Orbit, leading social housing provider and developer, has announced it has reduced the carbon footprint of its operations by a third (33%) since it established a baseline in 2018, and by 6.9% in the past year.
These reductions have been made possible by a series of measures including procurement of green electricity, an agile working policy and energy saving measures in its schemes and offices.
Orbit has made a firm commitment to achieving net zero carbon in its operations by 2030 and becoming net zero carbon in its homes and supply chain before 2050. Alongside its net zero carbon commitments, Orbit published its Net Zero Carbon Roadmap last year, which sets out how the organisation will deliver its commitments across its operations, homes and supply chain.
The social housing provider also launched a new environmental sustainability qualification for its colleagues last year — the first in-house training of its kind in the social housing sector. The course, Environmental Sustainability Skills for Managers, was developed by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and will be tailored for Orbit and the social housing sector to provide learners with a working knowledge of Orbit’s environmental management system.
David March, Environmental and Sustainability at Orbit, commented: “We are extremely proud of these results which demonstrate our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and eventually becoming a net zero carbon organisation. Climate change is the biggest challenge facing us all and this reduction shows the part we are playing in lessening our environmental impact. All businesses have a responsibility to reduce their emissions and to contribute to a sustainable future, and we will continue to decrease our carbon footprint each year and become net zero carbon in our own operations by 2030.”
To download a copy of Orbit’s Net Zero Carbon Roadmap, visit www.orbitgroup.org.uk/media/literature-and-reports/
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