Environmental and carbon reduction statement

We’re actively reducing our carbon emissions by adapting the way we work and making use of digital tools and connectivity. We’re reducing our carbon emissions through our hybrid and agile approach to our service delivery and have committed to reduce carbon emissions in the following ways:

We operate on a home-working model. All our staff are given high-quality laptops and phones and are not required to commute to an office. We estimate that by staff being home-based, we have saved approximately 1 million commuter miles per year on journeys which would have previously been made by private car. 

By delivering our services through a hybrid model or remote and face-to-face support, not only will we reduce staff travel when face-to-face support is not required, but we’ll also reduce client travel, further reducing carbon emissions. 

Where we need to have a hub or a base for service delivery, our co-location approach maximises the use of existing community organisations and services, reducing the requirement of multiple office bases and additional energy use, including energy wasted through heating and lighting infrequently used spaces or buildings.

We actively encourage staff to take public transport or travel on rail services for longer distances. Many of our staff live locally within the communities they support and will walk or cycle to appointments. Taxis are discouraged and only authorised in exceptional circumstances. Private car use is discouraged where reasonable public transport options are available. 

However, for some of our service delivery and in some locations, in particular when providing advocacy across rural or highly dispersed communities, travel by private car is the only reasonable option. In such cases, and where there is more than one staff member travelling to and from a location, we encourage car-sharing to reduce carbon emissions. We’re committed to supporting shifts to lower carbon cars and continue to be open to exploring how we can support our staff to reduce carbon emissions while delivering high-quality and timely services.

Our policy is not to take internal flights within mainland England, Scotland or Wales. For some Scottish islands, flights are the only practical way to travel to deliver an effective service so we’ll authorise flights in these specific circumstances. Only in an exceptional circumstance would an internal flight be approved. Attending an internal meeting or planned event would not be considered an exceptional circumstance.

We’ve reduced the demand for printed resources by providing high-quality digital alternatives. Our website hosts a range of information about advocacy and our services for professionals, clients and families. We also provide digital-first self-advocacy toolkits and guides and an online referral process. People do not need to print out forms to make referrals as our online process is quick, easy and automatically processed through our contact centre. Through our digital-first materials, we will continue to reduce paper use, supporting better biodiversity and natural carbon capture.

Over recent years, it’s been well documented that delivery and courier services have led to increased road traffic and emissions. The reduced demand for printed materials not only means we’ll continue to reduce paper-use, but we’ll also continue to reduce carbon emissions from postal transportation.