Yorkshire Building Society joins Climate Commission
Yorkshire Building Society has joined the Leeds Climate Commission, which plans to push forward a commitment to greater investment in carbon neutrality in the years ahead.
Joining the commission is the latest step for Yorkshire Building Society, which is a carbon neutral business and reports on all emissions in accordance with the Green House Gas Protocol, an internationally recognised method of reporting emissions and environmental impacts.
The Leeds Climate Commission was established in 2017 to help the city to make a positive choice on issues relating to energy, carbon, weather and climate, by bringing together key organisations and people from the public, private and third sectors.
Informed by the work of the UK Committee on Climate Change, the Leeds Climate Commission seeks to be an independent voice in the city, providing authoritative advice on steps towards a low carbon, climate resilient future, that can inform policies and help shape the actions of local stakeholders and decision makers.
The group will monitor progress towards meeting the city’s carbon reduction targets and recommend actions to keep the city on track. This will involve advising on the assessment of the climate-related risks and improvement opportunities in the city, and on tracking progress towards climate resilience
Alongside is carbon neutral approach, the business is also championing sustainability and of October 2020, just 1% of the building society’s waste has been sent to landfill, with the remaining 99% recycled or recovered. In fact year the business has also removed a total of 4,064,648 sheets of paper which when compared to the same period in 2019 equates to an overall reduction of 32%.
The Society has also invested two eco-friendly, fully sustainable, natural roofs, which are planted with the mat-forming perennial succulent sedum, at its Bradford offices in an attempt to harness the environmental potential of an otherwise unused space. As well as using new water saving technologies across its toilet facilities at its Bradford site to saves the 35,750 litres of water annually.
Tony McKenna, who leads property at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “We are proud to be an environmentally sustainable organisation committed to helping Leeds and indeed the country become climate aware, taking real concrete action to reduce emissions. Joining the Leeds Climate Commission is an important part of our journey, demonstrating leadership in this important area of public policy.”
