Our Environment
What BWB are currently doing:
- Member and Bronze Award holder of FAST whose aim is to eliminate copyright
infringement of software in the UK
- Numerous recycling initiatives e.g. paper, cans, glass, plastic, Tetra Paks,
batteries and cartridges
- Motion activated lighting and hand washing facilities
- Automatic sleep mode for computers
- Virtualisation of all 23 servers to 5
- Supporters of the cycle to work scheme
- Contribute to carbon offsetting scheme
- Use green cleaning suppliers
- Recently introduced food waste recycling for the entire building
- Use environmentally responsible water suppliers; tap water coolers;
fair-trade coffee
- Have a joint initiative with our landlord regarding green energy
- Introduced a double-sided copying facility on all printers following a
network-wide printing audit
- Conducted a one-off audit of all BWB electrical circuits to identify high
energy areas
- Using an online 'Deeds on Demand' system for clients
- Developed an Ethical Supplier policy
Recent achievements:
- Reduced the amount of paper being used for marketing material; now have
online material
- All bottled water is produced in house by filtering mains water
Our targets for 2011/12:
- Articulate an Environment Policy
- Broaden our recycling initiatives e.g. mobile phones, CDs
- In conjunction with our landlord install permanent monitoring software on
all electrical circuits to manage high energy usage
- Start the process of working towards a paperless office
- Modify the air conditioning system to reduce energy wastage
Our carbon footprint:
We are part of The Mayor of London’s Green
Procurement Code; a free support service for London based organisations
committed to reducing their environmental impact through responsible purchasing.
The programme is supported by £3 million from the London Development Agency and
delivered by London Remade.
We are also a member of the Legal Sector Alliance; an
inclusive movement of law firms committed to taking action on climate change by
reducing their carbon footprint and adopting environmentally sustainable
practices.
Our current carbon footprint measurements, completed through the Legal Sector Alliance, stand
at:
|
|
2009 |
2010 |
%
change |
| On site combustion (tonnes
CO2) |
114.45 |
112.59 |
–1.63 |
| Purchased electricity (tonnes
CO2) |
859.8 |
742.26 |
–13.67 |
| Emissions per employee (tonnes
CO2) |
6 |
4.84 |
–19.33 |
| Total Emissions (tonnes
CO2) |
978.52 |
857.46 |
–12.37 |
In 2009 we signed up to 10:10 to reduce our carbon footprint by
10% by 2010. We are proud to say that BWB has more than
fulfilled this agreement.
This forms part of our environment strategy which has clear
objectives each year backed by management action to reduce our carbon emissions
- and has also saved us £12,000 on lower electricity consumption in the
process.
By our continuation in tackling our carbon footprint, we aim
to:
- Review and replace lights – these account for 60% of BWB’s carbon output
- Modernise inadequate/inefficient heating
- Increase our recycling efforts - in May 2010, 41.68% of our waste was
recycled and 58.32% went to landfill (figures compiled by Green Your Office). By
the end of 2010 we are aiming for 65% of our waste to be recycled
- Reduce our paper usage requirements (we currently use 4 pallets of paper per
month)
