Our Sustainability Journey: A step closer to becoming carbon neutral

At Toffeln, comfort isn't just about our products – it's also about creating a comfortable future for our planet. Sustainability remains a core value, and we're taking significant steps towards achieving our goal of carbon neutrality by 2026. However, growth brings unique challenges, and 2024 presented both progress and areas for improvement.

Growth and Emissions: A Balancing Act

Toffeln's commitment to sustainability goes beyond simply growing the business. While we experienced a positive 17% growth between 2021 and 2023, we recognise that such growth can impact our environmental footprint. We achieved a 3% overall reduction in emissions before offsetting. Furthermore, if we exclude the electricity consumed for vehicle charging (a new addition to our calculations), our total electricity usage from 2021 to 2023 has decreased by 52.5%. This reduction is a testament to our investment in electric vehicles and staff awareness programs promoting eco-friendly practices.

However, by including previously unaccounted-for employee commuting data (20.36 CO₂) we increased our total footprint by 25%. To address this, we purchased 44 tonnes of carbon credits, resulting in a net 57% reduction in our carbon footprint after offsetting.

Travel and Transportation: Building Relationships, Minimising Impact

Business travel, including customer visits and supplier inspections for our Labour Standards Assurance Scheme, has significantly increased (3.5 times) since 2021. While virtual meetings are important, face-to-face interaction strengthens relationships and ensures ethical sourcing. This increased travel contributes heavily to our carbon footprint. However, there's positive news too – freight emissions have decreased by 41%, partly due to DPD's offsetting program (until December 2023).

Packaging and Resource Management: Finding Balance

While our commitment to sustainable packaging remains strong, cardboard usage has increased by 35% as our business expands. We're actively exploring ways to minimise this impact, as all our packaging materials already contain recycled content. On a positive note, our water consumption has decreased by 18%, showcasing progress towards overall resource efficiency.

The Path to Carbon Neutrality: A Multi-Pronged Approach

Becoming carbon neutral requires a multifaceted strategy.

1. Optimising Travel: We control unnecessary business travel by combining virtual and in-person meetings. By opting for energy-efficient vehicles, and public transportation we are reducing the environmental impact of travel.

2. Sustainable Suppliers: Partnering with suppliers committed to eco-friendly practices is helping us minimise our overall footprint within the supply chain.

3. Carbon-Neutral Shipping: We are constantly researching carbon-neutral shipping partners to minimise emissions during product delivery.

4. Continued Resource Efficiency: We're maintaining efforts to reduce water usage and explore recycled content for all packaging materials, further solidifying our commitment to sustainability.

Transparency and Continuous Improvement

We acknowledge the challenges of growth while remaining committed to the transparent implementation of strategic sustainability solutions. By openly discussing our efforts, we hope to inspire others to join us on the path to a more sustainable future.

This blog is just one step in that journey. We'll continue to share updates, mark significant achievements, and adapt our approach as needed. We invite you to join us on this journey towards a future where comfort and sustainability go hand in hand.

Some of the projects we supported when purchasing carbon credits:

Uganda Gender Responsive Safe Water Project:

We offset 44 tonnes of CO₂ through Gold Standard, a highly regarded carbon offset provider. These offsets have been applied to Toffeln's Scope 3 emissions for 2023.

Our investment in carbon offsets has supported a project that provided boreholes in the Lango region of northern Uganda, bringing safe drinking water directly to communities. This eliminates the need to boil water (previously requiring wood collection and burning, a time-consuming task often done by women and children).

Buenos Aires Renewable Energy Project:

We offset 10 tonnes of CO₂ by funding the creation of solar ovens for people in Chad. Previously reliant on firewood, these ovens (made primarily by local women) use solar energy for cooking and last about a year. This project not only reduces emissions but also improves the well-being of the community. These offsets have been applied to Toffeln's Scope 3 emissions for 2022.

Green T EziKlogs: Over 50% of the EVA material in these clogs comes from Brazilian sugarcane waste (which has negative carbon emissions). To fully offset the carbon footprint, we purchase credits that support a Brazilian project tackling deforestation in the Caatinga biome. This project helps transition ceramic factories from firewood to agricultural waste, reducing deforestation and creating local jobs.