While there is much which can be done to improve our building management by incorporating new technologies, we are encouraging our people to be more conscious of how they as individuals can minimise their environmental impacts.
There are many enthusiastic and motivated individuals in the firm who manage to fit in environmental responsibilities which are, often, in addition to their main roles. It is the drive and enthusiasm of our environmental champions which ensures many of our environmental initiatives come to fruition.
The number of green teams within the firm has grown. Our “Go Green Team” in Stockholm has helped raise staff awareness of the importance of recycling and renewable energy. The Hong Kong “Keen Green Beans” team has run a competition to reduce paper use. New York’s “Team Green” brought in a chef to demonstrate food preparation using local and organic ingredients. Lisbon’s “Green Team” held a best green idea competition and have implemented a number of initiatives to reduce waste. The Bangkok team created a green zone in the office, filling an area with flowers and plants. The Paris and Belgium “Green Teams” have run their own nature and people photography competitions
Our environmental champions in the UK have been instrumental in promoting a number of green initiatives, including a re-usable lunch box trial and promoting World Environment Day and Earth Hour activities to their groups.
Sharing best practice
The challenge for the virtual environment team, which consists of representatives from all our offices, is to ensure that our global operations are aligned, as country-specific issues, perceptions and importance of environmental issues and responsibility vary considerably. One way that we have addressed this challenge is via quarterly regional calls and meetings for those with environmental responsibilities and interests. The calls encourage sharing best practice in every office and provide support to those tasked with implementing environmental management.
