What are we doing as an organisation to become more sustainable?

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to take its toll, Falcon Support Services has had to make changes to save costs.

With sustainability week on the horizon, we look back at what changes we have made as an organisation.

Last August the charity went the extra mile to establish a Green Heroes Working Group - moving towards Net Zero, which is a key consideration for a greener future and addressing savings and cutting costs.

Working with Leicestershire County Council, Community Energy Pathways and Greener Future Community Energy, staff have shown that sustainability is important to the charity.

It all began with a simple question – how we can use less energy and still do good. This sparked a charity-wide journey that quietly reshaped everyday habits as part of the long-term strategy.

Jason Hamilton – Energy Efficiency Officer for Falcon Support Services E.M Ltd said: “I got involved in the project after being introduced to it because I believed in it and wanted to learn more about how to save energy and help show others how to do the same.

“I think it was a brilliant idea to get an energy audit with suggestions for how the charity could save money and become more energy efficient.

“Savings such as turning off the lights and replacing single use with rechargeable batteries as well as switching to certified renewable energy.”

The charity commissioned their first energy management report, and this provided solid data to make decisions. Making more sustainable choices, such as swapping toilet and photocopier paper, alongside a renewed focus on reducing waste –that all staff got involved in.

Falcon makes use of donated furniture to furnish residents forever homes and in the new refurbished wellbeing space which helps educate the community to be more energy efficient. Warm home temperature cards were issued along with service users learning new skills to create draft excluder workshops reusing old duvets and donating materials.

Meanwhile, an allotment project connected climate action to wellbeing, and staff completed Green Champions Training and the Level 2 Fuel Poverty and Health and Introduction to Domestic Energy Efficiency e-learning.

The Deputy CEO Rachel Hall also joined the Climate Leadership and Action programme and the results were also shared at the Staff Impact Day talk which encouraged staff to take part in the awareness activities.

From making small switches to strategic change; the Green Heroes Working Group proved that collective action, through learning and focus, can make energy efficiency part of a charity’s culture.

Falcon Support Services has a Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan that has an ambitious goal to reduce emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. This includes a 12 per cent reduction in consumption and a 50 per cent increase in recycling. The sustainability strategy reflects a commitment towards environmental responsibility, and the charity embeds sustainability into its culture as well as offsets the environmental impact.

We take environmental protection seriously and recognise the importance of not only reducing our carbon footprint but also actively offsetting the impact of our operations.

This includes:

Reducing waste through reuse schemes and repurposing furniture, clothes, bedding, technology and surplus food

We also plant a tree for any training course purchased, see our training courses here: Falcon Training Hub: Accredited Training Courses - Falcon Support Services

We also run an allotment with water butts, a pond, a compostable e toilet, compost bins and reducing hard plastic in cleaning products

We also dispose of waste from batteries, printer ink and recycling and use only environmentally friendly products

We believe that each of us has a role to play in supporting sustainability and energy efficiency is not an environmental priority but also a practical financial strategy that strengthens the sustainability and impact of our work.