“When we first started this, we were told it was impossible. So I approached the University of Hull and they said ‘nothing's impossible - let's see what we can do’.”
Wren Kitchens’ Trevor Nixon is referring to the kitchen manufacturer’s unique knowledge exchange collaboration with the University of Hull.
As part of the two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), supported by Innovate UK, University of Hull academics are:
- Helping Wren Kitchens accelerate their journey to net zero.
- Using a unique supply chain carbon mapping tool, developed at the University, to help Wren Kitchens become more sustainable.
- Offering Wren Kitchens customers the opportunity to make more sustainable choices.
“We’re creating a strategy to CO2 map our full supply chain, upstream and downstream, which is a world first,” explained Trevor.
“We also want to be able to say to customers ‘when you purchase this kitchen, it comes with this amount of CO2 carbon’. Nobody's ever done this before. We’re already a market leader, but this project is going to help us become the market leader for sustainability as well.”
This partnership is designed to deliver a range of benefits for Wren Kitchens, while allowing customers to make informed decisions around the sustainability of their chosen kitchens and appliances.
Lead academics from Hull University Business School Dr Sarah Shaw and Linda Whicker are working with the senior safety and logistics team at Wren Kitchens - supported by KTP Associate, Aghogho Egbo.
“What’s really nice about this project is that the University of Hull team are embedded within the Wren Kitchens operation to make it happen,” said Sarah. “This is an ideal opportunity where industry can work closely with academia to transfer knowledge and research into the partner organisation.
“This project enables Wren to gain full transparency of their supply chain through carbon process mapping, which is extremely powerful in enabling their decarbonisation journey. It also demonstrates how we, as a University, are working in collaboration with organisations, people and employers to help our region achieve net zero.”
This KTP with Wren Kitchens is an example of the University of Hull’s groundbreaking Knowledge Exchange projects. The University has been recognised nationally for this work in the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), published by Research England, where the results saw the University classed as having ‘Very High Engagement’, the highest ranking in this category.