Environmental and Sustainability Policy

As a major UK-based charity, we recognise that our activities and operations can have a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, we are committed to taking steps to reduce our environmental impact and promoting sustainable practises across all our operations. As Sense International is a subsidiary charity of Sense, the principles of this policy are adopted by Sense International. This Environmental Policy sets out our guiding principles and objectives for our efforts to protect the environment.

“Our vision is to be carbon neutral by 2040”

Environmental Policy Principles

Our Environmental Policy will be guided by the following principles:

1. Continual Improvement: We are committed to continually improving our environmental performance by setting meaningful objectives, reducing our environmental impact, and promoting eco-friendly attitudes and behaviours.

2. Compliance: We will comply with all relevant environmental legislation, regulations, and best practises that apply to our operations.

3. Prevention of pollution: We will take measures to prevent, minimise, and control the pollution generated by our operations, products, and services.

4. Resource efficiency: We will promote the efficient use of natural resources, reducing waste and energy, and minimising our carbon emissions, water usage, and waste.

5. Community engagement: We will work with stakeholders, employees, volunteers, donors, partners, and the public to increase awareness of environmental issues, promote sustainable practises and impact positive change.

Objectives

Sense’s Environmental Policy aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Carbon neutrality: We will reduce our carbon emissions by promoting sustainable energy use, transport practises, and reducing waste, offsetting our remaining emissions through credible carbon credits.

2. Waste reduction: We will minimise the production of waste materials and maximise diversion from landfill. We will promote the use of reusables & recycling and responsible disposal of hazardous materials.

3. Sustainable Procurement: We will promote sustainable procurement practises by collaborating with vendors who meet our sustainability criteria and source eco-friendly and ethically produced products.

4. Sustainable activities: We will promote sustainable practises across our programmes and services by engaging in activities and projects that conserve resources, protect biodiversity, and support sustainable development Goals.

5. Community engagement: We will promote sustainable practices, raise awareness, and engage with our stakeholders through training, education, events, and other communication initiatives.

Implementation and review

We will implement the Environmental Policy by promoting a culture of environmental responsibility throughout our organisation. We will provide the necessary tools, training and resources required to assess and improve our environmental performance. We will review our policy regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and drive our environmental impact reduction journey. 

Environmental and sustainability statement

Property

  • We will use our strategic asset management principles to consider energy conservation when assessing the future viability of properties within our property portfolio.
  • We will consider energy efficiency when procuring new properties to purchase or lease.
  • We will endeavour to have energy surveys on all our properties that we own.
  • Where possible we will ensure that any planned maintenance works will use the opportunity to improve boilers, controls, insulation, LED lighting, etc.
  • We will consider the use of renewable energy sources such as solar arrays, wind turbines, etc where appropriate and where they are financially viable.

Facilities management

  • We will encourage our staff and service users to save energy through training, guidance, and overall participation in our ‘vision to be carbon neutral by 2040’.
  • We will encourage staff and people we support to recycle and re-use where appropriate. and ensure properties are set up accordingly to assist these activities.
  • We will assist our staff and people we support to create habitats that will encourage wildlife where possible.
  • We will encourage staff and people we support to use less plastic and more natural products.
  • We will encourage staff and people we support to reduce the use water where possible and provide water butts in gardens where appropriate.
  • We will encourage staff and people we support to use less chemicals and more natural products where appropriate.
  • We will reduce waste.

Procurement

  • We will consider environment and sustainability as a ‘quality’ factor in the selection of suppliers.
  • We will encourage the use of local businesses where appropriate.
  • We will specify environmentally friendly and sustainable materials where appropriate.

Fleet management

  • We will rationalise the size of the vehicle fleet to ensure it is at the most efficient level.
  • We will encourage the use of ‘pool’ cars where appropriate.
  • We will specify all new vehicles to be of Euro 6, hybrid, or electric where appropriate.
  • We encourage staff through incentives to purchase electric vehicles for private use and business use.

Transport

  • We will promote agile working, and online meetings to avoid/reduce unnecessary travel.
  • We are exploring options with regard to a salary sacrifice scheme for the purchase of electric vehicles.
  • We will promote schemes to encourage the use of cycles and public transport through loan schemes, etc.

We will monitor our carbon emissions from international travel (principally by Sense International staff), where possible reducing or combining long haul visits to multiple countries and using the ‘greenest’ flight option where feasible/ affordable.    

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