We are proud to have achieved our second recertification of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, supported by ISO Quality Services Ltd.
We first achieved this back in May 2022, which made official many years of taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment. Over the years we have ticked many of the boxes but being an office-based business it becomes more of a challenge and requires greater effort to reduce our environmental impact.
We have replaced the lights throughout the office with energy efficient lighting which we calculated would pay back within two years and as a result our electricity usage is decreasing (if you exclude the power required for the EV chargers). There are a few more electric vehicles in the car park including two electric vans belonging to one of our tenants, the Big Green Cleaning Company.
With clients using Xero and our secure document sharing software, remote access to the numbers is quick and easy for clients and staff alike, so we are also making less car journeys to visit clients for meetings. We do however value meeting with clients face to face as it helps to cement our relationship as well as to better understand their business and identify any new opportunities for them. We will never cut out these visits, and are equally happy for anyone to drop in to our offices for a coffee and a chat, because face to face is also valued by our clients.
We have shown a reduction in many of the other areas we are tracking each month as well, such as printer usage and buying stationery. We continue to print less due to moving to paperless working paper software several years ago which means we buy less paper, use the printers less and don’t post out as many letters, which all has a positive knock-on effect.
Our Zero to Landfill data from Printwaste shows our waste reducing over time, replacing individual desk bins with central office recycling and general waste bins several years ago. Our continued use of refillable glass bottles rather than plastic for example is far better for the environment. We are still recycling ‘non-recyclable’ waste in the form of crisp packets, using a local group who collect and send packages to Terracycle to raise money for charity.
The next changes need to be planned over the coming years such as replacing the old windows throughout the building to prevent drafts and become more energy efficient as a result. We also have plans to replace the boiler with a new energy efficient heating system further down the line and perhaps solar panels at some point in the future.
As a firm we are rightly proud of our achievements and will continue to do our bit for the environment and community. We are keen to work with like-minded partners and suppliers and have found this to be the mindset of many of our clients.
Tim Watkins is Managing Partner and is more than happy to talk to any clients about our ISO certification – please call 01242 776000 or email tim.watkins@randall-payne.co.uk to arrange a convenient time.
