Our Environment

Below are some actions we have taken and plan to take to reduce our Environmental Impact: -

Actions Already Taken: -

• Charity shop: unsalable donations (clothes, shoes, etc.) are collected weekly for recycling by a ‘ragman’ who pays us according to their weight.
• Charity shop has a free basket where we put scarves, gloves, books and unsold items.
• Counselling has movement sensors in corridors; uses low energy lighting; thermostat-controlled heating; thermally insulated blinds and has solar-reflecting window film.
• We use recycling bins and local signage.
• Staff and volunteer inductions discuss Basildon Mind’s various environmental practices.
• We encourage people who use our counselling service to arrive by public transport, or attend remotely where possible and practical.
• We encourage our staff and volunteers to use public transport or walk to work.
• If travel must be undertaken, we promote car-sharing whenever feasible.
• We walk to local suppliers e.g. to buy milk locally or deposit cash locally.
• We use suppliers who recycle their products e.g. for toner and ink cartridges.
• If paper must be used, our policy is to always use both sides of each piece of paper.
• Although we’ve already made considerable progress to reduce our Environmental Impact, we need to go further: -

Actions Planned: -

• All thermostats should be set to 18 degrees Centigrade.
• We will incorporate energy saving technologies when purchasing office equipment.
• We will include environmental consideration where appropriate, e.g. buy local products, buy second-hand furniture and equipment and sell or give away unwanted items.    
• We will continue to move towards paperless, virtual meetings & electronic storage.

We consider our environmental impact. Small things really do have large effects and are our contribution to the future of the planet.