Jewson Partnership Solutions (JPS) has collaborated with Gentoo Group Sunderland on a major campaign to reduce travel, cut carbon emissions and boost efficiency.
What began as an idea suggested by a Gentoo colleague has gone on to save more than 250,000 travel miles this year. This has resulted in a £35,000 cost saving on fuel, as well as cutting carbon emissions and creating a more efficient service for Gentoo’s 60,000 customers across Sunderland.
Van-based stocks are replenished from locations across Sunderland every morning, enabling Gentoo colleagues to refresh their stock within their working areas, rather than travelling back and forth to the JPS branch.
Using real-time usage data shared between Gentoo and JPS each day, stock is replenished and prepared in advance, enabling colleagues to collect stock boxes locally.
JPS delivers new boilers and heating packs directly to Gentoo’s heating team at customer homes. Working this way saves an average of 28 business hours every week by reducing travel time and has proven so successful that JPS has used the model as a blueprint with other partners.
The organisation also ensures materials are available 24/7, 365 days a year through its AVAIL Smart Container, meaning stock is available for Gentoo’s emergency out-of-hours service.
The container is powered entirely by solar energy with an integrated battery system, the carbon-neutral containers further reduce mileage and support efforts to lower carbon emissions.
Paul Lee, Regional Partnership Director at JPS, said: “By bringing our teams closer together through a genuine partnership, we’ve reduced unnecessary journeys, improved operational efficiency and achieved a huge carbon saving, all while continuing to deliver a high quality service for Gentoo and its customers.
“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together and look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.”
James Haste, Director of Property Maintenance at Gentoo, said: “What started as a colleague’s suggestion has grown into a fantastic success story.
“Reaching 250,000 miles saved is a remarkable achievement and highlights the value of listening to ideas from the people who deliver our services every day.”
Housing Digital Stakeholder Jewson Partnership Solutions supports the Social Housing sector by partnering with Registered Providers and Public Sector organisations to create bespoke solutions for materials supply that helps them to efficiently maintain and develop their housing stock.
Read next: Jewson leads campaign to save UK’s construction industry
Are you a social housing professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.