Andrew Jackson
Running a regional climate conference gave Andrew Jackson’s own internal Green Team the motivation to try and change the firm’s own working practices to become more environmentally friendly.
Sometimes one giant step can effect change, but it also takes a lot of smaller steps to ensure that the momentum of change doesn’t fade. At Andrew Jackson we decided to run a climate conference to discuss the effect new legislation, expected working practices and the general public have on business. We wanted to bring together experts who could provide businesses with the information they need in order to become more environmentally friendly. We also wanted to get sponsors on board to help us engage more fully with the local business community and open up the debate.
The concept soon became a reality and we secured some impressive speakers including: Julian Walker-Palin, Corporate Policy Manager for Asda Wal*Mart; Niall Enright; Director for Climate Change Strategy at RPS Group Plc; Angela Todd; Sustainable Development Manager for Resource Efficiency at Yorkshire Forward and Dr David Clavert, Manager of Environmental Technologies at the Centre for Industrial Collaboration. Gary Gallen the Head of Corporate Investigations and Governance Unit at Andrew Jackson also spoke about the impact of regulation and governance on managing climate change.
The event attracted a lot of media interest, with two regional newspapers, three radio stations and two television stations running stories about the conference. We had 15 stands showcasing solar panels through to hybrid cars to over 70 delegates. Overall, the conference and the evening dinner were judged a success by the delegates, sponsors and supporters.
The conference gave our small internal Green Team the drive and motivation to change the firm’s own working practices to be more environmentally friendly and to try out some new initiatives. The five-person Green Team was first set up in November 2007. Today it has its own dedicated pages on the intranet providing links to useful websites and "Facts of the Week". It also features reports on environmental initiatives being trial run across the firm. For example:
• Switch Off Campaign - posters and stickers and guidance to highlight the impact of electronic equipment were posted around the firm, and we hope to see a reduction in our energy usage over the coming months.
• Removing individual waste paper bins - not only saving hundreds of bin liners a week, but also encouraging the recycling of paper and plastic.
• Initiatives in the pipe line include running a voluntary car sharing scheme for employees and reduce waste paper campaign.
It hasn’t been easy, but it’s certainly been worth it. It has been vital at every stage that our staff have been consulted and engaged with. Encouraging them to consider new initiatives and getting feedback on ideas before implementation has been key to success. One of the major obstacles facing the Green Team was how to measure whether the initiatives were successful. Being one of several tenants in a building meant it was difficult to assess our energy savings, but we have now come to an agreement with our landlord, which means we can get useful data from meter readings. We faced some opposition around removing the bins, but overall it has been successful. We had to reinstate bins in some offices, but we now ensure that they are only used for dry non-recyclable waste. This means they can simply be emptied rather than bin liners being replaced every evening, and just act as a supplement to the communal bins and recycling areas.
We feel the key to success is promoting the small initiatives taking place across the firm, and encouraging other departments to 'give them a go'. As with many businesses, there are some things in the building that we can’t change due to the lease, but we are working together with our landlord to further reduce water usage and provide more recycling space.
Andrew Jackson are not "Greener than Green", but we recognise that our business does have an impact on the environment and we have a responsibility to address that. Our initiatives are not for the benefit of our clients, they are for our benefit as a firm. Staff are concerned about the issue and by engaging with them we can ensure a better working environment, at the same time as reducing our collective impact.
For more information email mat.breakell@andrewjackson.co.uk or look at www.eyhclimateconf.co.uk