CIT Magazine

As part of your work towards CSR there are many things that you as a business could do to make a start on improving our climate. Simply joining up to a campaign only takes a couple of minutes but could make a big difference, for example, the Rainforest SOS Campaign.

The Prince's Rainforests Project is working alongside governments, businesses and non-profit organisations to raise awareness of the effect that deforestation is having on our climate and to find solutions to this increasingly growing problem. The project is constantly working to push the need for urgent action to stop deforestation.

With the joining of more and more members who can provide help and support, the project will grow in confidence and become closer and closer to reaching its goal, which ultimately will help us all in the long run.

Take a couple of minutes out of your day to make a difference.

To find out more information about The Prince's Rainforests Project go to www.rainforestsos.org

Management of resources is an increasingly important topic from a global perspective. You may have heard of the 4 R’s of waste reduction; Recycle, Reuse, Reduce and Remove. Waste reduction could include the reuse of second hand products, repairing of broken items instead of buying new or designing products to be refillable or reusable.

Recycling in the UK already saves the equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions of taking 3.5 million cars off our roads which is a real step to improving our climate.

Things to consider when thinking about your waste:
1. If you can’t reduce, reuse or recycle you waste, maybe your local authority or local community can.
2. Try to recruit a group a green volunteers who will help to manage the waste during and after the event.
3. Make sure you provide plenty of recycling bins so that the bins don’t get too full, otherwise people will just place rubbish in the wrong bin.
4. Ask vendors not to bring polystyrene as this is not recyclable and will end up contaminating your recycling stream.
5. Educate your guests by explaining that you event is a ‘sustainable event’ and ask for their help to make the event a success by recycling right.

Healthy eating and sustainability are no longer just ‘boxes to tick’ they are all now high on our customer’s agendas. It is very important that you are choosing a caterer who reflects these values as this can instantly reduce your food miles and carbon footprint. Simply choosing a local caterer with local food sources can make all the difference.

By asking your caterer the right questions, you can find out whether they are the best company to work with towards your sustainable objectives.

Top Sustainability questions to ask your caterer:
1. Do you use mostly seasonal produce?
2. Do you use fairly traded goods e.g. coffee and tea?
3. Is your produce locally sourced?
4. Are you able to provide bulk food rather than individually packaged food to save on waste? 5. Can you offer tap water instead of bottled water to save on transportation and recycling of bottled water? If bottled water is unavoidable, buy water in biodegradable corn-based bottles or, as a last resort, ensure the bottles are recycled.
6. Do you have a recycling scheme in place e.g. composting both on site and off site?
7. Do you use reusable crockery, glassware, cutlery, tablecloths etc where possible?
If disposables are unavoidable, use paper or wooden recyclables, or biodegradable plastics.

Top tip: Have attendees sign up for meals in advance to reduce wastage and ask which sessions they plan to attend e.g. morning, afternoon or both.

The Rippleffect initiative is free and can benefit businesses of all sizes in England. Every workplace can reduce its water consumption to some degree, and there are always improvements to be made! For example, a simple change in a daily task can make a difference, such as, providing tap water at an event instead of bottled water. Its simple and it saves you money.

So, whether your business is office-based, a hotel or restaurant with washrooms and kitchen facilities, or a factory with processing lines, the Rippleffect can help you reduce water use and save money.

Companies can save around 30% on their water and effluent bills by joining the Rippleffect

By reducing water consumption you can also reduce the carbon footprint of your business, for example, for every 1m3 of water saved, you will save approximately 1 kg of CO2 equivalent.

For more information see contact Envirowise or see: http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/category.aspx?o=Rippleffect