Carbon Neutral Policy

Reducing our impact on the environment

The Survey Initiative – our carbon management strategy

We are committed to reducing our impact on climate change. Our initial audit has established that our carbon footprint for 2010 was 4.64 tCO₂: We plan to initially offset these and then work in the long term to reduce our impact. We intend to audit our carbon emissions and calculate our footprint annually and review our progress against the actions set out below:

Actions:

1. Buy emission reduction to enable us to make real emission reductions now and to allow us to price the cost of carbon into our budgets.
2. Encourage all staff to undertake the ‘Cut carbon and cut costs’ training modules with the Carbon Trust to help raise awareness www.carbontrust.co.uk.
3. Ensure lights are turned off in areas when not in use and all lights are turned off at night and over the weekends.
4. Make use of natural light when possible. Use blinds only to direct the light to prevent glare rather than blocking light altogether.
5. Replace filament style light bulbs with energy saving lights.
6. Ensure that the heating thermostat is on the right level, so there is no need to open windows.
7. Turn down the heating thermostat to a maximum of 19 centigrade in winter months.
8. Programme heating systems to only come on to prevent frost over the holidays.
9. Ensure that radiators are not covered.
10. Book regular boiler checks, to ensure systems are working as efficiently as possible.
11. Increase the office building’s insulation and ensure that drafts are blocked.
12. Switch off computers, laptops and printers at source, when not in use.
13. Investigate changing to a green electricity supplier.
14. Repair dripping taps (especially hot water taps).
15. Only fill kettles with the required amount of water.
16. Install ‘save a flush’ bags in toilet cisterns.
17. Continue to conduct communications online to reduce paper usage and waste.
18. Provide a central waste and a central recycling point.
19. Ask suppliers for their green credentials during the tendering process.
20. Aim to source goods locally, where possible.
21. Aim where possible, to use video conferencing or telephone instead of travel.
22. For necessary trips, try where possible to use public transport, try to plan more than one meeting in the area.
23. Encourage staff to practice eco-driving techniques and ensure vehicles are maintained regularly.