The Green Dream Thursday, 14 June 2007

Why are we going green? Part of our 2005 – 2010 strategy “Develop and implement internal environmental and ethical procurement policies so as to ensure congruence between our public policies and our internal actions”

Why are we going green? Part of 2005 – 2010 AAUK Strategy Media interest in NGOs approach Accountability

The journey so far . . . Policy Carbon Quick Wins Recycling

Christian Aid's Carbon Footprint

Aims of the Group Produce a ‘top level’ Environmental and Ethical Procurement Policy which outlines ActionAid UK’s overarching objectives Produce strategies for implementing these objectives and targets to measure success

5 Core Principles Reduce our level of consumption (energy & materials) Reuse, repair and recycle (in that order) Only purchase products that meet strict environmental and social criteria Use most sustainable form of transport, and Purchase the most sustainable form of energy

Use of Materials and Waste Reduce our level of consumption wherever possible Reuse, repair and recycle (in this order) Procure our supplies from ethical sources wherever possible

Transport Reduce our level of consumption wherever possible Use the most sustainable form of transport wherever possible Offset carbon emissions

Energy Reduce our level of consumption wherever possible Purchase the most sustainable form of energy wherever possible

5? QUICK WINS Introduction

Posters Signs in meeting rooms encouraging users to switch off lights when not in use

Sleep mode Printers & Photocopiers in sleep mode when not in use

Switches Timer switches on all printers and photocopiers Programmed to switch on by 8AM Programmed to switch off by 9PM Estimated annual savings of £851 = fees for 20 students in junior secondary school in Ghana for 1 year Estimated carbon saving = 6.2 tonnes/yr

Replace old PC monitors Flat screen monitors can reduce monitor energy use by 60% – e.g. 15” flat screen = 25 watts of energy when operational, 3 watts in standby compared with 17” CRT (equiv. Viewing area) = 80 Watts when in use, 5 watts in standby Where possible, old CRT monitors have been replaced with flat screen monitors IS Dept. aim to replace all PC CRT monitors by end 2007/Q1 2008

Coming soon - PC Power Management Will apply when PC is inactive Monitor will go off after 10 minutes of idle time Hard disks will turn off after 30 minutes of idle time After 1hr of idle time PC will go into Standby mode  To re-activate PC, simply move the mouse or press the arrow keys on the keyboard It may take a second or two to respond.   A common mistake is to think your PC is off and to press the power switch - DO NOT DO THIS! No loss of data when PC is in sleep mode Implementation plan: floor by floor 1st floor - Monday 18 June 2nd floor – Thursday 21st June 3rd floor - Tuesday 26th June Chard – Monday 2nd July

Bonus Quick Win

Down to all of us! Turn everything off at the end of the day Turn off Computer base unit via PC start button: click on start button, choose shut down, Click on the Enter button. Done? No Turn off monitor - via on/off switch Unplug mobile phone charger Switch off light if not in use.. Night, night

Chard’s Update All fluorescent tubes used in overhead lighting are energy efficient/low energy All printers (other than production ones) have had timers fitted All staff who are able, shut down their PCs at night Hot water boiler in kitchen is switched off at weekends Staff are more aware of use of lights, switching off when not needed All scrap/excess materials are recycled at same time as confidential waste is destroyed We have the facility to recycle cardboard – we have to work further on feasibility/logistics of this Staff are encouraged to use thermostats on their radiators to regulate temperature when heating in operation

What A Load Of Rubbish!

What is the largest man-made structure visible from space?

But we have recycling bins…?

Paper White paper Coloured paper Envelopes – windows and all Newspaper Cardboard (including boxes so squash them down!) Junk mail – send it back!

Plastics & Cans Plastics - only bottles and cups- not food containers! Cans – food and drink The extra mile: Glass Carrier bags

Isn’t all this obvious? CONTAMINATION

Contamination Facts (1) We send out for recycling: 20 bags of paper (200-300kg) of paper 6 bags (30kg) of plastic 1 bag (10kg) of cans. If the bags are contaminated at this level, they are not recyclable….

Contamination Facts (2) Correct items must be put into the correct recycling bin Recycling companies must be able to recycle container loads. Sorting individual items is not commercially viable. If contamination is found, the batch is sent to landfill, or shipped to India, Indonesia or China, where it may be sorted and chemically cleaned by hand, or burned. One paper recycling company sends 9,000 tonnes of contaminants to landfill each year.

The Next Step We will be looking at ways to improve and increase the amount we can recycle Re-labelling the recycling bins

Wash it, squash it, rinse and squinse And put it in the bin Making sure, as many do It's the bin it should go in (Don't wash paper, by the way It makes it turn to mush The paper mill will do it later For that there is no rush) It's plastic bottles, cans and glass That need to be made clean So our bins don't smell, and all is well in the processer's machine If in doubt, then leave it out Don't chuck it in and hope Contaminate recycling And it's landfill, you dope It's everyone's responsibi- -lity to mitigate Our impact on the planet Before it is too late

greenscheme@actionaid.org

Any questions?