The Leaf: Issue 15 July 2023 – Summer Sustainability Newsletter – Staff Wellbeing & Award-Winning Energy Reduction

The second quarter of 2023 has been one of extreme weather and extreme finances for many. We officially have a new monarch in King Charles III, it’s seen temperatures, living costs and interest rates soar, floods, strikes, and a brief positive reprieve with news of the arrival of Malu the binturong at Dartmoor Zoo (big fans down the road here in Plymouth).

What’s happening at Drayton:

Employee Biodiversity Garden

Last year, we announced that work had begun on a disused area of the Wiser factory and office premises in Plymouth, UK, with the aim to create a green space to benefit our employees’ wellbeing as well as local biodiversity, aligning with United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 15, Good Health and Well-being, and Life On Land.

We’re proud to reveal the opening of this fantastic garden, complete with shrubs, pollinator-friendly plants, apple trees bearing their first fruit, bird boxes with their first residents, bee boxes, plus space to relax for our hard-working staff, who are also getting involved by volunteering their time to tend to the garden, and some talented craftspeople among them are in the process of building additional bee and bug boxes to support local biodiversity.

The next steps to enhance the garden include the addition of guttering and a water butt, to collect rainwater and reduce our use of the mains water supply, bug boxes, plus wildlife counts and surveys to understand how to further promote local biodiversity.

Employee Wellness Room

No truly sustainable approach to business would be complete without ensuring the physical and mental wellbeing of its people, we’re therefore committed to providing an environment that’s safe and promotes the wellbeing of our employees, aligning with Goal 3 of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Good Health and Well-being.

Last week, our Wellness & Engagement Committee completed work on a new Employee Wellness Room in our Plymouth office, dedicated solely as a sanctuary for staff to take a wellbeing break and get information on support available to them during difficult times. We have a team of Mental Health First Aiders always on-hand to support and signpost staff toward resources to help them during life's ups and downs.

An Award-Winning Energy Reduction Programme

This quarter saw the completion of a serious of major upgrades and improvements in working practices here at our Wiser factory and offices in Plymouth, UK. The program has three key aims:

• • Energy reduction through education and day-to-day practices
• • Switch gas use to green electricity usage to reduce CO2 footprint
• • Introduction of more efficient equipment and services

As a result, figures show we achieved a 5.9% saving in gas energy and a 9.5% saving in electricity for winter 2022/23 compared to the previous year. In recognition of this decarbonisation, the Plymouth site was awarded the Schneider award for Winter Energy Efficiency for Best Production Site. A huge congratulations to all Plymouth staff!

Find out more about our Energy Reduction Programme, and to save more energy at home, read our 5 Simple and Cheap Tips to Save Electricity, and 5 Simple and Cheap Tips to Reduce Gas Use.

What's one piece of advice you could ensure all of your customers knew about when you carry out work on their heating system?

Earth Overshoot Day - 2nd August 2023

This international event that fell on 2nd August this year marks the date on which humanity has exceeded the sustainable annual demand for Earth’s resources. For the rest of the year, we’re officially living beyond the planet’s biocapacity. The good news is that this year, this date occurred 5 days later than in 2022, when Earth Overshoot Day fell on 28th July, but there's a lot of work to do live withing our environmental means. Take up the challenge with us to #MoveTheDate by living more sustainably.

Find out more about Earth Overshoot Day via the website.

What could you do to help humanity #MoveTheDate?

For more sustainability news and tips from Drayton, the brand behind Wiser, visit Wiser About Sustainability.

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