From the outside, it’s hard to imagine the sustainability revolution that’s going on inside Internet Fusion’s warehouse on Prologis Park Kettering. Here, 10,000 orders are shipped every day to surfers, snowboarders, equestrians and people who love spending time in the great outdoors: the very people who experience, first-hand, the effect that plastic pollution and global warming are having upon their chosen activities.

In an era where the word sustainability pops up almost everywhere, Internet Fusion doesn’t just pay lip service to reducing the effect its activities have on the environment; instead, it’s put sustainability at the heart of everything it does and that includes the warehouse in which it’s based as Adam Hall, Head of Sustainability for Internet Fusion explains:

“Global climate change isn’t just threatening future generations, it’s something that is happening right now and at an increasing rate. Our customers experience first-hand the effect that global warming and plastic pollution is having upon the environment and, for us, it was important to prove our commitment to sustainability through actions, rather than words – that’s why we chose to locate our main distribution centre in a Prologis building.”

It was important to prove our commitment to sustainability through actions, rather than words – that’s why we chose to locate our main distribution centre in a Prologis building.
Adam Hall, Head of Sustainability, Internet Fusion

Recently, the company installed a CVP-500 automated packaging machine in its Prologis warehouse to help it reduce the amount of packaging used. What’s so special about this machine? Well, aside from being the first machine of its kind to be installed in the UK, the CVP-500 builds, folds and labels each order and creates a custom-fit package every seven seconds. It uses 20% less corrugated cardboard and eliminates unnecessary plastic or paper void fill, and reduces the volume of packages by 25% which enables more packages to be transported in one go.

Martin Brailsford, CEO Internet Fusion Ltd said: “As soon as I became aware of the CVP-500 machine, it was something I knew we had to have at the heart of our warehouse process as we strive to become one of the world’s most sustainable e-commerce companies. Our dynamic operations team and agile systems integrated the machines quickly and without disruption, making an environmental difference from the moment we started processing orders. Where we lead the way, we expect others to follow, it’s not about gaining a competitive advantage it’s about doing what is right”.

What’s in the box?

Take a look at the CVP-500 in action as it creates bespoke packaging at an astonishing rate of 7 parcels a minute.