In this series of case studies, sector leaders outline some of the steps they have taken to drive climate action in their organisations. This doesn’t mean they have completed everything, but that they have picked a place to start, which leaders tell us unblocks fear and drives action in other areas. We hope this series gives you lots of ideas for climate action in your own organisation. If you would like to submit a case study to keep this series going, please email Maisie.hulbert@acevo.org.uk.
This week, we hear from the Quo Vadis Trust, a charity that supports around 200 people with mental health and complex needs who the organisation houses across 30 sites in South East London.
Area of focus: energy efficiency and water efficiency; forming an emissions reduction plan; travel; staff and community behaviours.
Can you describe the actions you have taken? How did you identify the problem and implement a process?
At the end of the financial year 2021, QVT assessed the use of electricity and gas in our accommodation sites and identified increased usage and related increases in costs. Therefore, we decided to pilot an energy sustainability plan to cut energy usage and reduce our carbon footprint, beginning the process of playing our part in tackling the climate emergency. This aligns with the goal of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to make London a zero carbon city by 2030.
Since May 2021 we have worked to change a number of practices, which all work towards the goal of reducing our energy usage and increasing our energy efficiency:
- Buildings and utilities costs: we have introduced small changes in all our buildings which will help to save energy. These include reviewing wiring and plumbing; ensuring recycling arrangements are appropriate; changing from keys to code pads; introducing LED light bulbs; and setting up boiler timers and thermostats to save energy.
- Staff behaviours: we now train our staff on becoming aware of how our residential sites can be a mechanism to engage our community in becoming more aware of climate change, and how we can have an impact. We share the breakdown of all bills, and set targets to lower the next bills.
- Our community: we have arranged workshops to discuss the issues and at our regular house meetings ‘Energy sustainability’ has been added as an ongoing topic for discussion, to share information and empower clients in tackling the issue of climate change, as well as saving energy and reducing their costs. In these discussions we explore various ways to save water, minimise heating and electricity and improved use of electrical appliances.
- The leadership team at QVT have started gathering more information in this space, and are continuing to try and identify the resources and funding available. We have been working in partnership with other organisations and attending meetings arranged by BEIS, as well as masterclasses and events organised by the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator.
What has been successful? What would you most like to celebrate from the action you took?
Increasing our and our clients’ knowledge and understanding of how we can have a positive impact with our daily actions as been successful. In addition, having a plan where we have tangible and identified goals and measurement of performance against targets, another key of success.
What has been most challenging? Have you had to change your approach in any areas?
The main challenge is financial. The initial cost to retrofit our accommodations and invest in renewable energy was high and difficult to implement for a small organisation. We had to start small, assessing our accommodation sites and identifying which actions would be most cost-effective. This is a work in progress plan.
The other key challenge for us is limited human resources. Although we had established a plan and set up deadlines, due to limited resources in the maintenance department, it was not possible to meet the deadlines. Being flexible around this and adapting to the changing circumstances in the organisation is important.
What did you learn from starting work in this area? What learning points would you most like to share with other leaders?
Our leadership team has gained knowledge about energy usage, utilities costs and actions that can be done to reduce them. We became more aware of how to look for energy-efficient items, which will be now purchased, and we increased our knowledge of what resources are available and funding we could apply for to implement further changes.
How could the sector more effectively collaborate or share knowledge in this space? Can ACEVO or other membership bodies support this work in ways which would have helped you?
It would be helpful if case studies could be shared more often to share ideas. It would also be good if different organisations could work in partnership to share knowledge and best practices, and there are opportunities to explore joint procurement from sustainable partners. Joint bids for utility contracts could maximise our resources and efficiency.
