Dr Erica Ballantyne, a Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management, at the Management School, has been named a joint winner at the prestigious Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport (UK) Awards for Excellence.
Dr Ballantyne, along with Dr Jonathan Gorst, from Sheffield Hallam University, were the first winners of a new award category at this year's ceremony - the ‘2025 Logistics Research Network Award’ that targets industry focused research impact projects that are co-developed and co-delivered through partnerships between industry-based organisations and academic institutions.
Their project, a collaboration with ClearCycle, an organisation managing product returns, showed how to measure and reduce the emissions produced when a consumer returns goods purchased online.
ClearCycle also refurbish and resell returned goods. The project found that products re-sold through ClearCycle’s process were found to generate on average an 83.46 per cent emissions saving improvement compared to disposal through an auction house.
“I am delighted our project has been recognised with this award.
“Through working with myself and Dr Jonathan Gorst, ClearCycle has managed to market their services to new clients, and demonstrate that choosing a premium product disposition route can generate higher financial returns and significant reductions in CO2 emissions.
“The project has had a real impact on ClearCycle's operations, resulting in relocation of their premises to further deliver emissions, financial and economic savings associated with processing returned retail products in the supply chain.”
Dr Erica Ballantyne
Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management
This year’s event, at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, marks the 32nd anniversary of the Institute’s annual awards which celebrate and showcase the achievements of organisations and professionals across the logistics, transport, and supply chain sectors.
