What do Connevans & the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference have in Common?

As most of us know, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference took place in November in Glasgow so what do we at Connevans have in common with this conference?

OK, so we don't have World leaders flying in from all 4 corners of the Globe, but we like to think we are doing as much as we can to work with and save our planet, whilst at the same time employing 30 people and promoting & supplying equipment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

It starts with having some knowledge & the right attitude and cascading it across the company, so we all try to do the right thing and we know it will always be fully supported by Connevans.

Photo by Fateme Alaie / Unsplash
Here are some of the things we do for our planet ...

• Our Connevans staff are trained in our environmental policy and encouraged to participate
• We re-use all incoming packaging wherever we can
• Our company car policy is to only buy electric or hybrid cars (we've sold our old diesels)
• We have an outside charging point, so I can charge my car and drive home on sunshine!
• We spent £30k+ on solar panels around 5 years ago, they have nearly paid for themselves
• Ross takes a particular plastic to Sainsburys at the weekend that our collector cannot recycle (Sainsburys can)
• Wendy takes crisp packets to a shop in her village to be recycled
• Goods Inwards recycle all the incoming cardboard boxes & packaging which we can't re-use
• We use paper glue tape rather than plastic
• Our internal parcel packaging is biodegradeable or compostable
  
  Photo by Edward Howell / Unsplash
• We use a specialist recycling company to collect our waste & recycling, it's more expensive than our local council, but they recycle or re-use 100% of all their collectables
• All Connevans staff members have a green bin by their desks for recycling (as well as a normal bin!)
• All mixed paper & cardboard/metal/glass/plastic bottles are recycled.
• We have a ‘Green Champion’ in our company, responsible for environmental issues
• We manufacture in the UK and we source from the UK wherever possible, thus minimising the carbon footprint of many of our products
• When re‐charging is required for our electrical products, our chargers switch off automatically when the charge is complete, saving unnecessary power usage
• We have a communal staff mini ‘allotment’ at the back of our premises, where we grow salad & vegetables
  
  Photo by Pinar Mavi / Unsplash
• Our equipment is designed to last & if required, to be repaired, not to be used & thrown away
• We support all Connevans manufactured products for at least 8 years, giving them a considerably longer than average lifetime
• Connevans is a certified member of The European‐wide WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive, which controls how WEEE may be disposed of and recycled at the end of its working life
• We send as few parcels as possible and avoid ‘part‐shipping’ our orders to minimise the carbon impact.
• The fruit we give to our staff is sourced from a local greengrocer, supporting the local economy.
• We encourage our staff to cycle to work by having shower facilities and a cycle storage area
  
  Photo by Jack Finnigan / Unsplash

Our Working

• All electronic equipment is switched off when not in use and power is cut centrally at the end of the working day
• Our cleaner uses bio‐degradable products and works when the company is open for business, rather than after business hours, so avoiding extra lighting/heating.
• We recycle all paper, cardboard, scrap metal, plastic bottles, glass and batteries through recognised schemes
  
  Photo by Nareeta Martin / Unsplash
• We recycle all printer & toner cartridges through charity schemes
• We make sure that we use scrap paper in our printers to ensure both sides of a piece of paper have been used before recycling the sheet. Staff are encouraged to use scrap paper for making notes.
• We do not have a fleet of sales reps who routinely travel the country visiting customers. When we do make visits, we keep these to a minimum and always try to combine appointments to minimise travel and carbon footprint.
• We review our policy on an ongoing basis and always improve whenever we can. We are committed to our environment both globally & locally
• We are aware of the need for energy efficiency measures and our building is only heated & lit when people are in it
• We have battery recycling points around our building and take batteries from our neighbours
  
  Photo by John Cameron / Unsplash

If you would like to know more about what we do for our planet and how or why, just click here for lots more information & policies etc.

Or if you would like to email me directly, please send to phil@connevans.com

By the way, you might be wondering about me 'driving on sunshine', so here's how it works - solar panels on our roof are fed by sunshine, feeding into the Connevans building, which feeds the charging point for my car, I just charge it up when I am in the office and drive home on sunshine, simples !!

PS: Did anyone notice how many letter C's there were in the title !!

Photo by Ma Kl / Unsplash