Archive

Drought and Wildfires – Practical Advice for Businesses

Following the current ongoing drought and wildfire events in Suffolk, this month’s sustainability blog has been put together to signpost businesses to sites that can offer practical advice around how to mitigate future droughts and wildfires and what to do in the event that they are affected.

You can keep up to date with all emergency preparations in Suffolk here 

 

Drought

All Businesses

Preparing for Drought: Practical Advice for Businesses

Building Water Resilience: How UK Businesses Can Respond to Drought Risk

Save water and reduce your carbon footprint – UK Business Climate Hub

Dry weather information and advice – NFUonline

Drought: Improving Resilience for Your Business

Drought and water availability – GOV.UK

How to save water | Waterwise

 

Use the template below to create a Water Efficiency Management Plan – This will help to track you water usage over a long period of time and identify areas of concern and help you more effectively manage and reduce water usage.

Water Efficiency Management Plan – Template

 

Farming and Land Management

Extreme weather guidance for farmers and land managers – GOV.UK

environment-and-climate-change.pdf

 

Staying safe during drought

Public health impact of drought: advice for the public – GOV.UK

WWS – Homepage | Waters Worth Saving UK

 

 

Wildfires

Wildfires – Prepare

Prepare and Protect Against Wildfires – NFCC

Wildfire Prevention Advice – NFCC

Protecting your Business from Wildfires | Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service

New campaign urges public to help prevent wildfires this summer – Suffolk County Council

Fire safety for farmers and rural businesses – Suffolk County Council

NFU calls for action to minimise wildfire risk as temperatures soar – NFUonline

Wildfires UK: Causes, risks and why they’re increasing

Wildfire insurance | Apex Insurance Brokers Wiki

Fire safety for small businesses operating from commercial premises – GOV.UK

 

 

Further Reading

Climate Change – Suffolk Resilience Forum

Suffolk-Climate-Emergency-Plan

The smallest changes make a difference. Take action at work.

How Climate Change Is Reshaping UK Business Insurance

 

Direct links to business pages are not an endorsement of the site’s products.

Bees Needs Week – July 2026

Taking place from 13th to 19th July, Bees Needs Week forms part of the governments umbrella campaign Wild Again: Restoring England’s Wildlife. The objective of the campaign is to improve conditions for the recovery of native species and habitats.

Bees and other pollinators such as moths, hoverflies and butterflies play a vital role in the food production cycle and without them many species wouldn’t survive, including humans.

The scale of the problem requires us all to do our part to support these little creatures that we rely on. To date:

  • Half of our bumblebee species are in decline
  • Three of UK bumblebee species have already gone extinct
  • Seven bumblebee species have declined by more than 50% in the last 25 years
  • Two-thirds of our moths and 71% of our butterflies are in longtime decline.(1)

 

 

So, what’s causing this decline and what can you do?

There are a number of reasons for the decline in pollinator numbers and they tend to be related. The reduction of wildflower habitats due to agriculture and urban development coupled with increased pesticide use and intense mowing regimes over the past 70 years has formed a wildlife illiteracy which needs to be reversed.

In addition these actions have contributed to accelerated man made climate change which has created extreme weather events that are also harmful to pollinators. This has created a somewhat vicious cycle.

All of which may seem like a bleak and irredeemable situation, but there are plenty of actions that we can all do to play our part in helping our pollinators recover. And there’s no better time to start than Bees Needs Week.

 

Here are 5 simple actions that anyone can take to help pollinators:

  1. Grow more nectar rich flowers, shrubs and trees. Using window or balcony boxes are good options if you do not have a garden.
  2. Let patches of garden and land grow wild.
  3. Cut grass less often and not at all during May when pollinator larvae are at their most vulnerable.
  4. Do not disturb insect nests and hibernation spots.
  5. Think carefully about whether to use pesticides.(2)

 

Why not download the Bees Needs Week promotional pack and hold your own Bees Needs Week event in your workplace or have a volunteer day with an activity such as:

  • bug hunts
  • flower-insect timed counts (FIT Counts)
  • community gardening sessions
  • making bug hotels or wildflower bombs(2)

 

FIT counts are invaluable citizen science and require just 10 minutes watching flowers and insects, they can be carried our any time between April and September in good weather. Submitting a FIT count to The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (POMS) contributes to better more meaningful data and knowledge of how pollinator numbers are changing. If you are interested in holding a FIT count with your workplace you can read more here.

 

DEFRA will also be hosting a series of events in London for anyone to join including:

 

  • 13 July – Pollinating London Together’s evening session, an in-person event exploring how data can drive effective action to protect pollinators in urban environments like the Square Mile and central London – tickets are free but you must prebook your place.

 

  • 14 July – Bees’ Needs Science Festival at RHS Garden Wisley in collaboration with Defra, Bees’ Needs Week celebrates the importance of bees and other pollinators.
      • discover exciting stands from the RHS Science team and a host of organisations, including Pollinating London Together, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, University of Surrey, Surrey Wildlife Trust and Surrey Nature Partnership

     

      • hear from experts sharing insights and tips on bees and other pollinators

     

      • enjoy honey tasting with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew pollinator research team

     

      • take guided tours with garden staff to see pollinator-friendly features and planting at RHS Wisley

     

      • join sessions throughout the day with members of the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme

     

 

  • 19 July – pollinator-related engagement activities and an educational stand at  Kew Gardens

 

For more information and ideas about how you can help pollinators take a look at:

Pollinators – Buglife

The B-Lines Garden – Buglife

Pollinator Guidance – Buglife

 

1.Pollinators – Buglife

2.Bees’ Needs Week – GOV.UK

 

National Clean Air Day – June

National Clean Air Day falls on Thursday 18th June 2026 and brings together local authorities, schools, healthcare providers and employers to raise awareness of the health impacts of air pollution and create an agenda for improved air quality.  Initiated in 2017 with Global Action Plan and supported by DEFRA, the campaign is now a firm fixture for environmental days in the UK.

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Why do have a Clean Air Day?

National Clean Air Day began in 2017 to focus on informing people about air pollution, and how to reduce exposure.  Clean Air Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the impacts on air quality from burning fossil fuels and how that directly impacts people’s health. Many climate change initiatives rightly focus on the planet overall, but it is important to understand the detrimental effects on health is also a direct consequence.

Air pollution has long been understood to be detrimental to health. Many people understand it’s associations with asthma and lung disease, but it is also linked to a variety of other health issues, including dementia, heart disease, stroke and stunted lung development in children.  Public Health England has estimated that poor air quality is associated with up to 43,000 premature deaths in the UK per year.

Although progress has been made to improve air quality by reducing specific pollutants, air quality in the UK still regularly exceeds the World Health Organisation 2021 guidelines.

The effects can be so detrimental that Defra have created the below recommended health advice based on the pollution levels in an individuals area. This is available for the entire population and is particularly important for at risk individuals, for instance people with respiratory conditions, children, pregnant women and the elderly.

 

Banding Index General Population At-risk Individuals*
Low 1-3 Enjoy your usual outdoor activities Enjoy your usual outdoor activities
Moderate 4-6 Enjoy your usual outdoor activities Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems who experience symptoms should consider reducing strenuous physical activity, particularly outdoors.
High 7-9 Anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors.  

Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.

Very High 10 Reduce physical exertion, particularly outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as cough or sore throat. Adults and children with lung problems and older people, should avoid strenuous physical activity. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever more often.

 

 

What is being done to improve air quality?

In 2019 the UK government launched a Clean Air Strategy, setting out plans for the sources of air pollution. This was developed upon in July 2025 with the governments 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan includes the prevention strategy ‘Cleaning Up Our Air’, this policy paper includes commitments to raising awareness of the importance of reducing exposure to pollution whilst also improving things such as access to public transport, reducing indoor pollution by consulting on wood burning stoves and introducing clean air neighbourhoods using pedestrianisation and LTNs.

 

How can we help?

Take action to raise awareness about Clean Air Day and make a plan to improve the air quality within your business and supply chain.

Clean Air Day | Business resources

 

For more information see Take Action for Clean Air Day

 

Reducing Food Waste – April 2026

Why do we need action on food waste?

In 2018 6.5 million tonnes of food was thrown away, of that 4.5 million tonnes, was edible and worth approximately £14 billion.

70% of this wasted food came from households and 25% of that was due to too much being prepared, cooked, and served. Unnecessary and avoidable food waste costs UK households approximately £3.5 billion each year, equal to £700 a year for an average UK family. This wasted food also makes up approximately 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

 

How can I reduce my food waste?

There are some very easy steps you can follow to reduce how much food you throw away and help you save money

 

Meal planning

As well as helping you plan what food to buy and budget for it also allows you to make your food go further by planning in how to use leftovers. For example, using leftover meat or vegetables and carcass from a Sunday roast to make another meal during the week. Meal plans also allow you to consider what you already have that needs to be used up.

Easy Meal Plans is a useful resource to help you start meal planning.

 

Shopping lists

By creating a meal plan, shopping lists become a lot easier to make, use and budget for. If the prospect of having to keep a physical list seems too much, there are some great apps available which combine meal planning with shopping lists. You just need to check your cupboards to see what you already have in stock!

 

Storage

The best way to ensure your food lasts as long as it can is to make sure that you are storing it correctly. Forget the fruit bowl, most fruits last longer stored in the fridge, equally bread and sauces last longer when they are stored in a cold dry cupboard rather than a fridge. See foods you’ve been storing in the wrong place for more information.

 

Freezing

The cost-of-living crisis has seen more people relying on food that may already be close to an expiration date, such as yellow stickered foods. You can actually freeze most foods, including dairy, at any point up to its best before date. Freezing is a good way to store something you might not get around to eating rather than throwing it away.

 

Batch cooking

As well as food close to expiration date, batch cooking and freezing allows you to use larger packs of ingredients which can be more cost effective. By portioning and freezing you have easy meals available to you which won’t produce any further waste. Plus, if you are reheating using a microwave, you will also save energy!

 

Use it all

Whether it’s left overs or veg peelings you can make a big difference by using it all. For example, if you’re making a cauliflower cheese and don’t know what to do with the stalks and leaves, boil them up in a pan add seasoning or some cheese and blitz and you have a lovely soup. And you can freeze and use the rest another day. Leftovers can be frozen, used in lunch boxes or made into another meal altogether. There are lots of resources available to help you use it all, even the scraps. You can find all kinds of recipes for your leftovers at Love Food Hate Waste or get creative and try developing your own recipes.

 

What’s happening in Suffolk to help reduce food waste?

Community Fridges

Community fridges are public spaces where unused/sold food that would otherwise have been thrown away is shared within the local community. They are a great way to reduce food waste and bring communities together. Community fridges are open to everyone and there is no requirement to be in receipt of benefits to access them.

If you are interested in volunteering, donating or using your local Community Fridge you can find your local here.

 

Home Composting

Sometimes food waste is unavoidable, when this happens there is the option of home composting. It’s a great way to turn yourwaste into free compost for your garden. Suffolk residents can find a variety of subsidised compost bins and wormeries here.

 

 

 

The Big Walk and Wheel – March 2026

The Big Walk and Wheel takes place this year between 16th and 27th March.

The purpose of this event is to encourage school children and staff to use active travel such as walking, cycling and scooting for their school commute.

The objective is to promote active travel as an enjoyable option to improve air quality around their schools, increase their physical fitness and gain an understanding of small changes they can make to benefit their local environment.

Why not take advantage of this event to talk about active and sustainable travel in the workplace.

Parents of school aged children may already be aware and possibly already participating with their children. This is an opportunity to build on that momentum.

The Big Walk and Wheel site has a host of suggestions and resources which could be useful to adopt to work setting, these include suggestions such as FRideday Bike Bus. This could be easily adapted to just FRideday, a day when everyone either walks, cycles or takes public transport to work.

If you use a cycle to work scheme, why not use this event to share how the scheme works. Promote the known benefits of cycling such as:

  • increased metabolic rate, useful for maintaining a healthy weight
  • increased muscle tone, particularly good for older people as a useful way to prevent future fall risks.
  • Better overall fitness, with regular cyclists statistically being as fit as an average person 10 years younger.

Let’s not forget walking, you may have employees who already walk to work, why not ask them what they enjoy about their walk. Could they buddy up with other employees in their area who don’t usually walk for the week. Sharing the journey and boosting their mental and physical health at the same time.

It’s important to recognise participation, so why not create an achievable challenge for all to take part and celebrate success. Encourage employees to share their experience and work towards making it a regular or long term change.

If you don’t already have a sustainable transport policy why not use this event to look at creating one. The GHAW blog from November 2025 regarding sustainable transport is a useful starting point to think about why sustainable travel is important and what you should consider when writing a sustainable travel policy.

But most of all, have fun and get outside and active.

 

 

 

 

World Day of Social Justice – February 2026

What is World Day of Social Justice

World day of Social Justice falls on 20th February, the day is an important time to look at human rights, fairness and equality. World Social Justice Day is about encouraging schools, organisations, governments and communities to draw on social inequalities, think about their own and other’s experiences and reflect on how they can create a more inclusive and just society. Although social justice focuses on equality of access and delivery in education, employment and healthcare regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality and socioeconomic background, this year the focus is particularly on the ‘Decent Work’ agenda.

Decent Work Agenda

The ‘Decent Work’ agenda created by International Labour Organisation as part of the UN Social Justice goals, is a comprehensive framework for understanding good work goals. Created in 2007 as a tool to work towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The decent Work agenda is composed of 4 pillars.

  1. Standards and Rights at Work: Ensuring that all workers have access to fundamental rights, including freedom of association, the right to organise, and protection against discrimination and exploitation.
  2. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development: Fostering job creation and supporting entrepreneurship to enhance economic growth and reduce unemployment.
  3. Social Protection: Providing social security systems that protect workers and their families, ensuring access to healthcare, unemployment benefits, and pensions.
  4. Social Dialogue: Encouraging communication and negotiation between employers, workers, and governments to promote fair labour practices and resolve conflicts.

Although these pillars are overarching and elevated it is possible to reduce the crux to apply to Good Health @ Work activity, particularly looking at Standard 4, Fair Pay and Secure Work.

What can you do?

So, what can you commit to for World Day of Social Justice on 20th February.

  • Think about what your organisation does to encourage inclusivity. Consider your existing equality policies, do they need updating?
  • Encourage diversity and inclusion in the workplace, create an environment where everyone is respected and valued.
  • Are employees with disabilities encouraged to share their experiences?
  • How about gender equality, have you reviewed your pay scales to determine if there may be a gender pay gap?
  • Spend time getting to know your employees, listen to marginal voices.
  • Do you know what hurdles your employees face?  importantly are there changes you can make to overcome those hurdles?

These activities can start the ball rolling on improved relationships and working practices, resulting in a better work environment and reduction in staff turnover. Fulfilling in part the objectives of work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace, good prospects for personal development and social integration.

 

Share your stories

Once you’ve decided how you are going to mark World Social Justice Day remember to share your stories on social media. This will bring attention to the day and inspire others to engage with the day.

Don’t forget your hashtags!

#WorldDayOfSocialJustice #SocialJustice #EqualityForAll #HumanRights  #GenderEquality  #EqualOpportunities #FairWages  #SocialInclusion #FightPoverty #SocialJusticeAwareness #RespectForAll #FairnessForAll #EndInequality #GoodhealthatWork

Ambassador Network Workspace

Ambassadors are invaluable, whether that is championing GH@W or spending time mentoring SME’s and sharing their knowledge and experience, setting goals and evaluating progress. The objective for the Ambassador network is for SME’s to create a self-supporting network for the long-term economic improvement of those SME’s and the Suffolk region.

To support the growth of this network we have created the Ambassador Workspace, this uses a google platform and includes: chat and video call functions which SME’s can use for free to communicate with each other, either 1to1 for peer mentoring or by creating topic specific forums, FAQ’s or just to chat with other businesses to network and support each other. We also have the Ambassador Site available which has information about being an ambassador, peer mentor and a training page with a growing range of free online training available. The Ambassador site is also great for sharing success stories, case studies and just generally shouting about how great our SME’s are.

If you would like to join the Ambassador Network Get In Touch

International Volunteer Day – December 2025

International Volunteer Day falls on 5th December 2025 and this year, as well as encouraging volunteering for the day, International Volunteer Day will be used to launch the UN International Volunteer year for 2026. The theme for the event will be solidarity through volunteering and will encourage people to participate in community, national and global volunteering initiatives.

Volunteering has a long and varied tradition in the United Kingdom, with records dating back to the 12th century. Typically UK volunteers tend to engage in supporting individuals, communities, charities and even the NHS. Volunteers also play vital roles in supporting conservation and environmental projects as well as education and the arts. Thus ensuring that important social benefits continue to be available. In England alone the total economic benefit from volunteering is approximately £25bn. With the estimated cost of wellbeing benefits per volunteer being around £673 per volunteer or £8.6bn in total(1).

Volunteering has been proven to improve mental and physical wellbeing with the Time Well Spent: A national survey on the volunteer experience recording:

Over three-quarters (77%) of volunteers agreed that volunteering had improved their mental health and wellbeing; this compares with just over half (53%) who agreed their physical health had improved (note, these were separate statements, so respondents could agree with both).(2)

As well the benefits to both mental and physical health, the Royal Volunteer Service states that following feedback the benefits to the volunteer have a huge impact on their lives and include:

  • Building new skills
  • Getting valuable work experience
  • Making new friends
  • Improving their physical & mental health and wellbeing
  • Giving something back
  • Improving their confidence
  • Connecting with others in their community
  • Improving how things work for the better (3)

 

So, how can your workplace benefit from volunteering?

Over the past two decades it has become increasingly popular for organisations to offer volunteering opportunities to their employees. This can take a couple of different forms, such as:

Offering a volunteer time allowance 

A volunteer time allowance works on the principle that an employee has 1 or 2 days a year which they can use to volunteer for an organisation, whilst still receiving pay. The benefit of this is that you may have staff who already volunteer or who want to volunteer for a particular project. Offering volunteer time as an employee benefit, allows them to get on with it without worrying about losing a days wages.

Workplace Group Volunteering 

Alternatively, you may consider workplace group volunteering. Many organisations and charities that rely on volunteering now offer group volunteering for workplaces. This allows for small work groups  from businesses to work together on a specific project and is organised directly via the business. Forming part of an employee benefit package, it is a good opportunity for team building away from the workplace. Staff are paid as usual and the company benefits from improved staff welfare, stronger teams and, can record it against their corporate responsibility and social value index.

Consider which approach would be most appropriate for your business and make an informed choice about what you want your business to gain from volunteering. Think about how you could incorporate volunteering into your own social value index.

Volunteering and Sustainability 

You might be wondering how sustainability and volunteering are linked excluding the obvious exceptions of volunteering for environmental or sustainability charities and organisations.

Committing to long term volunteering whether that is as a regular weekly volunteer or a regular corporate project volunteer creates ongoing positive, lasting and measurable impact. Strengthening communities and social bonds, and improving the lived environment for many. Working together in a voluntary capacity increases the desire to make improvements, creating a sort of beneficial feedback loop as more benefit from these acts of kindness. Repeated volunteering allows growth in skills and confidence which can also then be passed on to new volunteers or shared amongst friends and family.

Why not take advantage of some of the volunteering opportunities in Suffolk. Canvas staff opinion, you may find that some of your staff are already volunteering, why not ask them to share their experiences?

Above all, think about what skills and time your organisation could offer, maybe this is just offering to man a stall for a couple of hours. All of these volunteer actions added together help to make a big change!

 

Volunteer Organisations in Suffolk

Home – Volunteer Suffolk

Volunteer – Red Gables

Welcome to RSPCA Suffolk Central

Home | Suffolk Wildlife Trust

Stowmarket & Area Foodbank – LivingIt

 

References

1https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/volunteering-in-england-valued-at-25bn-a-year-by-government-research.html

2Volunteer impacts – Time Well Spent: A national survey on the volunteer experience | News index | NCVO

3 Benefits of Volunteering | Royal Voluntary Service

 

 

Sustainable Travel – November 2025

November 24th is World Sustainable Travel Day and sustainable travel is an excellent opportunity for employers and employees to improve their understanding of sustainability and how easy it is to implement a sustainable transport policy. A sustainable transport policy can benefit the business by reducing its carbon footprint and can also benefit employees by improving their health and their local environment.

 

So, what is sustainable travel?

Sustainable Travel refers to the idea that it is possible and necessary to travel well by reducing or removing reliance on vehicles that burn fossil fuels and create greenhouse gases such as CO2.  Since its inception as a philosophy in the 1970’s sustainable travel has grown to incorporate many areas including:

  • Sustainable Transport Networks
  • Sustainable Freight
  • Sustainable Tourism
  • Regeneration Tourism
  • Responsible Travel

Although your business may cover more of these, here we will focus on sustainable transport, its benefits, impacts, and how with a few changes you can create a sustainable transport policy that can be adopted and used towards completion of the Good Health @Work Standard 6: Social Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability.

Follow this link if you would like to learn more about the Good Health at Work Standards.

 

What is sustainable transport?

Sustainable transport as defined by the UN ‘refers to mobility systems that seek to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and environments, while ensuring safety and affordability, improving energy and resource efficiency and providing equitable mobility for all.’ (1)

Importantly, sustainable transport does not refer to one single solution, and neither should you. When considering sustainable transport for your business you may immediately think of how you and your employees get to and from work. However, transport covers a vast array, including for instance:

  • Importing/Exporting
  • Deliveries
  • Team or company meetings
  • Field Sales
  • Field Maintenance
  • On site work such as plumbing etc

The sustainable travel hierarchy below is quick reference to help you understand where each mode of transport sits in terms of sustainability, with digital communication being the most sustainable and air transport being the least.

Why is sustainable transport important?

Currently 13.7% of all global greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the transport sector. These greenhouse gases contribute to global heating and accelerated man-made climate change, as well as causing air pollution which is estimated to contribute to 6.7million premature deaths a year.

In the UK alone 66% of commuters travel by car (3), this is largely a result of gaps in public transport, particularly noticeable in rural areas and for shift workers who keep unsociable hours. As well as the pollution caused by the cars themselves, they can also add pressure to employers to provide parking and employees (where required to pay for it), which adds an additional financial stress.

All of this can affect staff recruitment and retention. The COVID pandemic and the increase in remote working there has been an increase in employees choosing to leave jobs because of a bad or unnecessary commute as they have become increasingly able to find remote work which in itself improves workplace sustainability.

Implementing a sustainable transport policy can help your business play its part in reducing green house gas production whilst also providing other benefits such as improved physical and mental health and creating demand for better public infrastructure.

 

What should you include in your sustainable transport policy?

First things first, before creating your policy, take time to survey your employees and supply chain to understand their current choices. You may find some of your workforce are already travelling sustainably and you will get a better sense of why those choices are made how they can influence others. Indeed, you may also find that the delivery vehicles that bring your parcels are electric. Surveying and understanding your current situation allows you to write a policy that can have some worth rather than being a tick box exercise.

When writing your policy consider all the various types of transport that are used by your business, staff, suppliers etc. Break this down by category and consider what power you have to improve the sustainable transport for those categories.

For instance, you may be able to offer employees a bike to work scheme or provide good cycle storage, or create a carpool system where overall journeys are reduced due to car sharing. Alternatively, if you are a business with vehicles, you may wish to commit to renewing with electric vehicles rather than petrol or diesel. It is also important consider your supply chain, do you have any influence to select businesses who have themselves committed to a sustainable transport policy and introduced electric delivery or fleet vehicles. Consciously consider the choices that you have available to you and bring the idea of sustainability into your long term strategy.

Bring people along so that they are excited by the possibilities for themselves as well as the business, for example use employees that are keen to get involved by creating sustainability champions who can raise awareness of the policy, what’s available and what the benefits are.

 

What should a Sustainable Transport Policy look like?

A sustainable transport policy should take the format of other standard employee policies. This keeps it familiar whilst giving a good breakdown of roles, responsibilities and expectations.

As with all policies it is important to lay out:

Purpose: What you want it to achieve

Scope: How far you want your policy to go, who is included and to what extent

Promotion: What are you going to do to promote awareness of the policy and your expectations of the policy

Support: What support are you going to put in place to ensure that the policy is achievable

Long term planning: How will this policy influence your long-term strategy

Manager Responsibilities: What are your expectations for the managers to ensure the policy can be implemented effectively and fairly.

Employee Responsibilities: What are your expectations of your employees when they engage with this policy.

Confidentiality: Does this policy require a confidentiality clause and if so how will you apply it and to what parties.

Review and Continuous Improvement

Will this policy be reviewed annually, or sooner, if necessary, to ensure it reflects current best practices. How will you review this policy? Will it rely on feedback from employees and stakeholders? How will you implement this?

 

What Next?

Once you have created your policy, promote it widely across your organisation. Encourage your workforce to share their experiences of swapping to sustainable travel and use internal comms to celebrate these achievements.

To understand the material difference the policy has made,  implement a recurring sustainable travel survey. Measuring your progress will not only help you understand the improvements you have already made but will shed light on any areas that could be improved.

 

Want to know more.

If you are interested in learning more about sustainable travel here are some resources you may find useful.

 

Sustainable travel – BBC Bitesize

Workplaces – Walk Wheel Cycle Trust

An introduction to the sustainable travel hierarchy – Energy Saving Trust

Action Net Zero

 

 

References:

1What is sustainable transport and what role does it pay in tackling climate change? | UNDP Climate Promise

2An introduction to the sustainable travel hierarchy – Energy Saving Trust

3The employer’s guide to sustainable commuting