A4e

[sophie_stammers]

A4e is an international market leader in global public service reform, providing welfare and social inclusion services for the benefit of individuals, organisations and communities. Founded in 1986, to provide training and opportunity for those made unemployed by the decline of the steel industry in Sheffield, the company’s social and ethical standards have always been a core principle to the business. To some extent, the environmental programme developed naturally from this agenda, but actually implementing the programme across over a hundred sites has required some careful thinking. Ollie Gray, Development Executive and Environmental Champion for A4e explains how environmental strategy, Evolve, is shaping the company, and why, even amidst the gloomy forecast of economic downturn, an environmental agenda is more important than ever.

Just over a year ago, Chairman Emma Harrison posted a blog on the A4e website following the IOD Conference, calling for A4e to implement some green initiatives relevant to its business. Following this advice, Ollie Gray, Development Executive and Environmental Champion for A4e, set about creating the Evolve project to address the company’s environmental performance at all levels. “If A4e’s aim is to improve people’s lives, then Evolve’s environmental programme is improving people’s future,” commented Ollie.

A4e have over a hundred offices in the UK alone, each providing different services. “The real challenge,” Ollie explained, “was; ‘How do we manage the consistency of a programme that must reach all A4e sites?’” Some office managers had been successful in creating their own initiatives in setting up recycling points in offices, but before Evolve, there was no consistent agenda detailing the scope of what each office could do. “We needed to make sure everyone was working to the same standards,” said Ollie, “and this is where Evolve comes in.”

The Evolve team is made up from delegates from across A4e, including Health and Safety, Marketing, Business Development, Procurement, Operational staff and Estates to approach the environmental programme from all angles. The team is structured around the five areas where A4e has the biggest impact on the environment. These are:

- Transport
- Waste
- Energy
- People
- Procurement

The Evolve programme thus combines the physical and mechanical changes that need to be made, along with encouraging a culture of responsibility within offices at the level of each individual employee.

The subsequent action plan was to roll the training out to each office, and elect someone who is passionate about the programme as the local Environmental Champion, in order to give the initiative a manageable structure. With this arrangement, Evolve can begin preparing each site to achieve the ISO14001 standard in 2009.

Something that became paramount in the feed down of initiatives to each office was the maximisation of internal communications. This didn’t just encompass the obvious: “We have a program that allows us to change each employee’s desktop,” explained Ollie, “so this became a fun way to keep staff updated and environmentally conscious.” Use of the Intranet and the publication of developments in regular internal newsletters also help to keep the environmental agenda in the spotlight.

“Whilst our environmental project is motivated by the nature of our organisation, it certainly helps that the finance department are happy to see an economic saving made wherever possible, and have given the project their full support,” commented Ollie Gray. The costs involved have so far been relatively small, with some money spent on a database for the successful car-sharing scheme. This scheme has run since May and has so far saved 5 tonnes of carbon, as well as savings of £1,500 on the reduction of business mileage. It is this sort of achievement that is published on desktop updates and internal newsletters. “We do have a budget for Evolve but it’s important to keep staff informed about what we’re spending it on and the savings we’re making,” said Oliver. “Because of this, the project has generally been well received throughout the company.”

There was initially some concern within the company that a strict environmental policy would reduce certain staff’s ability to continue providing their services, and Ollie is clear that in this situation, you have to approach casually and demonstrate the project does not imply that anyone will have to make major changes to the way they work. “It’s simply about employees thinking about what they do in their day to day job. Recycling, for instance, is merely the choice between one bin or another! In a large organisation, small actions add up to make all the difference.”

As for the carbon saving Evolve is making, it could be too early to say. A4e’s Car Share database, launched in May, has seen A4e staff save 17,807 miles, which equates to 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions and a combined cost saving of £1781. A4e staff use the Car Share site both to organise travel to internal meetings and to save money on their commute to and from the office.

A clear benefit for the progress of Evolve is that the motivation initially came from A4e Chairman Emma Harrison in 2007. “Having the support of the directors really gave us a head start,” commented Oliver. Yet, a year on, how does the present economic climate affect Evolve: is extra spending on an environmental programme still viable in the days of the ‘credit squeeze’? “The economic climate is one thing, but for me, spending money on an environmental agenda is a totally different issue, and isn’t something that can be subordinated, even now. Cutting down on our environmental programme, like some other companies have done, would actually cost A4e in the long term. We are mainly funded by the government, and these funds are secured because we are a socially and, now, environmentally responsible company. For these reasons, it really is key to our growth to have a solid plan for the environment.”

Ollie Gray will be facilitating a discussion session at the Low Carbon Best Practice Exchange on 22nd October at the Harrogate International Centre. To learn more about the Best Practice Exchange, or to secure a place for the day, please contact Martyn James or Ellie Hooper on 01883 344 799.