At the Signature Bristol Office we are committed to learn, understand and take action to drive sustainable practices, with the intention of halving our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050, if not before.
Understanding our starting point
We believe that sustainability is a key priority and shared responsibility. To kick off our journey this year, we engaged with a number of students from the University of the West of England and Bath Spa University. With both university’s support, we appointed project teams to work with us to form and progress our pathway.
This collaboration was mutually beneficial – allowing us to leverage their enthusiasm and expertise whilst giving them insight into a real business’s current operations and sustainability efforts. Our UWE project team took a behavioural approach to the work, while Bath reviewed our carbon footprint, working through the scopes.
They also conducted an audit of our existing policies and practices and used their own tools, experience and research to identify strengths for us to build on, as well as areas for improvement.
Developing an action plan
Working with the student project teams proved invaluable for gaining new perspectives. They presented tangible steps that Signature Recruitment could take toward reducing our environmental footprint across areas like energy usage, transportation, waste management and more.
Although we are still awaiting further data to clarify our baseline carbon footprint calculation, we have been able to start the work and we have already embraced changes that will enable us to achieve:
- LED lighting
- Hybrid working
- Increasing engagement and action of our team by litter picking and taking part in Plastic Free July
As an independent recruitment organisation, our individual carbon footprint is relatively small. We see this as an opportunity to lead the way and demonstrate how SMEs can embrace sustainable business models and have a positive impact on the overall supply chain.
From environmentally conscious office practices such as the move to remote interviews rather than face-to-face, hybrid team working and virtually no printing to supplier procurement policies, we are committed to continuously improving.
Next steps:
Measuring and tracking progress on sustainability goals is crucial for ensuring accountability and making meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. To effectively measure and track progress towards our goals, we now plan to:
- Finalise our baseline carbon footprint calculation
- Work with Green Business Support through West of England Growth Hub
- Review supply chain and implement a sustainable resourcing policy to improve our measure of supplier carbon footprints
- Discuss appointing a sustainability committee
- Review IT policies and training to improve behaviours/use of equipment
- Work on and implement a recycling policy to further improve best practice
Most employees value working for environmentally responsible organisations, potentially improving recruitment and retention, so demonstrating a strong environmental commitment is a win-win for both.
By setting ambitious targets, we hope to inspire other like-minded businesses to contribute to a wider shift towards sustainability in the corporate world and we hope you will follow along with us on this exciting journey.
