Our charity is committed to improving sustainability in its practices and is working hard to lessen its impact on the environment.
Despite the many challenges faced – from making sure temperatures in our nursing homes are conducive to the health and wellbeing of our residents to maintaining a therapeutic 35.8 degrees at our Alan Shearer Centre hydrotherapy pool – we are making a difference.
Since setting up our Environmental Group in mid-2023 to provide a framework for action, we have achieved Level 1 Green Mark across our full range of services and four of our services are already accredited to Level 2. Green Mark is an internationally recognised, independent accreditation over three levels that helps organisations measure, manage and reduce their environmental impact.
The many small changes we’re making all add up to making a big difference, including:
- Recycling waste paper, using recycled paper for printing and actively discouraging unnecessary printing
- Using plant-based toner and recycling spent toner cartridges
- Replacing lighting with energy efficient LED units
- Having a purchasing policy which encourages buying local products and services wherever possible
- Introducing a cycle to work scheme to encourage staff to travel more sustainably
- Using an eco-friendly waste disposal company to reduce the waste we send to landfill
- Planting a dozen trees in our head office grounds to improve wildlife diversity
“We’re pleased to be making steady progress with our environmental improvements,” said Director of Compliance, Gill, “but we recognise there is a lot of work to do and that lessening our impact on the environment is a continuous commitment.
“We’d like to thank the organisations that have guided our progress to date and are grateful to our staff teams for their support in helping us to make a difference.”
