Sustainability statement
What we’re currently doing:
We use office space kindly provided by SCCB rather than our own building. National Centre staff are also encouraged to work from home.
Management council, trustees and working groups meet on Zoom.
AGM documents are sent out to members prior to the meeting. They are stored online.
All surveys and evaluations are done via Google Forms.
Language Issues is now 100% online (accessible via the members area for all members as a PDF download).
We very rarely print and post.
Some of our regional conferences are now online events.
New this year! All account and events information will now be found in the members area. All events bookings will be done via the online events portal. This means there will be less email and phone communications needed between National Centre and members/ delegates.
Annual Conference
We choose events venues carefully to ensure they are conveniently located, encouraging people to come by public transport. If people are unable, we hope practitioners are able to car share where possible.
The Events planning working group hold all their meetings online in order to reduce the impact of travelling (in some cases internationally!).
You will find fresh water stations around the conference centre to refill bottles of water. All cups, glasses and plates are conference crockery rather than disposable.
We no longer print a hard copy programme and instead have developed apps and conference websites which become exhibition sites for the workshop resources and handouts after the event.
We ask all our exhibitors and sponsors to be mindful of their environmental impact when bringing merchandise for their tables.
NATECLA volunteers and staff wear green t-shirts, sashes and badges at events so they can be visible. This uniform will be washed and reused at future events.
We no longer use plastic name tags and instead simply use card. We ask all delegates to hand in their lanyards to registration at the end of the event so they can be reused and recycled.
Where next?
Whilst we are working hard to reduce NATECLA's impact on the environment, it is still a work in progress. We are open to any ideas which might help us further improve. Contact us if you would like to join the NATECLA sustainability working group.
We are currently looking at merchandise options for the association. We aim to promote an association we are passionate about with merchandise that will be used, reused and has low impact on the environment. As such, we are looking at the merchandise we choose quite critically and ensuring we only purchase from eco-friendly sources.
For example: Purchase of reusable A-boards and digital pins for online visibility as NATECLA members and volunteers (you will find these in the members area!).
Date this statement was prepared: 10th May 2024. It was last reviewed on 7.10.22 by the NATECLA Sustainability Working Group.
For feedback on this statement, please contact info@natecla.org.uk