I recently met with Judith Smith, a Vice-Chair of the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Climate Commission. We talked about the role of the Commission, which was launched by a panel of countywide leaders in sustainability. The panel decided that simply raising awareness of the importance of sustainability was no longer acceptable and a call was made for businesses, community groups and residents to take decisive climate action.
The impact of climate change is having both a local and global impact. Flooding caused by heavy rain damages the very infrastructure we take for granted, with roads and railways being closed. Businesses are acknowledging the importance of taking action at a local level, aligning with the global objective of mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. Staffordshire Chambers’ of Commerce is playing its part in responding to the impact of climate change but we know that there is so much more work to be done.
This is very much an ongoing journey which started in-house and has so far included the Chambers’ gaining and successfully re-accrediting for ISO14001, a universally recognised standard for environmental management. ISO14001 clarifies best practise for organisations that wish to reduce their environmental footprint, by adopting an effective environmental management system (EMS).
Gaining ISO14001 accreditation was a significant staging point in the journey and gives us the opportunity to embrace best practise in areas such as how we dispose of our waste. We have solar panels on the roof of our Commerce House office, which make a significant contribution towards our energy consumption.
Our staff are encouraged to contribute ideas on how we can improve our sustainability journey. The QEST (Quality, Environment & Sustainability Team), has representation from each of our internal teams and meets on a regular basis, developing suggestions and feeding back to our teams. Over the years, suggestions have included the fitting of automatic light sensors and more efficient use of how we print items, as well as encouraging moves away from paper-based materials. Getting staff engaged with QEST, is critical in getting that internal “buy-in”.
As a Chamber, we host a number of policy forums, one of which is our Energy, Environment & Sustainability forum. This particular forum is tasked with exchanging information on energy, environmental concerns and sustainability and helps to drive our policy understanding on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, promoting the development of a sustainable economy in Staffordshire.
Like all of our policy forums, the Energy, Environment & Sustainability forum is made up of Chamber member businesses and in addition to inviting guest speakers to provide informative updates, the forum members help us to debate the key issues, with agreed outcomes. Our Energy, Environment & Sustainability forum meets again on Tuesday 4th March and this will include a guided tour of Converge Technology Solutions. Chamber members can book their place here:
Getting back to my conversation with Judith, if your business would like to play its part in taking decisive climate action, why not consider joining the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Climate Commission. Business must play its part and if you have the passion and enthusiasm to make a difference, please click on the website for further details:
