Our latest annual Zero to Landfill certificate has revealed we have reduced our non-recyclable waste.
This comes during the #Do1Thing campaign which was launched earlier this year by the Reach PLC network of websites and newspapers to encourage people to tackle climate change. The campaign urges people and businesses to do one thing to make a difference.
Reducing our waste
Our non-recyclable waste has reduced to 3.2 tonnes from 3.57 tonnes, according to our recycling partner, Printwaste. In 2019 we took away individual desk bins and introduced different recycling bins for our cardboard, plastic and foodwaste.
Our corporate social responsibility policy has for many years stated that our paper is shredded and recycled. Our non-recycled waste is taken away by Printwaste and converted to energy. They crunch our recycling numbers and express the saving as the number of teas or coffees which can be made. For 2019 it was enough to invite the whole of Cheltenham for a cuppa as well as a third of our neighbours in Gloucester! That’s a whopping 161,000 cups of tea or coffee.
Finding further ways to reduce waste is something we continue to strive to do. We also have a bin for crisp packets which are sent to a local recycling hub to raise money for charity, and our Randall & Payne branded pens are 90% recycled and 90% recyclable. We use refillable water bottles in our meeting rooms and use crockery in our café area.
Reducing our energy consumption
Other changes we have made include the use of an autofill hot water boiler rather than a kettle. Lights with sensors have been installed in our hall ways which turn off when not in use, our office equipment is turned off rather than being left on stand-by each evening, and we now use re-chargeable batteries.
Reducing our stress
We use Office Landscapes to supply and maintain our plants around the office – not only do they improve the air quality and therefore productivity, there are studies to show they reduce stress too! For the last couple of years we have ‘rented’ our Christmas tree from Cotswold Fir available from Primrose Vale just down the road.
Most recently we changed our milk supply from plastic to glass bottles from Cotteswold Dairy (although have had to temporarily stop deliveries whilst on lockdown), and in partnership with Wheatley’s Printers, we are supporting the Woodlands Trust and Carbon Catcher scheme in which trees are planted in the UK to capture the carbon.
We still have several ideas on our #Do1Thing list.
We would encourage every business to think about the changes they can make. If we all make small changes they start to add up and we can make a significant difference to our environment, with the added benefit of boosting employee engagement along the way.
Contact Fiona Hughes for more information by emailing marketing@randall-payne.co.uk or call 01242 776000.
