Church House Whitby : Sustainability

Sustainability Statement

Church House Whitby acknowledges that its activity and operations influence the local, regional and global environment.

To minimise the impact of this effect Church House Whitby is committed to making continuing improvements in environmental performance and preventing pollution. In making this commitment, we will aim to meet the requirements of current environmental regulations, laws and codes of practice as a minimum standard.

This policy will be implemented and monitored by means of a coordinated environmental management system incorporating policies, procedures and working arrangements that will address numerous environmental work streams.

We are specifically targeting 4 key objectives:

Minimise the use of energy, resources consumed, and waste produced while undertaking our business activities in a safe and professional manner.

We will:

Install LED lightbulbs for all office lighting
As office, electrical/electronic equipment requires renewal, we will replace these with ‘Energy Star’ rated equipment manufactured in a carbon-neutral facility

Support the reduction, reuse and recycling of materials and ensure the legal disposal of all waste arising from the activities of the business.

Use ‘FSC’ (C015522), recycled paper, carbon-neutral paper, printing only when absolutely necessary.

Reduce our Carbon Footprint AND Influence our suppliers to reduce their impact on the environment
We will:

We will regularly review our environmental management system at senior management level with a view to continually improving our environmental performance. The policy is briefed out to all employees. It is also issued to suppliers, sub-contractors (as appropriate) and is also available to all clients and to the local community when requested. The policy is reviewed annually, or sooner should any changes occur.

Our Commitment

Church House Whitby will put in place policies, procedures and measures to plan and deliver improvements in each of the eight workstreams as detailed in the following sections.

Energy use: We will

Make use of sustainable and environmentally safe energy sources where practicable.
Inform and encourage staff to reduce energy consumption.
Continually invest in improving the energy performance of its assets.

Premises: We will

Provide a safe and environmentally friendly environment for staff.
Employ an environmentally sustainable approach to all new developments and refurbishments, where reasonable.
Protect visual amenity and biodiversity by careful planning of all new developments, in furtherance of this the Company will cooperate with Local Authority Directors in support of sustainable development strategies.

Resource consumption: We will

Minimise our impact on the environment by adopting a process of sustainable procurement.
Choose suppliers who show an awareness of the environmental effect of their products and transportation.
Encourage conservation of resources by their efficient use and careful planning of its activities.

Targets and objectives: We will

Set environmental targets and goals to enable monitoring of progress and to assist in improving environmental performance..

Training and awareness: We will

Put in place appropriate training and provide guidance to ensure that all staff understand the environmental impact of their actions at work and to ensure that environmental policies, procedures and working arrangements are properly implemente.
Make the Company’s environmental policy and associated guidance readily available to all staff via the Church House Whitby information board.

Travel: We will

Seek to minimise the effects of operational travel by management of logistics.
Aim to reduce mileage where possible through journey efficiencies.
Develop and further implement its transport plan and will assist and support staff in making use of environmentally sound travel opportunities where appropriate.

Directors Commitment

The Directors of Church House Whitby carries overall responsibility for implementation of the Environmental Policy on behalf of Church House Whitby and as part of our overall commitment towards effective environmental management.

The Directors are responsible for ensuring that the Environmental Policy is effectively implemented. In particular, the Directors should ensure that workstream action plans are developed, implemented and progressed to contribute towards achieving the aims and objectives of Church House Whitby Business Plan and achievements regularly monitored and reviewed.

Managers’ Commitment

Managers are responsible for ensuring that directly managed staff are made aware of Church House Whitby environmental policy and of our commitment towards environmental management. Staff should be encouraged to participate in and fully support environmental initiatives and to put forward suggestions for environmental improvements. Managers should:

Reinforce the need for staff to minimise energy and utility usage by observing good housekeeping measures.
Support staff in undertaking environmental training as appropriate.
Assist staff in accessing and implementing environmental guidance.
contribute towards minimising the effect of operational travel by management of logistics and journey efficiencies
support staff seeking to make use of environmentally friendly alternative travel opportunities, e.g. walking or cycling to work, car sharing and public transport
Encourage staff to minimise the production of waste and maximise the reuse and recycling of waste materials.