Business in the Community ‘Walk the Talk’

Business in the Community established an Eco Team in March 2007.  The team meet regularly to plan and coordinate environmental activities. The Eco Team with the support of the whole organisation have developed the following initiatives to ensure Business in the Community NI ‘Walk the Talk’.

Developed an Environmental Policy and an Environmental Management System to BS8555 phase 3.

Focus on waste

• Huge focus on waste and recycling including, paper, compostable, plastic bottles, tins & cans, card, glass, shredded paper, ink/toner cartridges, general waste
• Business in the Community has a wormery for compostable food waste
• Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) is recycled through Extern Recycle
• Focus on reducing paper waste by moving to Duplex printing, reusing of scrap paper, in house/draft documents printed on the reverse of scrap paper

Focus on energy

• Green Electricity is purchased for the Belfast office
• Switch off policy to preserve energy in the office all lights and electrical equipment not in use
• Energy use is monitored and consumption is recorded (electricity and gas)
• Measure and benchmark the organisations Carbon Footprint
• Energy awareness posters and stickers are displayed throughout the office

Focus on transport

• Car sharing is promoted and a financial incentive is provided for staff who car share for business travel (5 pence per mile per passenger)
• NI Travel Wise car sharing scheme is promoted - www.carshareni.com
• Flexible working practices are promoted which allow staff to travel take advantage of travelling to work at off-peak times and using public transport
• Teleconferencing and Skype facilitates available
• Walking to work and meetings is actively encouraged
• Cycling is supported by the provision of loans for cycle purchase and payment of a mileage allowance to cyclists for business travel
• The use of public transport is encouraged.  Translink journey planner is linked on the Intranet
• Staff can take advantage of loans or discounts for the purchase of Translink season tickets
• Trialled WhizzGo, a use and pay by the hour car service aimed at reducing business transport costs, reducing risks for employers and offering a greener alternative to business travel – however WhizzoGo withdrew services from NI
• Sustainable transport is provided for Business in the Community events (where appropriate)
• We monitor the organisations business travel, both car miles and plane miles

Focus on procurement

• Local suppliers are used where possible
• Energy efficient equipment is purchased
• Fair Trade tea and coffee is purchased for the office   
• Recycled or FSC accredited paper is purchased where possible
• Resource, the cleaning contractor, use environmentally friendly cleaning materials

Focus on biodiversity

• A garden area has been developed with plants and flowers
• As a team building activity in September 2009 the BITCNI team took part in a beach clean at Minorstown
• Annually a garden/car park clean up organised

 Focus on water

• Water butt in the garden to collect rain water which is used to water the plants

Focus on raising awareness

• Developed an environmental communication campaign by introducing an environmental section on the website, Intranet and internal notice board
• Eco Tips are emailed to staff regularly
• In October 2009 all staff were challenged to take an Environmental Pledge
• Regular environmental focused workshops for staff