Yorkshire’s own eco-cleaning pioneer, Bio-D, has made impressive strides in sustainability, cutting its carbon emissions per product by over 40% in the last three years. The Hull-based company, known for its ethical and environmentally friendly cleaning products, detailed its progress in its sixth annual Sustainability and Impact Report, published this week.
A leader in the eco-cleaning sector, Bio-D was the first company of its kind to release an annual sustainability report, reinforcing its commitment to transparency and environmental responsibility. Among this year’s standout achievements is the success of its ‘No Brainer Container’ initiative, which saved over 7.8 tonnes of plastic in 2024. The scheme encourages customers to return 20-litre refill containers to be cleaned, refilled and reused – a practice that has grown by more than 70% in the past year. Since launching in 2021, it has prevented over 14,500 containers from going to waste, with CO2 savings equivalent to 995 trees growing for a year.
Refillable packaging remains a key focus for Bio-D, with its larger five-litre and 20-litre options, alongside IBCs for wholesalers, preventing the use of over 1.75 million consumer-sized bottles in 2024 alone.
Reflecting on the company’s sustainability achievements, managing director Lloyd Atkin said: “Releasing our annual Sustainability and Impact Report gives us the opportunity to reflect on the past year and evaluate our achievements, learnings and goals for the year ahead.
“A key highlight for me in 2024 was receiving a King’s Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development category, an achievement that represents a true team effort and our shared commitment to a sustainable future.”
Another major milestone for Bio-D has been the introduction of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic into its 750ml bottle caps, an initiative that has saved over three-quarters of a tonne of CO2 emissions. Lloyd explained the challenges involved: “Incorporating post-consumer recycled plastic to our 750ml caps has also been a significant achievement over the past year. This has been a key goal for us and something we have been working on with packaging suppliers for several years.
“There are huge challenges around the strength and durability of PCR caps, which has required extensive trialling and testing, so reaching 50% PCR content is a big accomplishment.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Bio-D has set its sights on furthering its sustainability goals, including investing in more carbon offsetting projects and commissioning an independent review to identify new energy-saving opportunities. Lloyd added: “However, whilst we have some brilliant sustainability milestones, we’re going into 2025 with even more goals in place to further improve our credentials.
“These include investing in more carbon emissions projects to compensate for unavoidable emissions and commissioning a fresh review by an independent consultant to see what new energy savings can be made on site.”
The company, which secured B Corp certification in 2022, continues to lead the way in sustainable manufacturing. Additional highlights from this year’s report include generating 18% more solar energy than it consumes on-site, significantly cutting CO2 waste emissions, reducing business travel by 30%, and seeing half of its staff adopt sustainable transport options.
Bio-D’s ongoing commitment to sustainability shows no signs of slowing, setting an inspiring example for businesses across Yorkshire and beyond. For more details, visit www.biod.co.uk.
