Overview
Shropshire Community Foundation aims to ensure that throughout our operations we maintain a strict ethical and environmental code of conduct. We encourage our service users and supporters to also engage in an ethical and environmentally sound way of working, and for such reasons it is right that we lead from the front.
This policy is broadly broken down into two areas. The first seeks to detail our environmental impact and the way in which we can work to reduce the harmful impact and maximise our benefits to the community. The second area relates to our more general business practices and in particular the guidelines on how we will work with partner organisations, supporters and sponsors. Throughout the policy there is a commitment to working with local organisations and to support local communities and local businesses and suppliers.
We will make this policy available to the public via our website, review it at least once every 2 years, and update it as is necessary.
Environmental Impact
The Community Foundation believes that all organisations are responsible for achieving good environmental practice and operating in a sustainable manner. We are therefore committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral and fundamental part of our business strategy and operating methods.
It is our priority to encourage our clients, suppliers and all business associates to do the same, and support them wherever possible in such actions. Not only is this sound commercial sense for all; it is also a matter of delivering on our duty of care towards future generations.
Our policy is to
- Wholly support and comply with, or exceed the requirements of, current environmental legislation and codes of practice.
- Minimise our waste and then reuse or recycle as much of it as possible.
- Minimise energy and water usage in our buildings, vehicles and processes in order to conserve supplies, and minimise our consumption of natural resources, especially where they are non-renewable.
- Operate vehicles with due regard to environmental issues as far as reasonably practical and encourage the use of alternative means of transport and car sharing as appropriate.
- Apply the principles of continuous improvement in respect of air, water, noise and light pollution from our premises and reduce any impacts from our operations on the environment and local community.
- As far as possible purchase products and services that do the least damage to the environment and encourage others to do the same.
- Assess the environmental impact of any new processes or services we intend to introduce in advance.
- Use local suppliers wherever possible, to not only reduce the environmental impact, but also to support our local community.
In order to help achieve this, the following actions will be undertaken;
Printing & Expendables
- We will print only what is needed;
- Use scrap paper, including for printing, if it is not confusing to do so;
- Photocopy only relevant documents/pages
- Make double-sided photocopies;
- Make changes to digital documents before printing
- Buy recycled paper where appropriate
- Buy recycled or replenished ink or toner for printing devices, unless this impacts on performance
- Use e-mail as opposed to physical post where appropriate
- Use appropriate sized envelopes
Energy Efficiency & Conservation
- Ensure all electronic devices are run in energy saving mode
- Ensure all electronic devices are switched off, or powered down, when not in use
- Ensure all lights are switched off when not in use
- Email phone messages;
- Use renewable energy sources wherever possible
