Environmental Policy

Sustainable Business Services’ vision is to be a leader in sustainable business. Our services exist to support, co-create and inspire our people, clients and stakeholders to develop sustainable, innovative business practices that drive collective impact and financial performance consistently.

This policy was set by our founder, James Staniforth (a member of IEMA, a BSI and NQA Associate Consultant specialising in ISO 14064 and PAS2060, and a Climate Reality Leader) to make a real, measurable difference for the businesses we work with.

As a business built around helping other organisations manage their own environmental impact, we hold ourselves to the same standard we ask of our clients. This policy sets out how we do that in practice: how we run our own operations, how we treat our own people, and how we expect our suppliers and partners to behave.

Scope

This policy covers all of Sustainable Business Services’ business activities. Its aim is to support the continued development of our business while maintaining a high level of environmental performance, and to be recognised as a leader in the field of sustainability.

We recognise that our business is integrally connected to the environment in which we operate, and that we have a moral responsibility to care for and protect the natural world. We set high environmental standards across our business, aim to make a significant positive impact on the environment, our people and local communities, and want to deliver positive environmental outcomes for our clients. We believe that by setting an example of environmental stewardship, we can inspire positive change and make a meaningful impact.

Our commitments

People first

A sustainable future is only achievable through collective effort, so this policy starts with our own people. We invest in staff training and development so that everyone on the team has the knowledge and skills to contribute to our environmental objectives, and we foster a workplace that embraces diversity and inclusion, because varied perspectives drive better ecological thinking and better ideas. That commitment extends beyond our own staff to our customers and supply chain partners: engaging them, not just informing them, is how positive change reaches beyond our own four walls. And it starts on day one: every new starter’s induction covers the “why” behind our environmental work, not just the “what”, so the reasoning behind it is shared from the outset rather than picked up along the way.

Working towards net zero

We are committed to reaching net zero, guided by Science Based Targets, and we approach that goal with the same determination and leadership we bring to our clients’ own net-zero journeys. We are working through a comprehensive measurement of the carbon footprint of all our business activities, so our progress is transparent and accountable rather than asserted. We’re also committed to developing services that help both our staff and our customers pursue their own net-zero ambitions, because collective action, not one business acting alone, is what makes this kind of change real.

Travel

We prioritise virtual meetings over unnecessary travel, and where travel is needed we favour greener alternatives. We’re committed to transitioning our vehicles to electric at the end of their current lifecycle, and we encourage cycle-to-work and car-sharing participation among our team.

Waste

We follow the waste hierarchy in order: first reducing consumption and use to minimise waste at the source, then prioritising reuse and recovery to extend the life of resources already in circulation, and recycling (reprocessing materials and diverting them from landfill) as the last step rather than the first response.

Our customers

We see ourselves as sustainability champions for our clients: promoting net-zero initiatives and building sustainable practice into every service and product we offer, rather than treating sustainability as an add-on. We use the latest environmental technology to improve our customers’ efficiency, and invest in continuous upskilling and education so our stakeholders can make informed, sustainable decisions of their own, not just follow ours.

Continual improvement

We actively monitor and measure our performance against our environmental objectives, and hold our suppliers and partners to the same standard we set for ourselves, because collaboration is central to making progress that lasts.

Reviewing this policy

We review our environmental objectives on a regular basis, measuring our own performance against them and using those reviews to drive the next round of improvement rather than treating this as a document we file away once and forget. We hold our suppliers and partners to the same standard of ongoing review that we apply to ourselves. Whenever this policy is updated, the new version is posted here.

Contact us

We’re a friendly, dedicated team, ready to talk about how we can help your business reduce cost, become more efficient, and deliver on its own net-zero ambitions.