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What are we doing to protect the environment?

Since our beginnings 10 years ago, we have strived to make a positive impact in the communities where we operate our courses and this has culminated in the founding of Universify Education, our charity which addresses educational inequality in the UK.

Now we want to have an environmental impact as well, and so we have partnered with Climate Care to offset our carbon emissions and become a carbon neutral company.

What does Climate Care do?

Climate Care works with companies to turn climate responsibilities into positive outcomes in four ways: Climate Neutral & Offset Programmes, Compliance projects, Project development and Expert Advice.

Climate Care believes that the private sector has an important role to play in tackling climate change and meeting the UN Global Goals, and that profit with purpose business models are truly sustainable and have the power to drive change at scale.

Our projects with Climate Care

Clean cookstoves in Kenya

Clean cookstoves are the best! The same is true in developing countries, where more than half of all families rely on polluting open fires or inefficient stoves to prepare meals. As a result, women and girls often suffer the greatest consequences. Not only are they exposed to toxic smoke while cooking, but they can spend hours every day collecting wood or other fuels — thus taking away time that could otherwise be spent on education, paid work, child care, or rest.

Protecting the Amazon rainforest

Protect the amazon for future generations!! In reducing the loss of tropical rainforests we must not only be concerned with the transformation of existing natural ecosystems, but also the more rational utilization of already cleared and degraded areas. To lessen future forest loss we must increase and sustain the productivity of farms, pastures, plantations, and scrub-land in addition to restoring species and ecosystems to degraded habitats. By reducing wasteful land-use practices, consolidating gains on existing cleared lands, and improving already developed lands we can diminish the need to clear additional rainforest.

Use our Carbon Calculator and offset your emissions here.

Carbon offsetting is an internationally recognised way to take responsibility for unavoidable carbon emissions. In a world where climate change is increasingly on the agenda and global emissions continue to grow, your customers, investors and staff are looking to your business to act responsibly.

In simple terms, offsetting one tonne of carbon means there will be one less tonne of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there would otherwise have been. It is the fastest way to achieve emissions reductions and the only way to achieve carbon neutrality. And our carbon calculator will help you do just that. Choosing to offset through ClimateCare means you’ll support best practice projects that deliver value for the environment, your business and local communities.

Please use our carbon calculator below:

How much carbon does it cost?

A return flight from London to Vancouver = 4.16 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Driving 20,000 miles in a petrol care = 5.66 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Boiling a kettle twice a day, every day of the year = 0.98 tonnes of CO2 emissions

How can you become more eco-friendly?

 

Plastic straws (we know you’ve heard this one already)

In May 2019, the UK government moved to ban plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds with plastic stems from sale and use from April 2020. Nearly 5 BILLION plastic straws are currently used each year in the UK, and this plastic pollution has increasingly placed waterways and wildlife in the UK at risk.

In our office, we choose to get our take-away iced coffees from chains like Pret, who use recyclable paper straws instead of plastic ones for their drinks. At home, many of our staff members have invested in bamboo or steel straws, which you can use again and again.

 

Offset your flights (its easy to do)

Some airways have their own offset schemes. When booking your flight you tick the box that you want your flight to be carbon neutral, pay the added fees and you’re done. This will increase your ticket price with roughly 10%, depending on the airways company and as easy as that you compensated for the carbon emissions of your flight.

Do our current projects with Climate Care offset our flights????

 

Is it recyclable? (think about this)

When you are buying something that comes in plastic packaging, check how much of it is recyclable. Most of us wrongly assume that most plastic is recyclable these days, but coloured plastics, and very thin plastic often is not.

Consider investing in reusable mesh produce bags for when you go shopping, to save on those single use bags. Or shop at places like Zara, who retain their recyclable paper bags and their online orders now come in cardboard boxes (as opposed to the single use plastic bags ASOS orders arrive in for example).

 

Conscious fashion (where are you buying?)

This is not so easy to keep track of, with many brands now claiming that they are eco friendly- but how can we be sure? Do your research- where are the clothes made, and what fabrics are used? Are the ethics of the company clear, and on what scale are they producing? Consider buying second hand- from everyday clothes to luxury items, you can find plenty online and in vintage stores- not only are you grabbing a deal, you are resisting ‘fast fashion’. Check out the conscious fashion website for a list of retailers they guarantee are environmentally friendly.

 

Information about our next steps as a company?

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