Case studies — inspiring ideas from other challenges
Red Cross Reduce — an ideas challenge for staff and volunteers — is running until May 20th. We want your ideas on how we could reduce wasteful practices.
Every week the Innovation Hub will be sharing a couple of new case studies to help you get inspired! This week it’s all about getting inspired by other organisations’ sustainability challenges in the sector.
The Royal National Lifeboat Association
- Making products out of decommissioned life jackets
In 2012, the RNLI faced an exciting repurposing waste challenge; all 5,000 volunteer crew lifejackets were to be replaced with a new design. Not only would a lot of physical waste been sent to landfill, it was also estimated that the disposal of these items would cost £17,000. The RNLI got a project team together to consider ways to reduce waste with this opportunity. They came up with an idea that both generated revenue and reduced waste: upcycling these jackets into consumer goods.
The main challenge they faced was finding an upcycling provider that could fulfil a project of this volume, but they persevered. The range of products created out of the decommissioned lifejackets was branded 235 Made for Life, in reference to the 235 lifeboat stations that supplied lifejackets to the project. After successful prototyping the products were put up for sale and by 2015 had generated £103,000 in revenue.
2. Energy use
The RNLI have also been installing renewable energy technology at their sites and have been sharing learning throughout this journey with the National Trust. Similarly, the RNLI are investigating fuel reduction in their lifeboat fleet, balancing the need to be more energy efficient with operational requirements.
Top tip: Can you think of any other charities or suppliers we could work with to reduce waste in our emergency service uniforms or energy use?
London Fire Brigade
- Making products out of waste fire hoses
In 2005, luxury accessory social enterprise Elvis & Kresse was founded. This was inspired by the realisation that all decommissioned hoses from the London Fire Brigade were sent off to landfill. Over a decade’s worth of hoses (totalling over 300 tonnes of material) have been given a second life as belts, wallets, bags, and other accessories.
All products are handmade and 50% of the profits from the Elvis and Kresse fire hose range are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.
2. Energy use
The London Fire Brigade has made great strides towards reducing it’s carbon emissions and environmental impact — noteworthy given as an emergency response organisation, travel is operationally essential. 100% of the London Fire Brigade car-fleet is electric, and there are 9 fire stations in London with publicly accessible electric vehicle charge points. The London Fire Brigade is also now generating renewable energy at their sites, producing 7.25% of their total energy used.
Top tip: Can you think of any waste generated by the British Red Cross or our partners that we could upcycle and sell through our retail stores and online stores?
The Great Elastic Band Challenge
Royal Mail are doing some interesting work to address their climate impact. You know what one of their biggest challenges is? The sheer number of elastic bands they use in a year.
It makes sense when you think about it, as almost every bundle of letters needs to be gathered with an elastic band. But it’s 331 tonnes of elastic bands to be exact, and most are just thrown away at the end of each day. It was such a big opportunity to reduce climate emissions that Royal Mail ran a whole ideas challenge looking for solution
Top tip: Focusing on something tiny that’s used a lot can create a big opportunity to reduce climate impact. Can you think of anything like this in the Red Cross?
Reimagine, Rewild
Reimagine, Rewild was one of the winners of Accenture’s Eco Innovation Challenge. (Check out the others here.)
It’s a mobile application that uses augmented reality to show users what their local environment could look like if nature was enabled to thrive. It helps people learn about the benefits of biodiversity and connecting them to projects near them. See for yourself:
Top tip: Ideas can focus on changing how people engage with the world as a whole as well as the organisation. Can you imagine the impact of changing a wasteful practice for every Red Cross employee or staff member?
