As part of the Sonepar Group, Mayflex is committed to protecting the environment and supporting the journey to net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Our approach goes beyond compliance. We focus on sustainability and circularity reducing our footprint, keeping resources in use for longer, and finding smarter ways to operate.
The initiatives outlined below highlight some of the steps we are already taking. But sustainability is never finished: our leadership team and colleagues across the business are continually looking for new ways to reduce our impact and support our customers in achieving their own sustainability goals.
On the 4th of March 2024 we introduced Autostore from Swisslog, where 14 Maybot robots pick our customer orders from 17,532 bins within the store. As well as being far more energy efficient to run, the main reasons for doing this was to improve the speed and accuracy of our order processing. In addition, this also allows us to consolidate an increasing number of our customer orders resulting in fewer consignments and deliveries being sent, benefiting both the customers and the environment.
With automation it also allows us to automatically choose the smallest possible outer box for each delivery, using less void filler.
Where a customer has a large order to be delivered from Mayflex that’s 8 pallets or more we can deliver this on a gas-powered vehicle that runs on a 13-litre CBG powered engine that runs on biomethane and results in:
An 85% reduction in CO2 emissions
12% fewer NOx emissions
76% less particulate matter than a euro 6 diesel
50% quieter than diesel
FORS registered vehicles are available to the Silver Standard
We’ve been collecting and reusing wooden cable reels for some time, to date this has resulted in a saving of 83 tonnes of CO2 each year.
To improve this service further, for our fastest moving SKUs, we are moving to composite plastic reels made of recycled plastic which can be recycled after being used. These reels will be serial number tracked and once a customer has finished with them these will be collected by us and then reused. Once they’ve been used 10 to 12 times those reels will then be ground down and recycled to make other products.
With millions of metres of cable being sold and installed each year, the reduction in reels ending up in landfill will be significant.
The shrink wrap that we use to protect the Environ Racks and the pallets is made with reduced plastic content which is 30% recycled material and is 100% recyclable.
We use ‘crash lock’ boxes that remove the need to use any paper tape to seal the boxes, which makes it quicker and easier for customers to open the boxes and access their products with a simple tear-off strip. These boxes are made from 100% recycled card and are 100% recyclable.
Small changes have a big impact, with thousands of deliveries being made by Fedex every month, with the change to lineless labels on all our Fedex shipments we’ve removed 100% of the plastic backing.
To take circularity one step further we are working with a third-party provider to take the many wooden crates and wooden reels used, to be repurposed by a charity which helps the long-term unemployed people to gain new skills by making furniture out of waste wood which is then sold to the local community.
With our Excel brand we were the first cabling manufacturer to remove all single use plastic from our packaging. Since 2019 this has resulted in over 85 million (212 tonnes) single-use plastic bags being removed from the supply chain. Based on our current annual sales this will increase by approx. 18.5 million single use plastic bags each year from ending up in landfill.
Certifications and Recognition
Mayflex is proud to hold an EcoVadis Silver sustainability rating , placing us in the top 15 percent of companies assessed worldwide.
EcoVadis independently reviews business against four key areas of sustainability:
Environment
Labour & Human Rights
Ethics
Sustainable Procurement
This recognition demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement and provides assurance to our customers that Mayflex meets internationally recognised standards of responsible business.
We also maintain a range of ISO certifications, including our ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) view certificate here, alongside certifications for data security, health and safety, and quality. These provide confidence that our operations and supply chain are managed to the highest standards.
We have produced Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for core products within the Excel product range.
These detailed reports are created and ratified by an external third-party provider, bre.
An EPD is a document that quantifiably demonstrates the environmental impacts of a product. An EPD is generated based on data obtained through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). An LCA is performed using a peer-reviewed Product Category Rules document (PCR) in line with EN 15804 (the European Standard for the generation of EPD for construction products), ISO 14025 and other related international standards. Each Excel EPD will help Specifiers, Architects, End Users and Designers to choose the most sustainable solution for each requirement.
Where they are available you can view each EPD by visiting the products on the online catalogue and clicking on the ‘Datasheets and Docs’ tab.
The TM65 certificate shows the embodied carbon for each product which documents the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture of the product, its installation, maintenance, repair, replacement and end of life and covers the whole life cycle, excluding operational aspects and potential recovery, reuse or recycling of materials.
We provide a CIBSE TM65 certificate for each of the Excel products in the range. You can see the CIBSE TM65 certificate by viewing the product on the online catalogue at www.excel-networking.com and clicking on the ‘Datasheets & Docs’ tab. We also show the total CO2 e total for each product on the overview description in the bullet points.
How Mayflex commits to sustainability and circularity
Energy Efficiency & Carbon Reduction
LED Lighting
Energy-efficient lighting throughout offices and warehouses, reducing electricity usage by 150 kWh per working day.
Energy Management System (EMS)
We use a central system to continuously monitor and optimise energy consumption across our facilities, helping us identify opportunities for further savings.
Renewable Energy
Where supply contracts allow, we are moving toward renewable energy sources to reduce our reliance on grid mixed electricity.
Sustainable Logistics & Carbon Reduction
Gas-Powered Deliveries
By introducing vehicles powered by alternative fuels, we have achieved:
85% reduction in CO2 emissions 12% fewer NOx emissions 76% less particulate matter than diesel
Electric Fleet
We are encouraging company car drivers to use electric vehicles, supported by EV charging points installed at HQ and Environ warehouse.
Sustainability is a shared journey. Talk to us about how Mayflex can support your goals and help reduce the impact of your projects.
Find out how we operate in other sectors of working life
When it comes to infrastructure, networking and IP security we offer end-to-end solutions, and the support you need. Discover how Mayflex can deliver more for your business.
