Discover Our Journey Towards Environmental Sustainability: Milestones, Achievements, and Future Goals

In 2023, we launched our Climate Action Hub to address climate change and spark conversations within the charity sector.

During our first year, we connected with various charities, including the Wildlife Trusts, WWF UK, and the RSPB. These discussions helped us understand climate change’s impact on charities and share effective ways to make a difference.

We also took time to reflect on our sustainability efforts and how we could adapt our operations to be more environmentally friendly. In this article, we share our journey toward becoming a greener charity.

Researching Sustainability

We kicked things off by researching how to enhance our sustainability. We examined what other organizations were doing and surveyed our team leaders to identify what could work for us. This research was crucial, especially since our team was small, with 15 to 25 employees, and we had no previous experience in sustainability.

We focused on seven key areas: leadership, finance, office practices, technology, partnerships, events, and culture. Our extensive research led to the report ‘Climate Change in the UK Charity Sector,’ revealing that 88% of charities were worried about climate change yet many hadn’t taken action. This finding reinforced the need for us to lead by example.

Forming an Environmental Committee

The idea for an Environmental Committee emerged from our internal survey. Other charities, like Marie Curie, had successfully implemented similar groups to help reduce their carbon footprints. Our committee started with four diverse members who met monthly to focus on impactful actions.

One of our first realizations was that, since our team primarily works remotely and relies on digital tools, going paperless was less urgent than minimizing our digital carbon footprint. We discovered that effective communication was key. We used a mix of:

• In-person presentations
• Team channel updates
• Regular online meeting discussions

Explaining our motivations behind sustainability initiatives was just as crucial as the actions we took. Holding in-person discussions allowed the committee to gather feedback and ideas from the entire team.

Creating an Environmental Policy

To ensure clarity and organization in our sustainability efforts, we decided to draft an environmental policy. We consulted policies from other charities and sought input from our team leaders.

Lowering Our Digital Carbon Footprint

As a digital-focused charity, measuring and reducing our digital carbon footprint was vital. The committee used Small99’s Digital Emissions Calculator to establish our current emissions and identify areas for improvement.

Optimizing Email Usage

We tackled our email habits next. Studies show that deleting just 50 old emails could save a significant amount of energy. We organized quarterly “Email Clean-Up” days to encourage the team to eliminate unneeded emails. We also recommended adding a line to email signatures to raise awareness about email emissions.

Furthermore, we worked to reduce the size of our mailing lists to cut down on outgoing emails.

Managing Storage Wisely

The Cloud consumes a lot of energy, often more than the airline industry. To lower our digital storage impact, we began by cleaning up our content management system by removing outdated content. In November 2024, we initiated a ‘Digital Clean-Up’ competition to inspire everyone to clear out old files.

Energy Savings and Waste Reduction

We operate from serviced offices through Resource for London, which emphasizes renewable energy, waste reduction, and water conservation. Our committee sought ways to implement energy-saving practices and reduce waste at the office.

We designed a poster to remind everyone to turn off lights and monitors and manage heating efficiently. We encouraged the team to switch off printers when not in use and added a scrap paper box for reusing partially used sheets.

We also explored making our events more sustainable by:

• Looking into carbon offsetting
• Reducing plastic use with recyclable food containers
• Gathering travel data to understand attendee emissions
• Ensuring proper recycling during events

Looking Ahead

Moving forward, the Environmental Committee will help teams implement our new Environmental Policy. We aim to track our sustainability progress through benchmarking and certification options.

We’re excited to be part of the Islington Sustainability Network, a collaborative group focused on addressing the climate crisis and advancing toward Zero Carbon. We eagerly anticipate the collaborations and insights we will gain.