Environment policy

Roffey Park’s Company Statement Environment and Sustainability

Roffey Park is committed to enhancing the environment and minimising the impact of its operation on the environment by means of a programme of continuous improvement. This policy statement is an expression of the achievements so far and the intended future policies of Roffey Park, which will contribute to improving the local environment in Roffey Park and will influence and promote national, international and global environmental issues. Specifically, Roffey Park will:

Legislation and codes of practice

  • Comply with the spirit as well as the letter of all relevant legislation and approved codes of practice, cooperating fully with relevant statutory and non-statutory bodies.

Purchasing

  • Ensure that Roffey Park, in its role as consumer, seeks to use the least environmentally damaging products.

Waste management and recycling

  • Promote recycling and the use of recycled materials, whilst reducing consumption of materials wherever possible.
  • Minimise waste in all our operations.

Planned project and operations

  • Assess the likely environmental impact of planned projects and operations and implement work methods in order to minimise impact.

Energy efficiency

  • Design energy efficiency into new services, buildings and products and manage energy wisely in all operations.

Conservation, planning and land use

  • Work to maintain and enhance the quality of the built and natural environment, respecting wild life habitats.

Employee training and development

  • Foster among staff an understanding of environmental issues in the context of the business through the incorporation of environmental issues in training and development programmes.
  • Encourage the implementation by all Roffey Park people of sound environmental practices.

Economic development

  • Work to influence clients to ensure that economic development takes full account of the environmental impact of business.

ISO14001 Group

We are very proud of the fact that we have a dedicated ISO14001 Group which keeps us up to date, raises awareness and introduces new initiatives to improve our environmental performance.

Additionally, two senior managers lead and monitored the move towards ISO14001 accreditation which was achieved in 2014.

Aims & objectives

  • To promote, inform and educate the wider community at Roffey Park on the environmental and sustainability issues including purchasing, reducing and recycling of resources.
  • To recommend priorities, policies, procedures and projects to the Director of Resources that will reduce the environmental impact of the business.
  • To audit and identify gaps in our environmental management and to target and address these through an Annual Action plan.
  • To identify and secure adequate funding from both revenue and capital expenditure to support environmental projects which meet the necessary payback or provide added value for the business.
  • To introduce some basic environmental performance measures to help monitor progress.

Environmental highlights and achievements

Building features

  • Environmentally friendly building made from local sustainable materials including timber from renewable resources.
  • Car parks lined with gravel and grass to maintain natural drainage and appearance.
  • Bedrooms assessed for solar gain with internal opening windows and slatted blinds, ceiling fans to avoid the need for air conditioning.
  • Use of Sedum ‘grass’ roof over our conference room building keeping the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter, encouraging wildlife and filtering pollutants from the air.
  • In the conference room building special blinds are used to reduce glare and allow in the natural daylight, thereby reducing demand on air-conditioning and lighting.

Green projects and initiatives

  • In 2014 we installed a ground source heat pump system to replace our reliance on fossil fuels to heat our old building and Swimming Pool area.
  • The kitchen garden provides seasonal fresh produce which is used in our restaurant.
  • We source and provide a range of local (low food miles) and fair trade products.
  • Water butts are positioned around the grounds for watering the flower tubs and hanging baskets.
  • Owl boxes have been introduced throughout our grounds to support the local owl population.
  • Creation of a meadow from grassland establishing an abundance of wildflowers to increase the diversity of birds, butterflies and bees.

Achievements to date

  • Roffey Park has achieved our ISO14001 certification for Environmental Management System.
  • Reduced our energy consumption by 20% in real terms through a variety of measures.
  • Completed an external ethical audit to review and improve our operations.
  • Top level support from the CEO for our community, equality & diversity and sustainability initiatives with quarterly meetings to measure progress.
  • Increased use of teleconferencing and webinars to reduce unnecessary staff and client travel by substantially reducing meetings.
  • Introduced LED lighting into phases 1, 2 & 3 of refurbishment projects.
  • Staff have the option to receive their payslips via email rather than in hard copy print.
  • Improved links and support for a local school and their eco projects.
  • Encouraged the use of e technology for participants to access hand outs online instead of printing paper folders.

With regard to disposal of waste, we can confirm:

  • We only use licensed waste collection companies.
  • None of our waste goes in to landfill.
  • We recycle all our paper products, electrical equipment and batteries.
  • We follow and adhere to the Environmental Protection Act 1990, including relevant Regulations under the Act, relating to licensing and registration requirements.

Environmental Action Plan

We are registered to the Environment Agency www.netregs.gov.uk which we monitor for as a reliable source of information on current and forthcoming environmental legislation and are registered to receive their ‘e-alerts’.

Energy
Install energy efficient systems in all refurbishment works.
Continue to improve staff awareness and conduct staff training as part of the induction process and regular updates.
Conduct regular communication re energy consumption, impact, saving tips, update on measures taken.
We monitor all energy use and target reductions where possible.
Install light sensors in all appropriate areas and upgrade timers on external lights and other equipment to 7 day.
Install LED low energy lighting as replacement lighting in all parts of refurbishment.
Introduce renewable energy schemes where feasible to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Procurement
Develop written environmental purchasing criteria for procurement with the greatest level of spend and the greatest potential environmental impact. Make adherence to these part of the purchase requisition procedure and to capital expenditure approval.
Request Environmental Policy from Suppliers.
Travel
We have improved on our environmental travel covering business travel, commuting and visitor travel.
– Use of the web and IT technology (e.g. web conferencing & the introduction of Lync telephony).
– Encourage remote working where appropriate and car sharing where possible.
-Air travel and cost.
Biodiversity
Consider ways of increasing community projects.
Repaired our natural pond and taken steps to encourage the natural wildlife to return.

Sustainability

Buy sustainable

Roffey Park, in its role as consumer, seeks to use the least environmentally damaging products and materials and we work with our suppliers to minimise the impact of their operations on the environment.

Travel

All staff consider transportation options when attending meetings or delivering a programme at an external venue and we have a car-share opportunity for office based staff.

Marketing

Roffey Park markets its services through its website, by email and a limited amount of printed material. We regularly review our activities to ensure that we reduce the amount of paper used and that it is from a sustainable source. We have improved the accessibility of our website and all images used have been reviewed to ensure that they are inclusive. We regularly review participant’s feedback to ensure that our communications are accurate and informed and our services are reviewed to ensure they meet the needs of a changing market. All our materials can be adapted for specific needs on request e.g. those participants with dyslexia or visual impairment.

Technology

We believe in offering the best in technological support for our programmes and at the same time reduce the impact on the environment, travelling time and costs.

We have a toolbox of e-learning resources that can be called into play dependent on the needs of our programmes and our participants. This toolbox allows:

  •  Virtual Classrooms – Audio, Video and Web conferencing bringing everyone together in a virtual space. These technologies can be used separately or combined to provide a complete classroom, or one-toone coaching environment.
  • Online Web Forums – via discussion boards and forums.
  • Course Portals – Web sites developed to support certain programmes and learning sets, providing a portal to support materials and tools.

A range of online support mechanisms is available for programmes. So, for example, 360° feedback questionnaires can be completed and processed via the Internet, as can many standard psychometrics where these are part of pre-course work.

Many of the services offered by our Learning Resource Centre can be accessed via web or email.

Community

Charitable Support

Roffey Park Institute is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. Founded in 1946, it was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 30th November 1967, previously having operated under the terms of a trust deed.

Community Activities

Staff play an enthusiastic role in the wider community by supporting many different activities ranging from supporting local schools to a ‘Giving Tree’ at Christmas to send gifts to local Action for Children projects. Groups of volunteers have regularly worked in the garden of a local respite care home for children with severe physical and learning disabilities, to maintain the garden as a pleasurable and accessible space.

Schools

We regularly work with projects in local schools particularly with the aim of enabling pupils to understand and develop their business skills and to equip them for the world of work. Roffey Park actively supports work experience and many of the areas of Roffey Park have hosted school students to provide them with experience of the workplace.

Carers

Roffey Park hosts an annual respite weekend for carers from the Brighton and Hove Carers Association. Carers are offered the opportunity to spend the weekend at Roffey Park to relax and re-energise over two days and to take part in a number of optional activities provided by staff volunteers.

As part of our charitable purpose Roffey Park offers bursaries on our open programmes and discounts to registered charities. We also offer preferential pricing on the hire of our facilities.

As a charitable trust, any operating surplus generated at Roffey Park is put back into further development as well as research and charitable activities.

We have provided either charitable discounts or pro-bono work to many registered Charities, both nationally and locally, including:

  •  Action on Hearing Loss (RNID)
  • British Red Cross
  • Crawley Community Voluntary Service
  • People in Aid
  • Samaritans
  • Save The Children
  • Sightsavers
  • The Young Foundation
  • YMCA
  • Carers UK

Fundraising All the staff at Roffey Park are actively encouraged to support both national and local fundraising events of their choice. Staff members regularly participate in fundraising events for Cancer Research UK including Race for Life and Dryathlon, Movember, Comic Relief and Sport Relief.

Community, Diversity and Sustainability Group (CoDiS)

Purpose

The Group acts as a focus for advising on our strategy and approach as an organisation and employer, co-ordinating, providing focus, developing policies and overseeing progress on these issues.

Scope

Roffey Park recognises that it has a responsibility to identify and manage the social, environmental and economic impacts associated with its services and activities with the aim of continually moving towards more sustainable practices. It aims to become an exemplary role model of a sustainable organisation through a programme which aims to continually improve its;

  • Societal and community contribution
  • Environmental and bio-diversity performance
  • Sustainability performance
  • Approach to diversity and inclusion

Activities

The activities of the Group may include:

  • Auditing current practices.
  • Developing and recommending a programme of focussed activities, supported by targets and key performance indicators.
  • Developing and recommending supporting policies.
  •  Identifying and, where appropriate, working with appropriate third parties on activities that will enhance Roffey Park’s knowledge and credibility in these areas.
  • Providing advice to the Executive Team on the approach to be adopted in each of its interest areas.

Membership

Members of the Group shall be appointed by the Chief Executive drawn from volunteers across the business.

Reporting

The Chair of the Group shall report to the Senior Management Team at regular intervals informing the Directors of the matters it has reviewed and making recommendations as appropriate.

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