier shipments. One drop in the ocean may cause a ripple, but many drops can cause a wave. Sustainability affects all our futures. We can work together much more effectively and consistently to make real tangible improvements.
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