Our New Leaf Initiative
The Vision
Our vision is to become a sustainable and environmentally ethical organisation.
The Mission
To adapt and adopt processes and systems within our business that are sustainable with minimal environmental impact.
Our current situation
As the starting point for this initiative, we have conducted a comprehensive review of our business and processes. The below highlights some of the key processes and business practices that will need to be addressed:
Now
Paper heavy, timesheets, training materials, expenses and invoices
Some of the solutions
A new timesheet portal, HR website for expenses, electronic training materials, reusable notepads, Teams, and the use of virtual meetings, flexible working, EV fleet cars, Cycle to work scheme options, public transport incentives and electronic invoicing only.
Future
Timesheet portal launched, convert training materials, transfer existing clients to the timesheet portal, training for staff on expenses, cycle to work scheme in place, public transport incentive in place, confirm a flexible working policy, use carbon neutral merchandise and test electronic notepads.
The maths bit
As well as reducing our environmental impact, making some fundamental changes to how we work will mean we also benefit from cost savings to our business that can be put towards our New Leaf Fund. Clients who engage with this initiative will also benefit from cost savings.
Timesheets:
Volume use of paper (timesheets = currently used printing timesheets
Invoicing & Accounts
Print this many per week at a cost of Purchase ledger – prints X invoices at cost of Y per page = £cost
Consultants
Consultants use pen and paper for making notes, expenses are done on paper.
Training materials
Training materials have always been available electronically, but we’ve also printed them out for classroom-style sessions. Number of consultants x Y training manuals of Z pages = £cost
Our Carbon footprint
Pandemic Effect has given us a positive learning positive curve, found other ways to work with clients and colleagues. Previously many miles travelling offices and sites (South Wales, South West, and South Coast). Client meeting. 40 sq m. Commuting to the office. Not brilliant public transport. Ask Rob about Plymouth.
Partnerships Make Perfect
We have been fortunate to form relationships with partner organisations that will help make our New Leaf Initiative impactful and meaningful.
Co-Forest.
Co-forest was conceived by Bath-based digital technology agency, Storm Consultancy.
Now its own legal entity, Co-forest has since partnered with and received advice from environmental experts to assist the Co-forest in the creation of its inaugural forest Co-forest: Acorn and in developing a blueprint for the future. We’d like to thank both the Woodland Trust and Forest of Avon Trust for their advice and support.
Co-Forest has a mission to bring people together and create a Co-forest near their town or city. They believe that through collective action they can engage people across the UK to lead by example and plant their very own forest legacy.
Our conclusion
In the beginning, we listed our values as action, dedicated as a unified business that we will demonstrate integrity, and dedication to this project by taking a unified approach. Prove this by providing transparent and honest updates via Linking back into our values, commit to along the way of producing vlogs, public updates, posts on our website, detailing our journey through this initiative. Impact reports, send our newsletter to clients thanking for contribution saving this amount themselves.