We wanted to highlight an example of good practice when it comes to reviewing your environmental impact and making meaningful change... our partner, WYCAS CIO.

Here's what they told us

Here in West Yorkshire, there are hundreds of charities working on environmental and climate change issues, and registered charity West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Services (WYCAS) is pleased to provide accounts support and training to many of them. 

In recognition of the important part that all organisations can play in promoting  sustainability, WYCAS has spent the last 12 months looking at our own environmental impact, and seeing how we can improve. 

A small group of staff and trustees undertook an environmental risk assessment - covering everything from how much printing we do, to how energy efficient our premises are - and are now starting to develop a full Environmental Policy, with a series of actions designed to mitigate our impact on the environment. 

Nigel Sagar, a trustee at WYCAS for the last 4 years, led the work of the group. He is a Chartered Environmentalist, a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management (FIEMA), and also a Climate Lead with Power to Change. He said:

I've been delighted to lead this work, and have been encouraged by how keen staff and fellow trustees are to...look at longer term plans for the business that will help to lessen our environmental impact. 

On World Environmental Day we want to reach out to other voluntary groups that are undertaking similar exercises, and encourage them to share their ideas and progress. Climate change is a huge challenge, but we can all start by making small changes at home, and at work. 

If you would like to know more about WYCAS's work in this area, please contact info@wycas.org.uk.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's so interesting to read about how WYCAS went about reviewing their environmental impact! It's such an important bit of work that deserves our time and attention in the VCSE sector, and taking a practical look at the ways we can make a difference seems like a really approachable way to start.

We'd encourage any Nova members to reach out to WYCAS and get a conversation going!