Reduction of direct environmental impact
We have a responsibility to minimise the Bank’s environmental impact , whether this be direct, through our own energy use for example, or indirect, through our commerical activities such as financing.
As a Bank our direct impact is limited, but as part of the Group commitment to becoming carbon neutral worldwide by 2012, the UK has been allocated a target of reducing its carbon footprint/employee by 17% before looking at the options available for purchasing offsets in order to achieve neutrality.To help achieve the 17% target, the CR team has created a Carbon Panel and a network of Carbon Champions to establish best practice and to drive carbon reduction across the Group in the UK.
The principal contributory factors to our carbon footprint are energy and paper usage and business travel, so reduction efforts are being focused on these areas, typical measures being:
- Installation of ‘intelligent’ systems to switch off lighting, PCs and screens when not in use.
- Purchase of ‘Green’ electricity.
- Installation of high efficiency boilers and generators.
- Use of video and web conferencing to reduce business travel.
Waste management is increasingly important, particularly to reduce the use of landfill, so we have a continuous ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ programme in place. For example:
- Recycling now covers all paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, metal cans, batteries, oil, fluorescent tubes, toner cartridges, IT equipment, mobile phones and furniture.
- Recycled paper is now in use in all printers/photocopiers which default to double sided printing where technically possible.As a direct result of this programme, general waste has been substantially reduced, volumes at the Tower Hill UK Head Office having been cut by 50% with all general waste going to incineration, i.e. zero use of landfill.
