Achieving the award for operations at its Manchester head office means out of the 1.5 million UK businesses Unicom has joined an elite number of just over 500 organisations who have not only met the stringent criteria required to attain certification but have committed to carbon reduction.
Chris Earle, Operations Director, explains “Unicom has pushed to minimise our carbon footprint. Since the introduction of email billing 44% of our customer base have chosen not to receive paper bills, saving 132,000 sheets of paper a month or 1.6 million sheets per annum. That’s enough to stretch from London to Newcastle. This equates to saving nearly 200 trees per year!”
“In today’s ever more environmentally conscious society, it is important to look at the way our business contributes towards reducing our carbon footprint. Not only does the standard demonstrate to customers and staff that we’re serious about climate change, but also allows us to lead by example and encourage individuals to take action in reducing their own carbon emissions.” concluded Earle.
Unicom has been able to reduce its carbon footprint from 0.93 tonnes of CO2 used per member of staff in 2008 to 0.78 tonnes of CO2 per member of staff in 2010, a reduction of 16%. The Carbon Trust Standard is the latest prestigious award Unicom achieved, having already been awarded the ISO 9001:2008, Customer Service Excellence, Customer First and Investors in People standards.