The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) received its Royal Charter in 1976. It is the professional body that exists to: ‘support the Science, Art and Practice of building services engineering, by providing our members and the public with first class information and education services and promoting the spirit of fellowship which guides our work.'
CIBSE has over 20,000 members, belonging to a global network of professional support and expertise. Our members have the potential to make a dramatic difference in the area of sustainability and we recognise our responsibility as an organisation to manage the effects of our own operations too.
The Institution owns two buildings in Balham, London and areas of activity include Resources, Finance, Membership, Technical, Knowledge & Publications, Marketing & Communications, Training & Events, and Certification. All employees have responsibility for implementation of this policy by participating and contributing to its success through their actions.
We expect our suppliers and sub-contractors to be aware of our policy and to comply as appropriate. We consider sustainability to encompass environmental, social and economic elements, with a focus on having a net positive impact i.e. ‘doing more good rather than just being less bad’.
For details of the CIBSE Climate Action Plan, see https://www.cibse.org/news-and-policy/policy/technical-themes/net-zero.
Aims
We will:
- Comply with all relevant environmental and energy legislation.
- Produce a sustainability action plan, regularly monitor, manage and review performance against the plan and report annually to the Board (including annual review of this policy).
- Provide employee awareness and training on sustainability issues.
- Work with our sub-contractors and suppliers to improve our performance.
- Continually seek to improve our sustainability performance.
Areas of activity
1. Energy and water – to efficiently operate and maintain our buildings, using less energy and water, reducing carbon emissions and promoting the use of renewable energy.
2. Resources – to focus on reducing resource consumption, to reuse where possible and to recycle unwanted materials e.g. paper, office furniture.
3. Travel and transport – seek to minimise emissions from business travel, commuting and deliveries, and to promote more sustainable travel to CIBSE activities by members and visitors.
4. Procurement – to procure goods and services in a socially, environmentally and economically responsible manner. This can range from the ordering of Fairtrade refreshments to the purchase of stationery containing recycled materials.
5. Biodiversity – seek to maintain our buildings and grounds in a way that enhances plant and animal life and encourages staff and visitor interaction with nature.
6. Health and wellbeing – to contribute to the positive mental and physical health and wellbeing of staff and visitors.
7. Training, awareness and communication – to increase sustainability literacy amongst staff, members, contractors, suppliers, partners and visitors.
12th February 2019