Green Investors in the Environment once again!
We’re pleased to share that we’ve retained our Investors in the Environment ‘Green’ level accreditation for the third year running, thanks to the dedication of our team striving to make our spaces healthier and even more nature-friendly.
Following our annual audit, we retained Green level accreditation with a score of 82% – 10% high than last year! To achieve Green level, organisations need to demonstrate continual improvement through the implementation of their Environmental Management System, working towards a minimum 2% efficiency improvement year-on-year.
The Investors in the Environment annual audit assesses five key areas:
- Environmental Policy
- Resource Management and Monitoring
- Progress against targets
- Action planning including social / environmental projects
- Communication
Here are some highlights from the audit report:
- We scored 95% for leadership and governance, showing that our green policy is embedded across the organisation and we’re working well together, with staff, leadership and trustees aware of what we are trying to achieve.
- We showed excellent reductions in both electricity, paper and water use over the past year – with a 13% drop in grid-supplied electricity, primarily due to the impact of the newly installed solar panels.
- We were praised for continuing to communicate with the public and our partners in a positive and inclusive way, helping to education and inform them about the natural environment and its benefits as we do so.
Improvements needed:
- Moving to having a smart metre for water could help with recording water usage.
- We continue to battle the challenge of trying to encourage the general public to sort their waste and recycling across our spaces
- Encouraging staff to lift share to work where possible
There’s always more to do so we are taking the recommended actions on our report forward to try and further improve our sustainability across the organisation and hope to stay at Green level again next time!
