services

CSR

These are just a few of our tips on how to start making your business and events easier on the environment - and on your bottom line.

We'd love to hear yours. Please contact us if you would like to contribute.

The 3 Rs: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle

You and your business

Your events

Become more energy efficient:

1.	Use solar re-chargers for mobile equipment
2.	Use low energy light bulbs (replacing just one saves you around £10 a year)
3.	Contact your utility company for a free energy audit
4.	Turn off lights/equipment when not in use
5.	Look for the energy saving label on new electrical appliances, A=most efficient
6.	Drive your vehicle more efficiently and turn engine off when stationary
7.	The UK uses a forest the size of Wales each year to produce paper: Set printers to double sided, use paper with a recycled content, reuse paper for drafts and recycle all paper
8.	Get staff on board by creating a Green Team and holding an educational and fun 'Environment Day'
9.	What can be donated or recycled? Mobile phones, computers, furniture, printer cartridges, and much more
10.	Share car journeys - public transport uses half the amount of fuel per passenger than an average car
11.	Instead of a water machine - install a water filter to the mains tap
12.	Choose a coffee machine with minimal packaging
13.	Clearly label recycling bins and boxes with the type of waste to be deposited
14.	Increase staff awareness by placing stickers around the office/on equipment eg. 'switch it off', 'close it down'

1.	Measure, store and understand your carbon emissions
2.	Promote the Waste Not Want Not principles at your venue
3.	Set some green targets for your event and get everyone on board to support
4.	Avoid plastics
5.	Buy organic, GM free and Fair Trade
5.	Buy energy efficient
7.	Buy recycled
8.	Choose venues with good 'green' credentials and work together to achieve your targets
9.	Cut waste and recycle: seek sponsors to provide recycling bins
10.	Source ethically produced promotional merchandise
11.	Plan catering carefully to avoid waste, cut down on disposables and items with packaging, e.g. instead of milk jiggers use jugs
12.	Consider whether people have to attend the event in person of if there is an on-line / live broadcast solution?
13.	Use special paper embedded with wildflowers for invites, thank-yous and wrapping paper
14.	Replace fresh flower decorations with potted plants or use edible table centre pieces
15.	Maximise the use of electronic invites and registrations

Am I doing my best/enough/anything on reducing my environmental impact?
What have my policies achieved in the last 12 months?
Have I set targets for carbon reduction?
Is our current approach based more on aspiration than achievement?
Check your office energy bills. Businesses typically receive estimates for gas and electricity and rarely read the meter readings for actual consumption figures. You could potentially be in credit, if you haven’t read your meters for a while.

What is your greatest achievement in sustainable service delivery in the last 12 months?
How can you evidence your 'green' claims?
What is your emissions reduction policy?
Do you measure waste output?
Do you use recycled materials?
What is your recycling policy?
Do you have a procurement policy based upon environmental criteria?
Do you use local producers for catering - to reduce food miles?
Do you have a fair trade, ethical and organic policy?