Refillable bottles are at the heart of Bio-D’s sustainability strategy, helping the eco-cleaning manufacturer save over 1.75 million consumer-sized bottles in 2024 alone. The company’s recently published sixth annual Sustainability and Impact Report highlights a reduction in carbon emissions per single product by over 40% since 2021 and details innovative efforts to cut plastic waste and lower environmental impact.

Pioneering Sustainability with Refillable Bottles

Bio-D has long positioned itself as an industry leader in sustainability, becoming the first eco-cleaning company to publish an annual sustainability report. This commitment to transparency has strengthened its environmental credibility and reinforced its mission to create effective, ethical cleaning products that don’t harm the planet.

One of the standout achievements in this year’s report is the company’s closed-loop No Brainer Container initiative. This program encourages customers to return their 20-litre refill containers for cleaning, refilling, and reuse. In 2024, Bio-D successfully re-laundered over 14,500 containers—an increase of over 70% from the previous year—saving more than 7.8 tonnes of plastic. This initiative alone prevented CO2 emissions equivalent to the amount absorbed by 995 trees in a year.

Bio-D’s commitment to large-format refill options has been another key success. By promoting five-litre, 20-litre, and IBC-sized products, the company prevented the need for over 1.75 million single-use bottles in 2024.

Refillable Bottles and Industry Recognition

Reflecting on the company’s accomplishments, Bio-D Managing Director Lloyd Atkin stated:

“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.

“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.”

The integration of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic into Bio-D’s packaging has led to a CO2 emissions reduction of over three-quarters of a tonne.

Looking Ahead: Ambitious Goals for 2025

While Bio-D has celebrated notable milestones, Atkin emphasized the company’s ongoing efforts to improve sustainability further:

“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.”

Key Sustainability Achievements

The report outlines several additional achievements from 2024, reinforcing Bio-D’s position as a leader in the eco-cleaning industry:

• Generating 18% more solar energy than is used on-site, allowing the company to contribute clean energy back to the grid.
• Reducing waste CO2 emissions to less than a third of 2023 levels, thanks to careful material planning and proactive resource sharing.
• Saving over 55 tonnes of CO2 emissions through the use of post-consumer recycled plastic in bottles and caps.
• Cutting business travel emissions by more than 30% through strategic reductions in corporate travel.
• Encouraging sustainable commuting, with 50% of staff now using eco-friendly transport options.
• Reducing water-related CO2 emissions by 20%, enhancing efficiency in water usage.

A Model for Sustainable Business

Bio-D’s continuous efforts in sustainability set a benchmark for other companies in the industry. With a clear focus on reducing environmental impact, increasing circular economy practices, and prioritizing renewable energy, Bio-D demonstrates that businesses can thrive while making meaningful progress toward a greener future.