POLICY Policy Title: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY Status (in force or draft) and version number: IN FORCE 2007 V2 If in force, date from: 12th SEPTEMBER 2007 Approved by and date : (Management Forum, Directors, Trustees, Chief Executive) MANAGEMENT FORUM 12th SEPTEMBER 2007 Author: TIM COOK Contact for additional guidance: HAZEL BOWMAKER CARLISLE SERVICE TEAM Next Review Date: AUGUST 2009 SUMMARY Action for Blind People is committed to environmental excellence and the continuous improvement of our environmental performance, exceeding the minimum regulatory framework wherever possible and responding to the expectations of our stakeholders in society. Action will ensure that environmental considerations are always integrated into our business objectives and that we actively promote social responsibility and ecological sustainability both now and for the future. Responsibility for considering environmental issues belongs to everyone within the organisation. It is embedded in everything that we do at local, regional and national level and is both a corporate and personal responsibility for all team members MAIN POLICY Action is committed to environmental excellence throughout the organisation 1 Actions Carbon Footprint An individual or organisations Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact its human activities have on the environment, in terms of the amount of green house gases it produces, measured in units of carbon dioxide. http://www.carbonfootprint.com/ All Actions environmental actions are intended to reduce or minimize our carbon footprint and to help sustain the global planet and also reduce our costs. This is best achieved by incremental actions by all team members at all Action locations. 2 Actions Environmental Commitment It is intended that the following procedures will be considered at all Action locations where ever possible. They are not intended to be overly prescriptive, but to generate careful consideration to meet the organisations desire to be environmentally aware. At the end of this document there is an Appendix which must be completed and held by each Action location giving details of: • local companies which they use, having identified them as being suppliers of eco friendly products • local organizations which the team either donate to, or receive equipment from, to avoid unnecessary waste • companies who will dispose of waste in the most eco friendly way possible e.g. paper, electrical equipment etc. • any other relevant references 2.1 Staff Training and Development An awareness of Action’s commitment to environmental issues will be included in the Induction training that all new staff undertake on joining the organisation. Action’s commitment to the local community and broader society as a whole will be included in annual appraisals and team meetings as part of the core competency: sharing our vision and values. Management Forum, Staff Forum and User Groups will also ensure that any programmes introduced by them are compatible with our stated support for the environment. 2.2 Purchasing The commitment to a ‘green’ purchasing policy at Action for Blind People requires all teams to ensure a positive environmental impact whenever possible in the purchasing of products and services. Consideration should always be given to re-using or recycling existing equipment. When considering any form of purchasing, teams must always consider any environmental issues involved, and whilst choosing the product which is most able to perform the task is prerequisite, they must also give consideration to the environment. Examples of green purchasing within the office environment include: Office Equipment • Whenever possible, order recycled paper for printers and notepads and ensure that staff are using scrap paper (where appropriate) in their day to day work for note taking etc. • Make sure that cartridges from printers are recycled where possible. • Use solar powered, energy efficient or rechargeable batteries and light bulbs where possible. • Utilise double sided printing and photo copying where ever possible. • Recycle unwanted furniture within the office or donate to other organizations. Office Maintenance and Cleaning • Ensure all staff and domestic services are aware of the local recycling policy. • Paper recycling bins must be clearly marked in the office and the cleaning services made aware of them. • Check that your suppliers have an environmental policy. • Check that your suppliers use environmentally sustainable materials. • Local office refurbishments must always involve Facilities Management. They will ensure that only environmentally aware organizations are considered both in terms of products they use, methods they employ and their own environmental policy. Energy Consumption • Wherever feasible use utility services that produce ‘green energy’. e.g. http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/ • Wherever possible utilise free offers to assess our energy efficiency and quality of energy service in Action’s buildings.(In consultation with Facilities Management) Packaging • When purchasing goods choose those that come from environmentally sustainable and friendly materials if possible. • Re-use/recycle packaging such as cardboard boxes and envelopes wherever possible and appropriate. • Avoid unnecessary packaging where possible. 2.3 Recycling and minimisation of waste When thinking about recycling and waste minimisation, consider: • Keeping a minimum stock of items which discourages waste. • Choose reusable alternatives where possible. • Using recycling facilities. e.g. those for cans and paper • Composting waste wherever possible. • Thinking of ways to reduce office paper. e.g. use e-mail and avoid unnecessary printing. • Reusing paper which is only printed only on one side, or make scrap pads. • Recycling old office machinery or donate to other charities. Consider using organizations such as http://uk.freecycle.org/ • Implement a ‘buy recycled policy’, or choose products made from sustainable sources. • Recycling toners, mobiles or IT kit in favour of Action. • Looking for “recycling clubs” in your local area to dispose of items you don’t want, but others might and vice versa. http://uk.freecycle.org/ 2.4 Reducing Consumption All teams and individuals must make a conscious effort, in every aspect of their work to minimise waste of all natural resources. Action for Blind People actively encourages: • Switching off all electrical equipment overnight, including computers and printers, rather than leaving them on “stand by” • Turning off lights when leaving a room. • Turning down heating thermostats. • Not having heating on with open windows. • Not having heating battling against air conditioning. • Turning-off taps. • Reporting faulty plumbing/dripping taps. • Reporting flickering/faulty lights. • Encouraging our partners to follow our example. • Adopting a common sense balance between ‘green’ products and their cost whilst being compatible with our core aims and objectives. 2.5 Green Travel Action has a clearly defined Transport policy which can be found on InterAction http://interaction/Handbook/Sec4/default.asp#45 which is compatible with this environmental policy and compliance with either policy will ensure compliance with the other. The relevant section from the Travel Policy states: • All business travel undertaken by staff will be completed on public transport unless it is not practical or is prohibitively costly to do so. This will support Actions commitment to reducing the volume of business miles driven and CO2 emissions made by private cars. • It is the responsibility of Managers of all sites to produce a ‘Green Travel Plan’ for their location, indicating the most environmentally friendly way of reaching them by road or rail and from all main directions. This travel plan will be made available to all service users, other visitors and will be posted on their InterAction page. • For further guidance on how to do this visit http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans/work/resourcepackemployers/ or speak to your local county council’s workplace travel plan coordinator. When considering the need for travel Managers are responsible for ensuring other communication methods are also considered, where they might exist, e.g. telephone, web or video conferencing Compliance with the organisation’s Transport policy is mandatory. 2.6 Learning by best practice • All teams will promote the sharing, exchange and transfer of knowledge of environmental good practice across the Organisation via the existing communication channels such as InterAction, InterMission, Daily Messages, Team meetings, Staff Forum, reports and office notice boards. • All teams will complete Appendix A at the end of this document, with details of local examples of environmental good practice and forward it to the national Environmental Policy Co-ordinator whose details are available from the Head of Facilities Management • Colleagues within the Organisation are encouraged to: o supply ideas of their own for helping the environment, o share their ideas with colleagues via the communication channels listed above, o actively seek to learn from other Teams, o implement ideas which have proved successful elsewhere in the Organisation within their own Teams. APPENDIX A Action location: List here details of local examples of environmental good practice which your team currently undertake and forward the completed Appendix to the Environmental Policy Co-Ordinator This appendix should be reviewed and updated at least annually END.