Boosting our sustainability: Our collaboration with Workspace

As reported last month, we are an organisation founded on ethics when conducting our business and have embarked upon a Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Roadmap that supports the United Nations Sustainability Goals and also moved to larger, modern yet historic, central London premises in the old Royal Doulton factory near Vauxhall.

Consequently, it is only right that wherever possible, we align ourselves to the environmental policies and practices adopted in the Workspace China Works Office we now reside in.

Alongside our landlords, we work hard to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, with increased recycling and a reduction in the volume of waste generated.

Read more about what Workspace are doing!

All staff have been made aware of the bins that are available for all recyclable waste and what can and can’t be recycled and clear sacks (denoting recyclable waste) are used throughout the office.

We will be reducing the number of waste bins to one centralised waste bin as research shows that by preventing employees from having individual waste bins, the amount of waste generated is actually reduced. In addition, we will be making recycling top of our sustainability agenda.

We have also committed to letting our Centre Manager know of any separate recycling initiatives that we undertake, so that it can be included in the overall recycling performance of the building as a whole.

We will be asking our Centre Manager to provide us with a Combin (best for recycling) and as mentioned, only using clear sacks. Any cardboard is flatpacked and placed in the main recycling bin in the refuse area of the building.

Obviously, there are guidelines regarding what can and can’t be recycled across the following categories; dry mixed recycling; general waste; food waste with an ABSOLUTE NO to HAZARDOUS WASTE.

As tenants at China Works we actually have a ‘Duty of Care’ responsibility to keep waste material safe and contained in the relevant storage bags/bins. Furthermore, as a producer of waste ourselves, we are legally required to sort our waste at source, to minimise the amount sent to landfill and remove anything hazardous as it is actually illegal to dispose of hazardous waste and electrical items in general waste.

Together with our landlords, we are pleased to report that these joint efforts have lead to increases in recycling at our own Centre that can now also be communicated within our own CSR publications!