2022: Axil’s year in review

As we look forward to exciting times ahead at Axil, January offers a chance to reflect on a year gone by – and what a truly momentous year it was.

Amidst a turbulent economic landscape and an uncertain political horizon, our focus remained clear: to help businesses maintain momentum on their sustainability goals whilst supporting their bottom line.

The secret? Unlocking the value of your waste. That’s been our focus since our inception, and it’s never been truer than today, after a year that has seen us achieve great success and deliver astounding results for our partners.

Last year wasn’t easy for businesses, and we know that all support offered has been greatly received – we’re proud to be championing business success.

As we get stuck into making this success happen, let’s use this opportunity to reflect on the journey we had last year, the successes we’ve helped create, and how we’re looking ahead to a positive future.

We started last year winning big…

Well, what a way to start the year. Last January, we announced the hire of our 100^th employee, and celebrated a 100% increase in revenue.

The announcement was a testament of our work re-engineering the waste streams of household names including Birds Eye, Whirlpool, and LEVC, and of our support of the rollout of rapid Covid testing by providing waste services to testing sites across the UK. It’s also quite something to say that we enter 2023, we’re now closer to 200 employees!

This put us in a great position to deliver significant growth for the year ahead, which started with the announcement of the signing of a five-year extension deal with Birmingham Wholesale Market, the largest integrated market in the UK.

The deal followed our successful first year with them that saw its recycling rates almost double from 13% to 25%, and a 222-tonne reduction in the production of its general waste.

And it hasn’t just been about reducing the amount of waste produced. Our improved segregation and on-site management minimised the mixing of waste between neighbouring traders, meaning tenants are only charged for the waste they produce, which cuts costs and maximises profits across the whole market.

…Took a stand on the important issues…

The idea that small changes lead to big results was at the forefront of our mind as we provided guidance and advice for businesses across the year.

And there were two crucial dates that marked this. Firstly, Global Recycling Day, where we were all reminded of the importance of the need to act for our environment, and secondly, the 52^nd annual Earth Day.

We’re proud to take a stand during these critical days, calling on businesses to #InvestinOurPlanet, not just because it can unlock economic value for them, but because we all have a responsibility to reduce our impact on the environment.

And we know that, on these important issues, words aren’t always enough: we knew we had to prove it. That’s why we conducted research into the steps businesses are taking towards their ESG ambitions, and the opportunities for further action to keep up with global incentives and secure success.

The results, detailed in our report ‘Exploring the Environmental and Economic Opportunity of ESG’ were shocking, and revealed that the UK has a long way to go. We found that only a quarter (24%) of businesses have a clear path to achieving their sustainability goals, and that almost half (48%) feel they are not doing enough to reduce the amount of waste they produce.

This research has been foundational in our work helping businesses understand where they can take more action towards their sustainability ambitions, and how they can balance their ESG efforts against their bottom line.

…And looked ahead to a bright future

And it’s led us to continue to deliver great results. Most notably, we were excited to announce our partnership with the BMW Group, a five-year contract that will see us introduce innovative changes to chemical, technical and logistical processes across all six of the BMW Group’s manufacturing and corporate sites in the UK, spanning BMW, MINI, and Rolls Royce.

Our waste-capturing technology and relief mobile operative team will work to support the manufacturer with their 2030 sustainability targets, paving the way for others in the automotive industry to take control of their environmental impact.

And we finished the year just as strong. We published the first of our ESG bulletins, a curated news update for businesses looking to understand the important issues affecting them, and how to get ahead.

We announced a three-year extension to our partnership with Whirlpool after helping them achieve a 50% reduction in general waste and zero waste to landfill at two of its key sites – just read Whirlpool’s head of sustainability David Sherrington discuss our work in CEO Today.

Lastly, we celebrated the move to our new head office in Corby, a new vibrant hub to welcome clients and complement our rapidly growing team. It’s a testament to our continued growth that we’re on track to outgrow our new headquarters before we even get settled!

But we’re not about resting on our laurels. We know the importance of looking to the future to ensure we can continue to deliver.

That’s why we ended the year with an exciting addition to our team: Gina Rudkin joined us as our new Head of Sustainability and Zero-Waste, bringing 25 years of experience driving sustainability initiatives to the business.