A new reusable coffee cup scheme has reduced disposable cup usage by 71 per cent at Leonardo's Yeovil site.

The initiative, launched in June, was inspired by Zero Waste Scotland's research, indicating that pricing disposable cups separately could encourage the use of sustainable alternatives.

Leonardo listed the cost of disposable cups separately from the price of hot drinks, and distributed 400 reusable cups to staff, leading to a change in employee daily habits.

Ben Knight, head of sustainability, said: "Across Leonardo in the UK, we are aiming for a 15 per cent reduction in waste by 2030, so we have a sharp focus on finding new ways to eliminate waste and reduce the amount of materials that we are consuming.

"One of the most common sources of waste that our colleagues see day to day on our sites is disposable coffee cups.

"This is of course only one of our waste streams, but even small changes can have a wider impact and our café teams have helped us promote this initiative.

"People have been amazing at responding to this opportunity to reduce waste."

It aligns with Leonardo's commitment to reach Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.