Climate emergencies have now been declared by councils and governing bodies across the length and breadth of the UK. What this means is that it puts each organisation on record for taking more extreme action to reverse global warming, acknowledging that previous measures were simply not enough.
PECT has had the opportunity to work with numerous organisations looking to declare a climate emergency – from city councils to professional bodies – in order to help them recognise the urgent need to speed up action on climate change, and discover how to achieve their desired results.
We’re currently working with the Peterborough City Leadership Forum to gain commitment from local leaders and businesses on environmental pledges that they’ll be driving forward in their organisations from 2020 and beyond. The four pledges comprise:
- Signing up to Share Peterborough; an online resource sharing platform that facilitates a circular approach. Through exchanging products, skills and services, the aim is to help create a city that is a better place to live, work and invest in.
- Making workplaces single-use plastic free. Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. Single-use plastics are a particular problem due to their mass consumption, incorrect disposal and short-use yet long lifecycle.
- Working towards doubling nature. Thousands of UK wildlife and plant species are in decline so Doubling Nature, supported by Natural Cambridgeshire, aims to increase wildlife habitats and green space in both new and existing developments.
- Aiming to be zero waste. Every year around 3.2 million tonnes of waste is sent to landfill in the UK. Can your workplace commit to not sending anything to landfill for a month? This can be achieved by reducing unnecessary purchases, buying sustainable and recyclable products, and then by recycling them!
PECT has already had an impact by supporting businesses with environmental accreditation or by catalysing investment in clean technologies to reduce their carbon emissions.
A good majority of this work has been achieved through PECT’s national green accreditation scheme, Investors in the Environment (iiE), which aims to set the standard for sustainable business practices across the UK.
iiE was created to give organisations the support needed to meet their green targets. By putting together a credible Environmental Management System (EMS), the scheme enables businesses to cut carbon, reduce their impact on the environment, and involve staff in securing operational efficiencies.
Organisations are accredited for taking substantive action on resource use, cutting carbon emissions, and by contributing to their communities. The step-by-step approach within each accreditation level allows organisations to set achievable targets and establish a pathway of continual improvement.
Looking forwards, there is much work to be done to help UK businesses make the transition to more sustainable ways of working. Get in touch if you’d like help and support by calling 01733 568408 or by visiting www.iie.uk.com.