Making a difference

Climate change is having an impact across the world seen by rising sea levels, extreme weather, food insecurity and more. While the government needs to make changes at a high level to impact the UK, we can also do our part. This can be done by reducing the amount we waste or use, buying less, reusing items before throwing them away and recycling where we can. These are great ways to help the environment while also saving money.

What are ccha doing?

We’ve reduced paper waste by sending communications out by email or text where we can.
We're generating less paper within the office by saving files electronically.
We’ve moved into a smaller office that uses fewer resources.

When designing the office, we opted for motion sensitive lighting to reduce electricity use.
We’ve reduced our company cars from three down to two and thereby using less fuel.
We are committed to upgrading all our homes to EPC level C by 2030.

What can you do?

Reduce

By buying less you can save money and reduce the amount going to landfill. You can do this by making conscious choices when food shopping, making your food last longer by storing it and any leftovers in the fridge and reducing how much water you use.

Save money with good food habits and reduce the amount you are buying. A ‘buy one get one free’ offer may be tempting, but if it goes in the bin, it isn’t worth it.
Check your fridge temperature to help keep your food fresher for longer. You can also read more about how to store your food to keep it fresher for longer.
Save money by reducing the amount of water you use.
Many dishwashers have an eco-setting and when loaded correctly can reduce the amount of water and soap needed.
Look out for any leaks and report to Axis if you find any.

Turn taps off when you aren’t using them, such as when brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. If your taps are dripping, this can also waste around 5,500 litres of water a year so make sure you report any issues.
Avoid blockages and the amount of water used per flush of your toilet by only putting toilet paper down the toilet and using a bin for anything else.
Only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need to help save on the energy used to heat it.
Use pressure washers sparingly if you have one and check the weather before watering your plants.

Reuse

You can buy or sell items online and to your local communities to help reduce waste.

Freecycle is a platform to give away and collect free items.
Facebook marketplace, Vinted and Ebay are all well-known sites where you can buy and sell second-hand items. Just be mindful of scams and stay safe. You can find more tips here.
Olio is a great platform to share unwanted food (and other items) in your community. On average, it will take 30 minutes for someone to respond to a request.
Speak to your neighbours – if you have extra of something, see if your neighbours could use it before recycling or throwing it away. This is a great way to support your community and save on travel to recycling centres or shops.

Recycle

Rather than throwing items into the general waste bin, you can find places to recycle them, giving them new life and preventing them from going to landfill. It is estimated that as much as 80% of the things that go to landfill could be recycled, so check the labels!

Clothing banks take donated clothes and shoes and either resell, reuse or recycle them to lessen the impact on the environment. Salvation Army is a common one and you can find your nearest clothing bank here .
Check labels to find out whether an item can be recycled.
If you have items that can’t be recycled with your normal household recycling, you can find your local recycling centre here.