We've been doing our bit for the environment over the last few years, so we thought we'd tell you about what has gone into our green initiative (so far!):
As you know, we at Enable2 have a clear and historically proven commitment to reducing inequalities across the UK through our cost-saving and efficiency improvements for customers and our commitment to Social Value. Our Community Investment Fund has helped over 15 organisations and reached over 200 individuals in the last 12 months alone... Not too bad for an SME!
But did you know that we have a deep commitment to environmental sustainability on every level of our organisation? From working closely with other organisations who share our passion for the environment to going paper-free, we audit everything that we do to ensure that it has maximum environmental impact. All of this is part of our company-wide movement towards net-zero emissions.
Retaining our ISO14001 accreditation is crucial for us. This accreditation, in short, proves that all of our internal systems are set up to meet the high standards of environmental management criteria expected by the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO).
Sure, our operations are certified, but what else do we do to stay green?
We’ve broken it down for you:
Sustainable materials:
We’re a bunch of recyclers here at Enable2. We understand that paper and plastics are unfortunately unavoidable. Because of this, we’ve given all our staff members a crash course in how to properly recycle what they have and what they would need to throw in general waste. We now have clearly marked recycling bins in every room… and none of them are more than a few steps away. We’ve noticed a massive increase in recycling since we’ve pushed this initiative, and it’s working a treat.
We’ve made the move to be a paper-free office and encourage all those who work with us to be as paper-free as possible. We have a ‘think before you print’ initiative and we’ve digitised as much as we possibly can, all while continuing to try and find innovative ways to reduce our need for paper and plastics. Even our interpreters sign-off sheets are digital.
Energy/Fuel:
From the energy supplier that we use to the lightbulbs that brighten up our office, we’ve ensured that our energy use is eco-friendly from start to finish. All our office staff work from home 2 days a week, meaning that we’re saving a bunch of energy by not even having these eco-lights on!
When we started our flexible work-from-home policy we issued all office staff with laptops and donated our desktop PC’s to One In A Million Free School. Not only does this drastically increase our portability, but did you know that using a laptop uses approximately 30% less energy than a desktop PC?
Our flexible work-from-home policy also means that we’re saving a ton (or several tons) on carbon emissions. We’ve worked out that in the last 12 months alone, through our work-from-home policy and us encouraging the use of public transport, our office staff alone have saved over 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere (and that’s a conservative estimate). With the UK average being approximately 10 tonnes per person per year, we think we’re doing a good job.
Air:
Not only is having plants around the office very pretty, but it’s also good for the air that we breathe. Even just having a few plants around the office vastly improves the air that we breathe and helps filter nasty chemicals out of the air and make it a nicer place for us all to work, making sure that we are working our hardest on all your bookings!
We’ve already touched on this, but we encourage the use of public transport across the board for both our office staff and our amazing bank of interpreters who are always on the move. This is something that we know has a very positive impact on reducing air pollution in our atmosphere.