Published: 26 November 2024
Written by: Sorrel Humphrey, Sustainability Adviser at the Ladder Association
RSC Training leads the way in the Employee Race to Zero
We’re thrilled to celebrate RSC Training’s remarkable achievement of finishing 4th place overall in Giki’s recent Employee Race to Zero Competition, narrowly missing out on 3rd (and a prize) by only one “step”. This global, UN-endorsed sustainability initiative raises awareness of the critical role employees play in driving climate action within their organisations.
The competition took place online over two weeks, from 14 – 27 October 2024, during which teams worked together to reduce their carbon footprint by completing various “steps” or actions. These steps included practical measures such as opting for public transport instead of driving or transitioning to 100% renewable energy suppliers.
How RSC Training got involved
RSC Training’s preexisting commitment to sustainability made them an ideal fit for this competition. When we caught up with Richard, Lyndsey and Karen at RSC Training, they explained how the Race to Zero presented an opportunity to gain more ideas of how to be even greener. As a busy training centre, the flexibility of the online competition allowed the team to easily integrate steps into their day-to-day tasks, ensuring it didn’t interfere with other work priorities.
What they achieved
RSC Training were already “trying to be as green as we can be” through initiatives such as encouraging delegates to cycle or use public transport when travelling to their centre. Additionally, RSC Training minimise travel emissions by sending instructors to nearby jobs by using a UK locations map, and reduce postage emissions by only sending essential paperwork to instructors.
Throughout the competition, the team came across steps that they’d already completed which made them realise how much they’d already done to promote sustainability within their organisation.
Additionally, steps that they hadn’t considered before included putting foil behind the radiators to reflect heat back into the room, reducing heat loss and therefore heating emissions.
The competition also provided an extra incentive for steps the team were planning to implement but hadn’t quite introduced yet. For example:
- Heating Efficiency: Quick, easy and money saving steps included turning the thermostat down by a couple of degrees and using a timer for the heating rather than having it on all the time.
- Energy Saving Measures: To reduce electricity consumption, RSC Training switched to LED lightbulbs and were more mindful about switching off appliances after use and turning off lights.
- Waste Management: RSC Training have implemented a food waste bin in their centre, to ensure food waste is transformed into valuable organic matter that can be used as plant fertiliser rather than releasing methane in landfills, as well as implementing a set of recycling bins to reduce waste going to landfill.
- Plant-Based Initiatives: The team enjoyed some plant-based lunches and even ate entirely plant-based for the day, further reducing their food-related emissions.
The impact of taking part
Overall, RSC Training avoided a huge 783kg of carbon throughout the competition which is approximately the equivalent of a petrol car driving 3,000 miles! Breaking this down further, the team used 24,656 litres less water and avoided the use of 636 single use plastic items. These metrics are a fantastic way of further understanding the real-world impact of the steps RSC Training took throughout the competition.
What’s next?
Building on their success, RSC Training is pursuing further sustainability initiatives. They are applying for the Greener Greenwich Award, demonstrating their commitment to the local environmental. Additionally, the team are exploring formalised systems to better track the impact of and expand their sustainable practices. By measuring their carbon savings and footprint, they aim to better understand the impact of their efforts while showcasing their hard work to inspire others.
Inspiring the industry
RSC Training’s success story highlights the vital role our members play in driving industry-wide progress toward sustainability. Their proactive approach serves as a model for others, proving that collective action and innovative thinking can lead to meaningful environmental change.
We are excited to see RSC Training taking action on their green journey and we look forward to supporting their efforts to see even greater achievements from across our community. Together, we can make net zero not just an aspiration, but a reality.
