Our Environmental Policy
Our Environmental Policy
We believe that businesses are responsible for achieving good environmental practice and operating in a sustainable manner.
Our Articles of Association have been changed to reflect a commitment to the ‘triple bottom line’ of people, planet and prosperity. It is now a legal commitment of the company directors.
‘The Company’s objects are to promote the success of the company:-
(a) For the benefit of its members as a whole;
(b) And, through its business and operations, to have a material positive impact on (a) society and (b) the environment
As part of that, we are therefore committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral and fundamental part of our business strategy and operating methods.
It is our priority to encourage our customers, our suppliers and all our business associates to do the same. It is integral to delivering on our duty of care towards future generations.
Our policy is to:
- Wholly support and comply with or exceed the requirements of current environmental legislation and codes of practice.
- Monitor our environmental impact and to improve on that impact year on year. As an SME with zero Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, we have set a near-term Scope 3 intensity target in line with SBTi’s guidelines to place the AoEC on a realistic net-zero trajectory.
- Produce an annual impact statement outlining what we have achieved in each year and what our goals are for the following year.
- Include sustainability and environmental considerations as part of our course learning and to increase awareness among our delegates of the environmental imperatives that affect everyone.
- Minimise our waste and then reuse or recycle as much of it as possible.
- Minimise energy and water usage, (encourage use of public transport over motor vehicles) and processes in order to conserve supplies, and minimise our consumption of natural resources, especially where they are non-renewable.
- As far as possible, purchase products and services that do the least damage to the environment and encourage others to do the same.
- Assess the environmental impact of any new processes or products we intend to introduce in advance.
- Liaise with any venues we use to ensure that our supply chain complies with our commitments.. This includes requesting our existing venue suppliers and to seek out venues that have a 100% renewable electricity tariff.
- Ensure that all employees understand our environmental policy and conform to the high standards when working for the AoEC. We have an AoEC Virtual Office Policy. Our staff work from home, and we have always been mindful of privacy and autonomy in this context. We ask that practices in employee virtual offices align with the company's social and environmental commitments.
The Virtual Office Policy is supplemented with an anonymous working from home survey, to review environmental stewardship in home offices and assess our Scope 3 emissions.
- Address complaints about any breach of our Environmental Policy promptly and to the satisfaction of all concerned.
- Update, our Environmental Policy annually in consultation with staff, associates and customers.