Organisations and companies around the world are not only thinking about how to make their everyday office work, projects, events more ecologically-friendly. Most of YMCA/YWCAs have environmental protection as one of the key values. Organisations can promote these values not only through their programmes, but through internal regulations as well.
Internal Environmental Policy has aims to put regulations about environmentally friendly practices in an organisation so to contribute to sustainable development through responsible management.
Here we give examples how Environmental Policy can look like and what items it can contain.
Basic environmental practices include:
- Protection of resources, including water, energy and natural resources
- Waste management
- Carbon emissions reduction and management
- Supply chain management and responsible purchasing
- Biodiversity preservation
This is important to concentrate on practical implementation of these items.
The following questions can help you to think about different aspects which can be included to the Environmental Policy:
- Are the rooms in the office or rooms you choose for the activities have enough natural light?
- What is your politics about plastic? Do you have all needed dishes in the office? Do you already use catering with reusable utensils?
- Is it possible to choose train or car instead of a plane while going to a meeting? Is it possible to run a meeting online?
- Do you motivate your employees financially to use bicycles or public transport to minimize use of cars?
- Do you have a system of separate garbage collection during all your activities?
- Do you already use only electronic versions of the materials without printing them?
- Do you provide good internet connection so the participants can work with the documents online?
- Are you ready to have several vegetarian days during your activities? Or you don’t buy meat from the budget of your Y at all the meetings of the organisation?
- Do you use mostly local and seasonable products to organize meals at your activities?
- Can participants adjust the size of a portion of meals?
- What is your politics about the office supplies and stationary? Do you buy only those which can be recycled? Do you reuse them? Do you refuse from buying unnecessary staff?
- Do you create info packs for each participant of an event or do you let them take those materials and stationary they really need?
- Is there a whiteboard in the office instead of flipcharts?
- If you need to print, do you print both sides?
- What is your approach about merchandise and souvenirs? Do you choose what is really needed and will be used?
- Do you promote environmental awareness among your volunteers and employees?
This is an example of Environmental Policy from YMCA Scotland
This is an example of Environmental Policy from YWCA-YMCA Sweden
We remind that it is crucial to discuss such policies widely within an organisation. Thus, people will have ownership and will have motivation to follow the regulations.
You can read here how to organize a sustainable event.
You can calculate carbon footprint of your event here
The material is created within the project “ Governance and Quality Development” supported by Erasmus+, Key Action 2 programme.
