Policy Statement
RSPCA Norwich Branch is committed to minimising the environmental impact of our operations to secure a successful and sustainable future. We recognise that we have a social responsibility to incorporate the latest environmentally friendly methods when operating, to improve our community’s environmental health and the quality of life for the animals we care for.
The aims of the Sustainability & Social Responsibility Policy are to show the ways in which we have introduced practices and processes across the Branch to reduce our consumption and source responsibility, as well as outlining how we will continually improve our environmental performance.
Responsibilities
We believe that through protecting our environment we are ensuring that all animals have a safer future. To ensure we are meeting our responsibilities, an internal ‘green Branch project’ committee composed of staff and volunteers within the Branch has been created.
This committee aims to ensure that:
- The Branch complies with all relevant regulatory requirements.
- The Branch continually improves, monitors and assesses our environmental impact.
- The Branch considers environmental impact in all areas of operations including animal welfare, retail, strategy, expenditure and investments.
- All employees and volunteers enact these practices
- All employees, volunteers, and stakeholders feel encouraged to suggest ways of improving these practices in order to further reduce our environmental impact.
- Supplier tendering and procurement processes are reviewed regularly to ensure the most environmentally friendly products are in use across the Branch.
Areas of Impact
We acknowledge that our work has several direct and indirect impacts on the environment. We have taken the following steps to enhance our positive impact on the environment and operate as sustainably as possible:
- Resource use (energy, water, paper)
- The planned installation of solar at our HQ
- Use of environmentally friendly products to minimise the impact on our waterways
- Digitisation of our operations to reduce reliance on paper
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- A reduction of our reliance on fossil fuels both in our premises and to power our vehicles, including a move to a PHEV fleet
- Optimising vehicle use to reduce carbon footprint
- Waste and recycling
- Reduction in the use of plastic and harmful materials
- Reuse of materials where possible
- Recycling of materials where feasible
- As an employer and provider of voluntary services
- Inspiring both our staff and volunteers to reduce their carbon footprint via positive changes in their working and voluntary practices
- Continue to promote sustainable actions across the Branch and our wider network via our communications
- Sourcing of products and services
- Including a focus on green credentials when undertaking due diligence when tendering for products and services
- Impact on local communities
- Continuing to promote our sustainability message via our education sessions
- Encourage recipients of our education and outreach programmes to work with us in reducing their carbon footprint by having a positive environmental impact
- Investment
- Incorporating a focus on sustainability and strong ethics when selecting our investment providers
- Green space at our sites
- Maximising the use of green spaces at our HQ for wildlife habitats
Awareness and Monitoring
We understand that change will only come about when each of us actively changes how we think and how we behave, and when we work together towards the same goals. We need to give stakeholders the information to make informed choices and to work with us to identify where further improvements can be made.
These initiatives and practices are monitored for their effectiveness and new practices will be sought and implemented.
To ensure that we meet these sustainability commitments and to monitor their impact and effectiveness, an annual review will be undertaken and we will continue to monitor our success through our internal ‘green Branch project’ committee. Lessons learned from reviews are systematically incorporated into future planning, allowing us to adapt and improve our environmental strategy over time.