Greening VSO
VSO is committed to managing its carbon footprint by working to reduce carbon emissions in five key areas:
office space and premises in the UK
waste materials management and disposal
copying and printing
staff international flights for VSO business
staff journeys to work
Our volunteers are recruited from eight recruitment bases and work in over 40 countries – this means that long distance travel by air is integral to our work and we recognise this negative impact on the environment.
The options for reducing carbon emissions from volunteer flights are limited but where possible we promote and encourage the use of more sustainable methods of transport such as regional rail networks. We recognise that our staff need to interact with staff and volunteers working outside of the UK on a daily basis and we are working hard to reduce the number of flights taken.
We are committed to making investments in web and teleconferencing services and equipment as a way of reducing our impact on the environment, and to work harder to improve our performance generally in order to reduce our emissions still further.
Travel plan
Since February 2010, we have been able to offer staff greatly improved shower facilities as a way of encouraging more staff to cycle and/or walk to work. We have doubled the number of secure cycle parking spaces following a donation of racks from Wandsworth Council through their SWELTRAC initiative.
We continue to promote the Ride-To-Work loan scheme and have seen a 50 per cent increase in take-up this year. Earlier this year, staff based in London were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their personal journeys to and from work. 150 staff filled in the questionnaire (60 per cent response rate) and 97 per cent of respondents stated that they travel by sustainable means on a regular basis. VSO and SWELTRAC have produced a travel plan as a long-term strategy for managing transport to our London offices in a more sustainable way.
