How our sponsors challenge their connections

We asked our EAUC Annual Conference sponsors how they Challenged their Connections - this is what they said!

Carbon Credentials

Carbon Credentials is engaged in sustainability at a strategic level. We seek to form long-term relationships with our clients so that we can work with them towards a point where sustainability becomes fully embedded in their organisation. In terms of embedding sustainability more widely and in our own operations, some of our staff set up the Carbon Credentials Charity Initiative (3Ci), through which the company engages in charity events and volunteer time in order to give something back to local and international communities alike, thus contributing to the social side of sustainability. We also source all of our office and stationery supplies from vendors with the best green credentials.

Leafield Environmental

Leafield Environmental believe that recycling is at the heart of sustainability, we have the ability to manufacture in 100% recycled material and our products are recyclable at the end of their life. So our clients are not just purchasing a ‘product’ when they are buying from Leafield Environmental, you are in fact purchasing the tools to enable your company to recycle, which means that with every purchase made both Leafield Environmental and the purchaser are promoting the sustainability message.

Salix

Salix are using social media and digital marketing more than ever before as a platform to engage with the public sector directly. Salix delivered a webinar, hosted and in partnership with the EAUC on the Salix College Energy Fund (click here to see it). Salix also encourage the public sector to utilise the website as a platform to share knowledge. We promote this facility as an exchange for the public sector to receive technical support and look up previous projects that others have implemented.

We also hope to challenge connections by meeting with stakeholders at all levels and talking through how we can help to support clients on their carbon management plans. We host workshops around the UK for all organisations to come together and share ideas.

Salix hope that by supporting organisations in their energy efficiency projects and challenging their ability to deliver on their carbon management plan, that we are embedding sustainability ideals for future generations.

Interface

Over the last 20 years sustainability has become completely entrenched into the culture at Interface on a global scale. New staff are always informed of the strategic change of direction in 1994 and of Interface’s Mission Zero – to be the first organisation to have zero negative impact on the environment by 2020.

Monthly global communications are distributed about the progress made towards this goal and next steps.

Recent progress in Europe includes:

• 95% renewable energy (including gas and electricity) at the Scherpenzeel site from January 2014.
• Water use reduced by 86% per unit of production.
• GHG emissions reduced by 78% per unit of production.
• Literally Zero waste from Interface to landfill since May 2013.
• 40% recycled or bio-based raw materials.

Staff are also encouraged to take part in 3 levels of sustainability training after which they can become an Interface certified Sustainability Ambassador.

Interface is committed to product and supply chain transparency with Environmental Product Declarations, Data Sheets and Life Cycle Assessments all available on the website to compare with alternatives.

Our cross-sector collaborative project – Net-works – in which discarded fishing nets are recycled into nylon yarn for the benefit communities in the Philippines is currently expanding and demonstrates the Interface commitment to developing a sustainable and inclusive business model. Some years ago, Interface challenged our yarn suppliers Aquafil in relation to sustainability through voicing the need for recycled nylon. Aquafil proceeded to pioneer state of the art machinery which has changed the industry and they remain a valued partner in the Net-works initiative.

Through the Interface ReEntry programme carpet tiles are taken back and repurposed/ recycled both to reduce waste and also to divert away from landfill.

Interface has come a long way over the last 20 years to become a truly sustainable company. However, there remains a long way to go and many obstacles are still to be cleared in order to reach the ultimate goal.

British Gas

British Gas have a new approach and offering for the Higher and Further Education sector in how to think about creating convincing business cases for major and complex carbon reduction projects and are running knowledge and experience transfer days to challenge universities and colleges and see what they could be doing differently to achieve their carbon reduction targets.

British Gas have challenged themselves in how we operate in and occupy space (see case study on our Oxford building) and how we occupy space in the communities we serve (by replacing our fleet of service vehicles with new Electric Vehicles).