EDF and Forth Ports Turn Industrial Waste Into Sustainable Innovation

EDF Business Solutions and Forth Ports have collaborated on a unique circular-economy initiative that turns port waste into sustainable, functional products.

Building on a long-standing partnership where EDF powers the port’s renewable electricity needs, the two organisations have now collaborated to recycle retired lifting straps and transform them into fully sustainable laptop bags for EDF’s account management teams. 

Forth Ports, one of the UK’s largest port groups, routinely replaces heavy-duty lifting straps as part of its operational and safety requirements. Traditionally, these straps are difficult to recycle due to their woven, high-strength composition. Recognising an opportunity to reduce waste and demonstrate practical innovation, the Forth Ports team collaborated with a local company to re-imagine the waste. Forth Ports collected and supplied the used materials for repurposing.

EDF Business Solutions worked with Forth Ports specialist designer company Britton Manufacturing to clean, deconstruct and remanufacture the straps into durable, modern laptop bags. Each bag is 100% sustainable and designed to highlight the potential of re-using materials that would otherwise be destined for landfill or incineration.

This project shows what’s possible when sustainability is built into every stage of a partnership,” Sarah Littley, Strategic Account Executive, EDF Business Solutions “Not only are we supplying renewable energy to the port, but together with Forth Ports we’re closing the loop on waste and creating something practical, meaningful and long-lasting for our teams - Sarah Littley, Strategic Account Executive, EDF Business Solutions

At Forth Ports procurement, the philosophy of Today, Tomorrow and Together is showcased in this partnership:

Today, this collaboration rescued material destined for landfill - discarded, forgotten, and left behind. Every piece of material saved is a small victory. A step toward reducing waste and giving what’s been discarded a second life.

Tomorrow, this collaboration remanufactured it. The discarded becomes refined. The broken becomes whole. This collaboration took what’s old and made it new, ensuring that each product has a fresh purpose and a sustainable future.

Together, because change doesn’t happen alone - it happens together. Through collaboration, innovation, and shared responsibility, this collaboration moved toward a world where every product has a purpose, every material has value, and every action has meaning.

The initiative reinforces both companies’ commitments to net-zero goals and circular-economy principles. For EDF account managers, the bags serve as everyday reminders of the value of innovative sustainability – and the positive impact that can arise when partners align ambition with action.

We’re proud to collaborate with EDF on an initiative that brings circular thinking into the heart of our operations. The transformation of lifting straps into laptop bags is a simple but powerful example of sustainable innovation in action.” - added Jakki Ireland, Head of Procurement and Supplier Sustainability for Forth Ports Scottish Operation

EDF has been supplying the Forth Ports Limited and the Port of Tilbury with energy for over twenty years, and we’re proud to support British infrastructure with zero carbon technology. 

From October 2026 this commitment will go even further – Forth Ports Limited and Port of Tilbury estate will be powered by EDF’s 100% renewable energy supply, ensuring that all activity across the port runs on certified green electricity.

You can read more about the partnership here.